Information processing device, information processing system, program, and information processing method

Abstract

An information processing device (2) comprises: an objective information acquisition unit (21) that acquires objective information indicating the objective of a target user involving use of equipment in a facility or adjustment with users other than the target user; a person-related information acquisition unit (22) that acquires person-related information pertaining to one or more users including at least the target user; a management information acquisition unit (23) that acquires management information provided by at least one management system (3) of which management target is the facility; and a support information generation unit (24) that generates support information for supporting the objective on the basis of the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the person-related information acquired by the person-related information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, a program ,oh and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] There is a technology for utilizing location information of users using a facility, authority information of users, etc. within the facility. For example, in Patent Document 1, the location of each user within an office area is identified and shared with other users, and based on the authority information of the users located in the installation area of the business support terminal device and the operation information indicating the content of the input operation on the business support terminal device, at least one or more processes are selected from a plurality of processes and executed, and an information processing server device is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to improve the satisfaction of users using a facility with the use of the facility, it is desirable to have a technology that can utilize various information that can be obtained in the facility to support various purposes of each user. However, conventionally, there has been a problem that such a technology for support has not been provided. For example, the technology described in Patent Document 1 also only supports users in a limited situation where a user operates a business support terminal device installed in a specific area.

[0005] The technology disclosed herein solves the above problems and is an information processing device, information processing system, and program that can support the diverse purposes of each user of a facility by utilizing various information that can be obtained at the facility. ,oh The purpose is to provide information processing methods. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device relating to this disclosure includes: a purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the target user moving from a first location to a second location within the facility, the target user using a room or equipment as facilities within the facility, or coordinating with users other than the target user; a personal related information acquisition unit that acquires personal related information relating to at least one user, including the target user; a management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility; and a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the purpose based on the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit, the personal related information acquired by the personal related information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information indicating that the target user intends to move from a first location to a second location within the facility; the personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule as personal information; the management information acquisition unit acquires the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more management systems capable of controlling the equipment; and the support information generation unit generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that it is in an operating state capable of supporting the movement at the time the movement is estimated from the schedule. . [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The technology disclosed herein generates support information that assists the target user's objectives based on objective information indicating the target user's objectives, personal information, and facility management information. In this way, the technology disclosed herein can utilize various information obtainable at the facility to support the diverse objectives of each facility user, who is the target user. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] Figures 2A and 2B are block diagrams showing examples of hardware configurations that realize the functions of an information processing device or information terminal according to Embodiments 1 to 8. [Figure 3]This is a flowchart showing the information processing method according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] Figures 4A and 4B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens for an information terminal according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 6] Figures 6A and 6B are screen diagrams showing a first example of the display screen of the information terminal according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 7] This is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 8] Figures 8A and 8B are screen diagrams showing a second example of the display screen of the information terminal according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 9] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 10] Figures 10A and 10B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens for an information terminal according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 11] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 4. [Figure 12] Figures 12A and 12B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens for an information terminal according to Embodiment 4. [Figure 13] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 5. [Figure 14] Figures 14A and 14B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens for an information terminal according to Embodiment 5. [Figure 15] This is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 6. [Figure 16] This is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 6. [Figure 17] Figures 15A and 15B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens for an information terminal according to Embodiment 6. [Figure 18] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an information processing system according to Embodiment 7. [Figure 19] FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are screen diagrams showing examples of display screens of the information terminal according to Embodiment 7. [Figure 20] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 8. [Figure 21] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system according to Embodiment 8. [Figure 22] FIG. 22A and FIG. 22B are screen diagrams showing a first example of a display screen of the information terminal according to Embodiment 8. [Figure 23] FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B are screen diagrams showing a second example of a display screen of the information terminal according to Embodiment 8. [Figure 24] FIG. 16 is a screen diagram showing a modified example of the display screen of the information terminal. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0009] Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing system 1 according to Embodiment 1. The information processing system 1 includes at least an information processing apparatus 2 and a management system 3. The information processing apparatus 2 and the management system 3 are communicably connected to each other via a network 5. As the network 5, an existing telecommunication line can be used. The network 5 is, for example, the Internet. An information terminal 4 may be communicably connected to the network 5.

[0010] The information processing apparatus 2 acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves using facilities in the facility or coordinating with users other than the target user, acquires personal-related information regarding one or more users including at least the target user, acquires management information provided by one or more management systems 3 that target the facility for management, and generates support information for assisting the purpose based on the purpose information, the personal-related information, and the management information. A target user is a user (hereinafter simply referred to as "facility user") who uses a facility managed by the management system 3 (hereinafter simply referred to as "facility") and who is supported by the information processing device 2. A target user is, for example, a facility user who has registered in advance to use the support service provided by the information processing device 2 (hereinafter referred to as "purpose support service"). Hereinafter, a target user is a facility user who has registered for the purpose support service, and the information processing device 2 uses a user ID as unique information for each target user, and manages this user ID by linking it to the name of each target user, etc. Furthermore, there may be multiple target users in a single facility, and hereafter, the target user that the information processing device 2 is currently processing will be simply referred to as "target user," and other target users will be simply referred to as "user" or "other users." In addition, the term "user" may be used as a general term encompassing both the target user being processed and other target users.

[0011] Information processing device 2 may be installed as one unit per facility, or as one unit per multiple facilities. Hereafter, it will be assumed that information processing device 2 is installed as one unit per target facility. Here, "one unit" refers to information processing device 2 that functions as a single device from a functional standpoint. Therefore, even if information processing device 2 is physically divided into multiple units but functions as a single information processing device 2, it will be included in the definition of "one unit" as used herein. Furthermore, each function of the information processing device 2 may also be possessed by the management system 3. In that case, the management system 3 also functions as the information processing device 2. Hereafter, the information processing device 2 and the management system 3 will be considered as separate devices. Details of the information processing device 2 will be described later.

[0012] Management system 3 is one or more of the various systems used to manage the facility. The facilities managed by Management System 3 can be of any type. For example, a facility may be a commercial facility with multiple retail stores or restaurants, an office building with offices of one or more companies, a building as a multi-unit residential building such as an apartment or condominium, or a mixed-use facility having two or more types of facilities from commercial facilities, offices, or residences. A facility may also be an entertainment facility such as an amusement park or theme park, or a building integrated with a bus terminal, airport, or train station. Hereinafter, the facility will be assumed to be a typical office building with multiple floors, elevators, and multiple rooms. Management system 3 includes, for example, the elevator control system 3A1, door lock management system 3A2, equipment reservation systems 3B, 3C, 3G, 3G1, location tracking systems 3D-3F, security system 3G2, etc. These systems may be existing systems configured using computers. The specific functions of each system as part of Management System 3 will be described later.

[0013] Information terminal 4 is a terminal device having a display device capable of displaying information and capable of communicating with at least the information processing device 2 via the network 5, and is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet device, or a PC (Personal Computer). In the following, it will be assumed that information terminal 4 is a smartphone. Information terminal 4 is used by the target user. Although only one information terminal 4 is shown in Figure 1, there may be multiple target users, and multiple information terminals 4, each used by a target user, may be connected to the network 5. Details of information terminal 4 will be described later.

[0014] (Details of the information processing device) The following describes the details of the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 comprises a target information acquisition unit 21, a personal information acquisition unit 22, a management information acquisition unit 23, and a support information generation unit 24. The information processing device 2 is, for example, a server computer, and the functions of the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 are realized by processing circuits. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware, or it may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in memory.

[0015] Figure 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration that realizes the functions of the information processing device 2, and Figure 2B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration that executes the software that realizes the functions of the information processing device 2. If the processing circuit is a dedicated hardware processing circuit 100 as shown in Figure 2A, the processing circuit 100 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The functions of the information processing device 2, namely the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24, may be implemented in separate processing circuits, or these functions may be implemented together in a single processing circuit.

[0016] When the processing circuit is the processor 101 shown in Figure 2B, the functions of the information processing device 2, namely the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24, are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in memory 102.

[0017] The processor 101 reads and executes programs stored in the memory 102, thereby realizing the functions of the information processing device 2, namely the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24. The information processing device 2 includes a memory 102 for storing programs that, when executed by the processor 101, result in the execution of, for example, the processes of steps ST1 to ST4 described later in Figure 3. These programs cause the computer to execute the procedures or methods of processing performed by the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24. The memory 102 may also be a computer-readable storage medium on which programs for causing the computer to function as the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 are stored.

[0018] Memory 102 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and EEPROM (Electrically-EPROM) (registered trademark), as well as magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, minidiscs, and DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs).

[0019] Some of the functions of the information processing device 2, specifically the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24, may be implemented using dedicated hardware, while other parts may be implemented using software or firmware. For example, the functions of the objective information acquisition unit 21 and the personal information acquisition unit 22 may be implemented by a processing circuit 100, which is dedicated hardware, while the functions of the management information acquisition unit 23 and the support information generation unit 24 may be implemented by the processor 101 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 102. In this way, the processing circuit can implement the above functions using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0020] In Figure 2B, the hardware configuration of the information processing device 2 is shown using a single processor 101, but it is not limited to this. For example, the hardware configuration of the information processing device 2 may be realized using multiple processors that work in cooperation with each other. Furthermore, the functions provided by the information processing devices 2A to 2G in embodiments 2 to 8 described later are also realized by the same hardware configuration as the information processing device 2 described above.

[0021] (Purpose Information Acquisition Department) The purpose information acquisition unit 21 acquires purpose information that indicates the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. A single facility may have multiple target users. If a single facility has multiple target users, the objective information acquisition unit 21 may acquire objective information for each target user sequentially, or it may acquire objective information for multiple target users in parallel. When acquiring objective information for each target user sequentially, any method can be used to determine the order. For example, objective information may be acquired in the order in which the target users registered for the objective support service, or objective information may be acquired in ascending or descending order of the string representing the user ID. The objective information acquisition unit 21 extracts one target user from one or more target users and acquires objective information indicating the objective of that target user. For example, the objective information acquisition unit 21 periodically extracts target users sequentially and acquires objective information indicating the objective of the extracted target user. Furthermore, if direct acquisition as described later is performed, the target information acquisition unit 21 may also acquire the target information at any time by receiving the target information transmitted from the target user at any given time.

[0022] The purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21 is purpose information that indicates the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. For example, when a user moves between floors to attend a meeting, they use facilities such as elevators; when a user attends a meeting, they use facilities such as the room where the meeting is held; and when a user goes to work, they use facilities such as desks and seats in the office. Also, for example, when a user arranges to hold a meeting, makes a request to another user, or interacts with another user, the user makes the necessary arrangements with the other user. Therefore, the purpose information acquisition unit 21 acquires purpose information that indicates the purpose of the target user, such as moving between different floors, participating in meetings, reserving equipment use in connection with commuting to work, coordinating the holding of meetings, making requests to other users, and interacting with other users. The term "meetings, etc." includes meetings, conferences, gatherings, events, and any other activities in which multiple people come together to do something. Hereafter, these will also be collectively referred to as "meetings." Meetings include not only those in which only users (users of a single facility) participate, but also, for example, meetings in which one or more users, in addition to people from outside the facility, participate in person or online.

[0023] The purpose information includes, for example, at least information indicating the type of purpose (hereinafter referred to as "purpose type information"). The purpose information may also include information that supplements the purpose (hereinafter referred to as "purpose supplement information"). Purpose type information only needs to be able to identify the type of purpose. In the example above, the types of purposes are "movement between different floors," "participation in a meeting," "reservation of equipment use," "coordination of holding a meeting," "request to other users," "interaction with other users," etc. Purpose type information is, for example, an ID corresponding to the type of purpose (hereinafter referred to as "type ID"). The type ID may consist of one or more characters, one or more numbers, one or more symbols, or a combination thereof. For example, if the type of purpose is "movement between different floors," the type ID may consist of the string "movement between different floors," or it may consist of multiple numbers such as "01" that are unique to "movement between different floors." The supplementary purpose information only needs to be information necessary for the processing performed by the support information generation unit 24 in the subsequent stage. For example, if the type of purpose is "movement between different floors," the supplementary purpose information will be specific numbers indicating which floor the movement is from and to. For example, if the movement is from the 8th floor to the 16th floor, the numbers "8" and "16" will be added to the purpose type information. For example, in the above example, the purpose information could be represented as "01,8,16". The first "01" indicates that the type of purpose is "movement between different floors", the next "8" indicates that the movement is from the 8th floor, and the following "16" indicates that the movement is to the 16th floor. The representation format of the purpose information data is only required to function appropriately as purpose type information or purpose supplementary information, and various forms of representation can be adopted.

[0024] The purpose information acquisition unit 21 may, for example, acquire purpose information by estimating the target user's purpose based on personal information registered in advance by the target user (hereinafter referred to as "estimated acquisition"), or it may acquire purpose information indicating the purpose explicitly stated by the target user by inputting it into the information terminal 4, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "direct acquisition"). Personal information registered in advance by the target user includes, for example, the target user's schedule or attribute information indicating the target user's attributes. The target user can, for example, operate the information terminal 4 to register their schedule in the schedule registration system 6 (described later), and can also register attribute information indicating their attributes in the attribute information registration system 7 (described later). When performing estimated acquisition, the target information acquisition unit 21 acquires the target information by analyzing the schedule or attribute information. Furthermore, the target user can, for example, operate the information terminal 4 to input information for the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting, including inputting participants and the date of the meeting, or to input information for the purpose of making a request to another user, including inputting the details of the request, and transmit the purpose information to the information processing device 2. When the purpose information acquisition unit 21 performs direct acquisition, it acquires the purpose information by receiving the purpose information transmitted from the information terminal 4. When the objective information acquisition unit 21 acquires objective information, it outputs the acquired objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24. Specific examples of estimated acquisition and direct acquisition by the target information acquisition unit 21 will be described later in Embodiment 2 and subsequent embodiments.

[0025] (Personal Information Acquisition Department) The personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. As described above, personal information consists of the target user's schedule or attribute information. Schedules are registered in the schedule registration system 6 (described later), and attribute information is registered in the attribute information registration system 7 (described later).

[0026] The schedules registered in the schedule registration system 6 are, for example, the content of various appointments of the target user and the corresponding time slots. The attribute information registered in the attribute information registration system 7 includes, for example, information indicating the attributes of the target user, such as the user's affiliation, job title, job duties, work history, expertise, hobbies, interests, concerns, age, and whether or not they have a disability. If the target user's attributes are related to the company or organization to which the target user belongs, such as their affiliation, job title, job duties, work history, or expertise, then the attribute information indicating these attributes may be registered by the target user themselves or by the company or organization to which the target user works. On the other hand, if the attributes are the target user's hobbies, interests, concerns, etc., then the attribute information indicating these attributes may be registered at the target user's discretion. The content of the registered schedule and attribute information can depend on what the user themselves or the company or organization to which the user belongs chooses to register. The schedule and attribute information of the target user are linked to information specific to that user and registered in the schedule registration system 6 or the attribute information registration system 7. Hereafter, it is assumed that the user ID used by the information processing device 2 described above is also used in common by the schedule registration system 6 and the attribute information registration system 7. The information processing device 2 may also have the functions of either the schedule registration system 6 or the attribute information registration system 7, or both. In this case, the schedule or attribute information is registered in the information processing device 2. In other words, the schedule or attribute information is stored in the memory 102 of the information processing device 2 or in a read-write storage device (not shown) that is accessible to the information processing device 2.

[0027] The personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires personal information necessary to support the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21. For example, if the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21 is the movement of the target user between different floors, the personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires the target user's schedule. Also, for example, if the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21 is the arrangement of a meeting by the target user, the personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires the target user's schedule and the schedules of one or more other users. In the arrangement of a meeting by the target user, if the participants have been identified by the target user, the personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires the schedule of the target user in addition to the schedule of one or more other identified users. When the personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires personal information, it outputs the acquired personal information to the management information acquisition unit 23 and the support information generation unit 24.

[0028] (Management information acquisition department) The management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility. As described above, the management system 3 includes, for example, an elevator control system 3A1, a door lock management system 3A2, equipment reservation systems 3B, 3C, 3G, 3G1, location tracking systems 3D to 3F, and a security system 3G2. The management information acquisition unit 23 can acquire management information such as the elevator operation status from the elevator control system 3A1. In addition, the management information acquisition unit 23 can acquire management information such as the open / closed status of the door locks in each room from the door lock management system 3A2, the reservation status of rooms or equipment from the equipment reservation systems 3B, 3C, 3G, 3G1, the current location of one or more users from the location tracking systems 3D to 3F, and the setting status of security areas from the security system 3G2. The management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information necessary to support the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21. For example, if the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21 is for the target user to move between different floors, the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information such as the elevator's operating status from the elevator control system 3A1. Also, for example, if the purpose indicated by the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21 is for the target user to arrange a meeting, the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires the reservation status of a meeting room from the equipment reservation system. If the target user has specified a meeting room in the meeting arrangement, the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires the reservation status of the specified meeting room. The management information acquisition unit 23 outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24. Specific examples of how the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information will be described later in Embodiment 2 and subsequent embodiments.

[0029] (Support information generation department) The support information generation unit 24 generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit 22, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit 23. The support information generation unit 24 acquires the objective information output from the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information output from the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, and the management information output from the management information acquisition unit 23. Based on the acquired objective information, personal-related information, and management information, it generates support information. Support information is information used to control or reserve equipment managed by management system 3, or information used to notify the target user or other users of suggestions, etc. Hereinafter, support information used for notification purposes will also be referred to as "notification information."

[0030] The support information generation unit 24 generates support information that takes into account the personal-related information obtained from the personal-related information acquisition unit 22 and the management information obtained from the management information acquisition unit 23, according to the purpose indicated by the purpose information obtained from the purpose information acquisition unit 21. For example, if the purpose type information included in the purpose information acquired from the purpose information acquisition unit 21 indicates that the target user is moving between different floors, and the supplementary purpose information indicates that the user is moving from the 8th floor to the 16th floor, and the target user's schedule, which is personal related information of the target user acquired from the personal related information acquisition unit 22, indicates that the movement between different floors is for attending a meeting at a specific time (e.g., 10:30), and the elevator operation status, which is management information acquired from the management information acquisition unit 23, indicates that the elevator on the east side of the 8th floor is available, then the support information generation unit 24 generates support information to instruct the elevator control system 3A1 to have the elevator car arrive at the elevator landing on the east side of the 8th floor at 10:20. The support information generation unit 24 transmits the generated support information to the elevator control system 3A1. In this case, the support information generation unit 24 may also generate support information to notify that the elevator car is scheduled to arrive at the east side elevator landing on the 8th floor at the specified date and time, and transmit the generated support information to, for example, the information terminal 4 used by the target user.

[0031] Furthermore, for example, if the purpose type information included in the purpose information acquired from the purpose information acquisition unit 21 indicates that the target user is coordinating the holding of a study session, and the supplementary purpose information indicates that the date of the study session is October 17, 2024, and that two specific other users are participants, and the personal related information of the target user and the two specific other users acquired from the personal related information acquisition unit 22 indicates that each user's schedule is free from 13:30 to 14:15 on the said date, and the reservation status of the conference room (for example, "Conference Room 808" on the 8th floor) acquired from the management information acquisition unit 23 indicates that it is available from 13:00 to 15:00, then the support information generation unit 24 generates support information to instruct the equipment reservation system 3C to reserve Conference Room 808 from 13:30 to 14:15 on October 17, 2024. The support information generation unit 24 transmits the generated support information to the equipment reservation system 3C. In this case, the support information generation unit 24 may also generate support information to notify that the study session will be held at the specified date and time, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminals 4 used by the target user and the two other specific users mentioned above.

[0032] Furthermore, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information as notification information to inquire with the target user, etc., about the appropriateness of the support content, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user, etc. In this case, for example, the support information for giving instructions to the elevator control system 3A1, etc., described above is temporarily held in abeyance. The information terminal 4 displays the support information on the display device based on the support information as notification information received from the support information generation unit 24. If the target user agrees to the support content displayed on the information terminal 4's display device, they perform an operation to indicate their agreement on the information terminal 4. If they do not agree, they perform an operation to indicate their disagreement. If the target user performs an operation to indicate agreement, the information terminal 4 generates information indicating agreement (hereinafter referred to as "acceptance information"), and if the user performs an operation to indicate disagreement, it generates information indicating disagreement (hereinafter referred to as "disagreement information"), and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2.

[0033] When the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 receives acceptance information, it confirms the support details and transmits support information to the elevator control system 3A1, etc., which had been pending, to give instructions to the elevator control system 3A1, etc. The support information generation unit 24 may further generate support information as notification information to indicate the confirmed support details and transmit it to the information terminal 4. On the other hand, if the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 receives rejection information, it discards the support information that was held in reserve for giving instructions to the elevator control system 3A1, etc. Subsequently, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information to provide new support for the purpose indicated by the purpose information and repeat the same process as described above. In this case, the support information generation unit 24 may also generate support information as notification information to prompt a change in the content of the purpose and send it to the information terminal 4. In this case, the target user can operate the information terminal 4 to change the content of the purpose, etc.

[0034] As in the examples described above, the support information generation unit 24 can generate support information as notification information for notifying the target user, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. Alternatively, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information as notification information for insertion into a timeline including the target user's schedule, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4. Specific examples of support information as notification information will be described later in the details of the information terminal 4. Furthermore, specific examples of support information generation by the support information generation unit 24 will be described later in Embodiment 2 and later.

[0035] Next, the information processing method according to Embodiment 1 will be described. Figure 3 is a flowchart of the information processing method according to Embodiment 1. The information processing method according to Embodiment 1 is executed by the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 repeats the information processing method shown in the flowchart of Figure 3 when the management system 3, etc., is available. If there are multiple target users in one facility, this information processing method is repeated to support the multiple target users in order, and once processing has been performed for all of the multiple target users, the processing is repeated again starting from the first target user. In addition, this information processing method is also executed at any time upon receiving target information transmitted from a target user at any time.

[0036] The purpose information acquisition unit 21 acquires purpose information that indicates the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user (step ST1). Next, the personal information acquisition unit 22 acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user (step ST2). Next, the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information provided by one or more management systems 3 that manage the facility (step ST3). Next, the support information generation unit 24 generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit 21, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit 22, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit 23 (Step ST4). The support information generation unit 24 transmits the generated support information to the management system 3, or to an information terminal 4 used by a user such as the target user. Note that step ST2 and step ST3 may be executed in any order. Also, if the objective information acquisition unit 21 estimates and acquires objective information from personal-related information (for example, the target user's schedule information), and the personal-related information acquisition unit 22 only needs to acquire that personal-related information, then step ST2 may be executed before step ST1. Unless otherwise specified, the information processing device 2 shall execute steps ST1 through ST4 in order.

[0037] (Details of the information terminal) Next, we will explain the details of information terminal 4. The information terminal 4 comprises an information transmission unit 41, an information receiving unit 42, and a display control unit 43. The information terminal 4 is, for example, a server computer, and the functions of the information transmission unit 41, the information receiving unit 42, and the display control unit 43 are realized by processing circuits. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware or a CPU that executes a program stored in memory.

[0038] Figure 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration that realizes the functions of information terminal 4, and Figure 2B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration that executes the software that realizes the functions of information terminal 4. If the processing circuit is a dedicated hardware processing circuit 100 as shown in Figure 2A, the processing circuit 100 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. The information transmission unit 41, information reception unit 42, and display control unit 43 of the information terminal 4 may be implemented in separate processing circuits, or these functions may be implemented together in a single processing circuit.

[0039] When the processing circuit is the processor 101 shown in Figure 2B, the functions of the information transmission unit 41, information reception unit 42, and display control unit 43 of the information terminal 4 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in the memory 102.

[0040] The processor 101 realizes the functions of the information terminal 4, specifically the information transmission unit 41, the information reception unit 42, and the display control unit 43, by reading and executing programs stored in the memory 102. The information terminal 4 is equipped with a memory 102 for storing programs that will be executed as a result of each process when executed by the processor 101. These programs cause the computer to execute the procedures or methods of processing performed by the information transmission unit 41, the information reception unit 42, and the display control unit 43. The memory 102 may be a computer-readable storage medium in which programs for causing the computer to function as the information transmission unit 41, the information reception unit 42, and the display control unit 43 are stored.

[0041] Memory 102 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM (registered trademark), magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, minidiscs, and DVDs.

[0042] Some of the functions of the information transmission unit 41, information reception unit 42, and display control unit 43 of the information terminal 4 may be implemented by dedicated hardware, while other parts may be implemented by software or firmware. For example, the functions of the target information acquisition unit 21 and the personal information acquisition unit 22 may be implemented by a processing circuit 100, which is dedicated hardware, while the functions of the management information acquisition unit 23 and the support information generation unit 24 may be implemented by the processor 101 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 102. In this way, the processing circuit can implement the above functions by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0043] In Figure 2B, the hardware configuration of the information terminal 4 is shown using a single processor 101, but it is not limited to this. For example, the hardware configuration of the information terminal 4 may be realized using multiple processors that work in cooperation with each other.

[0044] (Information transmission department) The information transmission unit 41 transmits target information or personal information to the information processing device 2. The target user can operate the information terminal 4 to input a purpose that involves using equipment within the facility or coordinating with users other than the target user. Such input of purposes is performed when the purpose information acquisition unit 21 performs the direct acquisition described above. For example, the target user can operate the information terminal 4 to input a purpose such as coordinating the holding of a meeting with input of participants and date and time, or making a request to another user with input of the request details. When a target user operates the information terminal 4 and inputs their objective, the information transmission unit 41 of the information terminal 4 generates objective information and transmits the generated objective information to the information processing device 2. At this time, information to identify the target user, such as the user ID of the target user, may be added to the objective information. The objective information acquisition unit 21 of the information processing device 2 acquires the objective information transmitted from the information transmission unit 41. Based on the user ID and other information added to the objective information, the information processing device 2 can identify which target user's objective the objective indicated by the objective information belongs to and provide support to the identified target user.

[0045] Furthermore, the target user can use the information terminal 4 to input personal information such as their schedule or attribute information. For example, the target user can use the information terminal 4 to input attributes such as their affiliation, job title, job duties, work history, specialization, hobbies, interests, things they want to discuss, age, and whether or not they have a disability. When a target user operates the information terminal 4 to input a schedule, the information transmission unit 41 of the information terminal 4 transmits the input schedule to the schedule registration system 6. When a target user operates the information terminal 4 to input attributes, the information transmission unit 41 of the information terminal 4 transmits attribute information indicating the input attributes to the attribute information registration system 7. At this time, information to identify the target user, such as the user ID of the target user, may be attached to the schedule or attribute information. Based on the user ID etc. attached to the transmitted schedule or attribute information, the schedule registration system 6 or the attribute information registration system 7 can identify which target user the schedule or attribute information belongs to and can register the schedule or attribute information as belonging to the identified target user. As mentioned above, the information processing device 2 may have the functions of either the schedule registration system 6 or the attribute information registration system 7, or both. In this case, personal information such as schedules or attribute information entered by the target user by operating the information terminal 4 is transmitted from the information transmission unit 41 to the information processing device 2. In addition, other users can also operate their own information terminal 4 to register their own schedule or personal information such as attribute information in the schedule registration system 6 or attribute information registration system 7, in the same manner as described above.

[0046] (Information receiving unit) The information receiving unit 42 receives support information from the information processing device 2. As described above, the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 can generate support information as notification information. When the support information generation unit 24 generates support information as notification information, it transmits the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user (or other users). When the support information generation unit 24 transmits the support information to the information terminal 4, the information receiving unit 42 of the information terminal 4 receives the support information. The information receiving unit 42 outputs the received support information to the display control unit 43.

[0047] (Display Control Unit) The display control unit 43 causes the display device to display support information based on the support information received by the information receiving unit 42. As described above, the information terminal 4 has a display device. When the display control unit 43 receives support information output from the information receiving unit 42, it causes the display device to display the support information based on that support information.

[0048] Figure 4 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1. Figure 4A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24 as notification information is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. Figure 4A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 401 as notification information. In Figure 4A, support information 401 includes a message asking whether the support is appropriate, such as "For the purpose of △△, would you like to do □□ at ×× at ○○:○○?", a "YES" button to indicate acceptance, and a "NO" button to indicate rejection. In this example, "△△" displays the purpose of the target user, "○○:○○" displays the time of the support, "××" displays the location, and "□□" displays the details of the support. The content of the inquiry text provided in support information 401 may vary depending on the purpose and type of support required. Specific examples of inquiry text will be described later in Embodiment 2 and subsequent embodiments.

[0049] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. The support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs the processing described above.

[0050] Figure 4B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24 is information that notifies the target user of the support details. Figure 4B shows the display screen 400 and a timeline 402 that includes the target user's schedule. The timeline 402 includes displays indicating each appointment, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "each appointment display"). In the example shown in Figure 4B, the timeline 402 includes each appointment display 4021 to 4025. Of the schedule / activity displays 4021-4025, schedule / activity displays 4021 and 4022 indicate actions already performed by the target user or information from the past relative to the present time. Schedule / activity display 4021 indicates that the target user entered the facility, along with the time and location, while schedule / activity display 4022 indicates that the target user entered a room in the facility, along with the time and location. In the example in Figure 4B, schedule / activity displays 4021 and 4022 are displayed in gray to clearly indicate that they are actions that have already been performed. Of the schedule displays 4021 to 4025, each schedule display 4023 is support information as notification information. Each schedule display 4023 indicates that support details "□□" will be provided at the time "○○:○○" at the location "××". Of the schedule displays 4021-4025, schedule displays 4024 and 4025 show the upcoming schedules of the target user, respectively.

[0051] As described above, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information to be inserted into a timeline including the target user's schedule as notification information, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4. Figure 4B is an example of the display screen on the information terminal 4 when the support information generation unit 24 generates such support information to be inserted into a timeline and transmits it to the information terminal 4. Furthermore, the information terminal 4 may display support information similar to that of each schedule display 4023 in a manner other than a timeline. In other words, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information as notification information to be displayed in a manner other than a timeline, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4.

[0052] As described above, the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1 includes: an objective information acquisition unit 21 that acquires objective information indicating the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user; an individual related information acquisition unit 22 that acquires individual related information relating to at least one user, including the target user; a management information acquisition unit 23 that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems 3 that manage the facility; and a support information generation unit 24 that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit 21, the individual related information acquired by the individual related information acquisition unit 22, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit 23. The information processing device 2 generates support information that assists the target user's objectives based on objective information indicating the target user's purpose, personal information, and facility management information. In this way, the information processing device 2 can utilize various information obtainable at the facility to support the diverse objectives of each user of the facility, who is the target user.

[0053] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, the support information generation unit 24 can generate support information as notification information for notifying the target user, and can transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. As a result, when the information processing device 2 supports the target user's objectives, it can notify the target user by transmitting the details of the support to the information terminal 4. By viewing the notification, the target user can learn that their objectives at the facility are being supported, and as a result, the information processing device 2 can contribute to improving the target user's satisfaction with the facility.

[0054] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, the support information generation unit 24 may generate support information to be inserted into a timeline including the target user's schedule as notification information, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4. As a result, when the information processing device 2 supports the target user's objectives, it can insert and display support information, such as the content of the support, into the timeline displayed on the information terminal 4 used by the target user. The target user can know the content of the support for their objectives at the facility, as well as when that support will be provided in their schedule. Consequently, the information processing device 2 can contribute to improving the target user's satisfaction with the facility.

[0055] Furthermore, the information processing system 1 according to Embodiment 1 comprises an information processing device 2 and a management system 3. Similar to the above, the information processing system 1 according to Embodiment 1 can utilize various information obtainable at the facility to support the diverse objectives of each user of the facility, which is the target user.

[0056] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1 can be executed by a computer, thereby enabling the computer to function as the information processing device 2. Therefore, as described above, the program for the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1 can utilize various information obtainable at the facility to support the diverse objectives of each user of the facility, which is the target user.

[0057] Furthermore, the information processing method according to Embodiment 1 is an information processing device 2 that includes a purpose information acquisition unit 21, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22, a management information acquisition unit 23, and a support information generation unit 24, and comprises: step ST1 in which the purpose information acquisition unit 21 acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user; step ST2 in which the personal-related information acquisition unit 22 acquires personal-related information relating to at least one user, including the target user; step ST3 in which the management information acquisition unit 23 acquires management information provided by one or more management systems 3 that manage the facility; and step ST4 in which the support information generation unit 24 generates support information to support the purpose based on the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquired by the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit 23. The information processing method according to Embodiment 1 is executed by the information processing device 2, and, as described above, can support the diverse purposes of each user of the facility, which is the target user, by utilizing various information that can be acquired at the facility.

[0058] Furthermore, the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1 includes an information transmission unit 41 that transmits target information or personal-related information to the information processing device 2, an information receiving unit 42 that receives support information from the information processing device 2, and a display control unit 43 that causes the support information to be displayed on the display device based on the support information received by the information receiving unit 42. By working in cooperation with the information processing device 2, the information terminal 4 can utilize various information obtainable within the facility to support the diverse objectives of each user of the facility.

[0059] Furthermore, the program for the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1 can be executed by a computer, thereby enabling the computer to function as the information terminal 4. Therefore, similar to the above, the program for the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1 can utilize various information obtainable at the facility to support the diverse objectives of each user of the facility, who is the target user.

[0060] In the following two embodiments, we will describe more specific embodiments of the information processing device 2 from Embodiment 1.

[0061] Embodiment 2. The information processing device 2A of Embodiment 2 (see Figures 5 and 7) generates instructions for the control system of controllable equipment as support information to support the objective.

[0062] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2. Figure 7 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2. The information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2 comprises at least an information processing device 2A and an elevator control system 3A1 or a door lock management system 3A2 as a management system. The information processing system 1A may also have a schedule registration system 6. The information processing device 2A, the elevator control system 3A1 or door lock management system 3A2, and the schedule registration system 6 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0063] The information processing device 2A comprises a target information acquisition unit 21A, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22A, a management information acquisition unit 23A, and a support information generation unit 24A. The target information acquisition unit 21A, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22A, the management information acquisition unit 23A, and the support information generation unit 24A operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21A, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22A, the management information acquisition unit 23A, and the support information generation unit 24A will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0064] The purpose information acquisition unit 21A acquires purpose information indicating that the target user's purpose is to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The objective information acquisition unit 21A performs the estimation acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the objective information acquisition unit 21A acquires the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, analyzes the acquired schedule to estimate the target user's purpose, and acquires objective information indicating the estimated purpose.

[0065] Here, the schedule registration system 6 is a system for target users and other users to register their own schedules. The schedule registration system 6 includes, for example, a server computer. The schedule registration system 6 may be an existing system that provides schedule registration services, or, as described above, the function of providing schedule registration services in the schedule registration system 6 may be provided by the information processing device 2. For example, a user, such as a target user, operates the information terminal 4 to input their schedule. When the user inputs a schedule, the information terminal 4 transmits the entered schedule to the schedule registration system 6. A user ID may be attached to the schedule. The schedule registration system 6 retrieves the schedule transmitted from the information terminal 4 and identifies the user based on the user ID attached to the retrieved schedule. If the schedule registration system 6 has a schedule already registered for that user, it updates the user's schedule based on the retrieved schedule. If the schedule registration system 6 does not have a schedule already registered for that user, it registers a new schedule for that user based on the retrieved schedule.

[0066] When the objective information acquisition unit 21A identifies the target user to be supported, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 and retrieves the schedule registered in the schedule registration system 6 and associated with that user ID, based on the user ID of that target user. Once the objective information acquisition unit 21A retrieves the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, it analyzes the retrieved schedule and estimates the objective. The purpose information acquisition unit 21A estimates, by analyzing the target user's schedule, that the target user's purpose is at least to move from a first location to a second location within the facility.

[0067] The purpose information acquisition unit 21A, for example, if the acquired schedule of a target user indicates that there is an appointment in the office on the 8th floor of the facility during a certain time period, and that there is an appointment in the conference room on the 16th floor of the facility during the next time period, it will presume that the target user has the purpose of moving from the office on the 8th floor to the conference room on the 16th floor before the start of the latter appointment. In this case, the office on the 8th floor is the first location, and the conference room on the 16th floor is the second location. The objective information acquisition unit 21A generates objective information indicating the estimated objective, and outputs the generated objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22A, the management information acquisition unit 23A, and the support information generation unit 24A. A user ID may be added to the objective information. Alternatively, instead of outputting the objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22A, or in addition to outputting the objective information, the objective information acquisition unit 21A may also output the acquired target user's schedule to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22A.

[0068] The personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires the target user's schedule as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21A, it accesses the schedule registration system 6, for example, and based on the user ID attached to the purpose information, it acquires the schedule registered by the schedule registration system 6 in association with that user ID, thereby acquiring the target user's schedule as personal information. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21A includes multiple types of purpose information, including travel, the personal information acquisition unit 22A may acquire the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6 if the purpose information indicates travel as the target user's purpose. Alternatively, the personal information acquisition unit 22A may directly acquire the target user's schedule from the purpose information acquisition unit 21A if, for example, the purpose type information included in the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21A is only movement. When the personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires the target user's schedule, it outputs the acquired schedule to the support information generation unit 24A.

[0069] The management information acquisition unit 23A acquires information indicating the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more management systems that are capable of controlling the equipment. When the management information acquisition unit 23A acquires objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21A, it acquires management information from the management system. The equipment from which the management information acquisition unit 23A acquires management information is equipment that can be controlled by the management system and that may be involved in the movement of the target user. Examples of such equipment include elevators, escalators, mobile walkways, stairlifts, door locks, security gates, and automated carts. The management information acquisition unit 23A may acquire management information from the management system of one or more of these diverse types of equipment. Here, the case where the equipment is an elevator or a door lock will be described in particular later. When the management information acquisition unit 23A acquires management information from the management system, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24A.

[0070] The support information generation unit 24A generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that the equipment is in an operational state capable of supporting movement at the time of movement estimated from the schedule. The support information generation unit 24A acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of movement output from the purpose information acquisition unit 21A, personal related information as a schedule output from the personal related information acquisition unit 22A, and management information of controllable equipment output from the management information acquisition unit 23A. Based on the acquired purpose information, schedule, and management information, the support information generation unit 24A generates support information for the management system to control the equipment. Based on the schedule, the support information generation unit 24A can estimate when the intended movement will take place, and can generate support information so that the equipment is in an operational state that can support the movement at the estimated time. The support information generation unit 24A may further generate support information as notification information.

[0071] (If the management system is an elevator control system) Below, we will first describe, using Figures 5 and 6, the first example of the configuration of the information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2, where the equipment controlled by the management system is an elevator. As shown in Figure 5, the information processing system 1A includes an elevator control system 3A1 as a management system and a schedule registration system 6.

[0072] The purpose information acquisition unit 21A acquires purpose information indicating that the target user's purpose is to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires the target user's schedule. The management information acquisition unit 23A acquires information indicating the operating status of the elevator as management information from the elevator control system 3A1. Then, the support information generation unit 24A estimates the time the target user will arrive at the elevator landing where they will board the elevator during their movement, based on the target user's purpose information and schedule, and the elevator management information, and generates support information to instruct the elevator control system 3A1 to have the elevator arrive at the landing at the estimated time. Furthermore, the support information generation unit 24A also generates support information as notification information to inquire about the appropriateness of the support content, and transmits it to the target user's information terminal 4. In other words, the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A for instructing the elevator control system 3A1 can be immediately transmitted to the elevator control system 3A1, but here, the transmission of such support information is temporarily withheld and transmitted to the elevator control system 3A1 only after acceptance information is obtained from the information terminal 4.

[0073] Figure 6 is a screen diagram showing an example of the first display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 2. Figure 6A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support provided. Figure 6A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 403 as notification information. In Figure 6A, support information 403 includes a message asking whether the support is appropriate, such as "Regular meeting at 10:30 on the 16th floor. Shall we reserve the east elevator on the 8th floor at 10:20 for travel?", along with a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0074] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. The support information generation unit 24A of the information processing device 2A, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs the support information generation unit 24 according to Embodiment 1 according to the acceptance or rejection information as described above. In other words, when the support information generation unit 24A receives acceptance information, it confirms the support details and transmits support information to the elevator control system 3A1, etc., to give instructions to the elevator control system 3A1, etc. The support information generation unit 24A may further generate support information as notification information to indicate the confirmed support details and transmit it to the information terminal 4. On the other hand, when the support information generation unit 24A receives rejection information, it discards the support information for giving instructions to the elevator control system 3A1, which had been on hold. After that, the support information generation unit 24A may, for example, generate support information to provide support at a new time and repeat the same process as described above. In this case, the support information generation unit 24A may also generate support information as notification information to prompt a change in the support details and transmit it to the information terminal 4. In this case, the target user can operate the information terminal 4 to change the time of support, etc.

[0075] Hereinafter, it is assumed that the support details indicated by support information 403 in Figure 6A have been accepted, and that the support information generation unit 24A generates support information as notification information to further indicate the confirmed support details and transmits it to the information terminal 4.

[0076] Figure 6B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A is information that notifies the target user of the support details. Figure 6B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 6B, the timeline 402 includes each schedule display 4021, 4022, 4024-4026. The schedule displays 4021, 4022, 4024, and 4025 have already been explained, so their explanation will be omitted. Each schedule display 4026 is support information as notification information. Each schedule display 4026 indicates that at time "10:20", support "East side elevator reserved" will be provided at location "8F / East side elevator landing".

[0077] The support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A for instructing the elevator control system 3A1 includes information indicating when and on which floor landing the elevator car should arrive. When the support information generation unit 24A accepts the support request, it transmits the generated support information to the elevator control system 3A1 in order to give instructions to the elevator control system 3A1. Upon receiving the support information from the support information generation unit 24A, the elevator control system 3A1 controls the elevator so that the car arrives at the landing on the floor indicated by the support information at the time indicated by the support information. In the example above, the elevator control system 3A1 controls the elevator so that the car going up arrives at the elevator landing on the east side of the 8th floor at 10:20.

[0078] The elevator control system 3A1 may implement various elevator car control methods, including known control methods, in controlling the elevator car after acquiring support information from the support information generation unit 24A. The support information generation unit 24A may include information about the destination floor (the 16th floor in the example above) in the support information. In this case, the elevator control system 3A1 may not only control the elevator car so that it arrives at the landing on the floor indicated by the support information at the time indicated by the support information, but may also control the elevator to automatically register the destination floor indicated by the support information.

[0079] Furthermore, if the information processing system 1A is equipped with a location tracking system as a management system, as described later, and the information processing device 2A can track the location of the target user in real time, the information processing device 2A may continuously track the location of the target user, and the support information generation unit 24A may generate support information to control the elevator so that the car arrives at the landing indicated by the support information at a more appropriate time, based on the location of the target user, and transmit the generated support information to the elevator control system 3A1. In this case, the support information generation unit 24A may, for example, when it is determined that the target user has passed through a predetermined area such as a passageway connected to the landing, based on the location of the target user, register a landing call for the elevator at that landing, and generate support information to control the elevator so that the car arrives at the landing at an appropriate time. Furthermore, if the information processing system 1A can access the attribute information registration system 7, and the attribute information of the registered target user includes attribute information that allows it to determine that the target user is a priority user of the elevator (for example, a child, an elderly person, a wheelchair user, or a stroller user), the support information generation unit 24A may include an instruction to prioritize operation in the support information. If the support information includes an instruction to prioritize operation, the elevator control system 3A1 may perform control specific to priority users of the elevator, such as slowing down the opening and closing speed of the doors when the elevator car is stopped at the landing on the floor indicated by the support information, similar to the control performed when a landing call button for priority elevator users is operated on the landing.

[0080] The algorithm used for schedule analysis by the objective information acquisition unit 21A may be a so-called rule-based algorithm, or a pre-trained model that has been trained to output predetermined types of objectives when a schedule is input may be used. Alternatively, a large-scale language model (LLM) may be used as the pre-trained model. In this case, the prompt input to the LLM will contain a description of the schedule to be analyzed and a description instructing it to output predetermined types of objectives. A template for this prompt can be stored in memory 106 or the like beforehand. When the objective information acquisition unit 21A performs schedule analysis, it reads the template from memory 106 or the like, embeds a description of the specific schedule to be analyzed into the read template, automatically generates a prompt, inputs the generated prompt to the LLM, and obtains the results of the analysis process from the LLM. The information processing device 2A may use its own LLM, or it may use an LLM provided by an external LLM provider through API (Application Programming Interface) linkage or the like. The same applies when performing schedule analysis in subsequent embodiments.

[0081] (If the management system is a door lock management system) Next, as a second example of the configuration of the information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2, the case in which the equipment controlled by the management system is a door lock will be explained using Figures 7 and 8. As shown in Figure 7, the information processing system 1A includes a door lock management system 3A2 as a management system and a schedule registration system 6.

[0082] The objective information acquisition unit 21A acquires objective information indicating that the target user's purpose is to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires the target user's schedule. The management information acquisition unit 23A acquires the operating status of the door lock as management information from the door lock management system 3A2. The support information generation unit 24A then generates support information to instruct the door lock management system 3A2 to unlock the door at the time it is estimated that the target user will arrive at the room with a door during their movement. In addition, the support information generation unit 24A also generates support information as notification information to inquire about the appropriateness of the support content and transmits it to the target user's information terminal 4. In other words, the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A to instruct the door lock management system 3A2 could be immediately transmitted to the door lock management system 3A2, but here, the transmission of such support information is temporarily withheld and transmitted to the door lock management system 3A2 only after acceptance information is obtained from the information terminal 4.

[0083] Figure 8 is a screen diagram showing an example of a second display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 2. Figure 8A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A as notification information is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. Figure 8A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 404 as notification information. In Figure 8A, support information 404 includes a message asking whether the support is appropriate, such as "Regular meeting at 1610 from 10:30. Shall we unlock the door lock to 1610 at 10:25 to enter the room?", along with a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0084] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. The support information generation unit 24A of the information processing device 2A, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs the support information generation unit 24 according to Embodiment 1 according to the acceptance or rejection information as described above.

[0085] Hereinafter, it is assumed that the support details indicated by support information 404 in Figure 8A have been accepted, and that the support information generation unit 24A generates support information as notification information to further indicate the confirmed support details and transmits it to the information terminal 4.

[0086] Figure 8B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A is information that notifies the target user of the support details. Figure 8B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 8B, the timeline 402 includes the schedule displays 4021, 4022, 4024, 4025, and 4027. The schedule displays 4021, 4022, 4024, and 4025 have already been explained, so their explanation will be omitted. Each schedule display 4027 is support information as notification information. Each schedule display 4027 indicates that at time "10:25", support content "Unlocking the door lock of conference room 1610" will be performed at location "16F / Conference Room 1610".

[0087] The support information generated by the support information generation unit 24A for instructing the door lock management system 3A2 includes information indicating which room's door lock should be unlocked (or locked) and at what time. When the support information generation unit 24A accepts the support request, it transmits the generated support information to the door lock management system 3A2 in order to give instructions to the door lock management system 3A2. Upon receiving the support information from the support information generation unit 24A, the door lock management system 3A2 controls the door locks to unlock (or lock) the door lock of the room indicated by the support information at the time indicated by the support information. In the example above, the door lock management system 3A2 controls the door locks so that the door lock of conference room 1610 is unlocked at 10:25. Furthermore, if the information processing system 1A includes a location tracking system as described later as a management system, the support information generation unit 24A may generate support information that automatically unlocks the door lock when it is determined that the target user has passed through a predetermined area in a passageway or the like leading to a room, based on the target user's location, and transmit the generated support information to the door lock management system 3A2. Furthermore, the door lock management system 3A2 may have known functions, such as unlocking the door by reading the target user's personal information from an IC card or information terminal using a reader installed near the room door, unlocking the door by recognizing the target user's biometric information using a biometric information recognition device installed near the room door and performing biometric authentication, or unlocking the door by entering a PIN into an input device installed near the room door. In other words, the door lock management system 3A2 may be capable of unlocking (or locking) the door even if the above-mentioned support information has not been received. Furthermore, the fact that the target user has unlocked the door and entered the room may be displayed on the timeline 402 on the display screen of the information terminal 4 in a manner similar to, for example, the schedule displays 4021, 4022, etc. in Figure 4B.

[0088] As described above, the information processing device 2A according to Embodiment 2 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21A acquires objective information indicating that the objective is for a target user to move from a first location to a second location within the facility, the personal information acquisition unit 22A acquires the target user's schedule as personal information, the management information acquisition unit 23A acquires the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more management systems that are capable of controlling the equipment, and the support information generation unit 24A generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that the equipment is in an operating state that can support the movement at the time when the movement estimated from the schedule is to take place. More specifically, the information processing device 2A has the advantage of being able to support movement within a facility by utilizing controllable equipment within the facility, for example, when the target user's purpose is to move around the facility.

[0089] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2A according to Embodiment 2, the management information acquisition unit 23A may acquire the operating status of the elevator as management information from the elevator control system 3A1, which is a management system capable of controlling the elevator as equipment, and the support information generation unit 24A may generate support information to instruct the elevator control system 3A1 to have the elevator arrive at the landing where the target user will board the elevator when traveling. More specifically, the information processing device 2A has the advantage of being able to assist in smooth movement, for example, when the target user's purpose is to move around within the facility, by utilizing controllable equipment within the facility, such as elevators.

[0090] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2A according to Embodiment 2, the management information acquisition unit 23A may acquire the operating status of the door lock as management information from the door lock management system 3A2, which is a management system capable of controlling lockable doors as equipment, and the support information generation unit 24A may generate support information to instruct the door lock management system 3A2 to unlock the door at the time it is estimated that the target user will arrive at a room with a door when moving. More specifically, as an advantage of the information processing device 2 described above, information processing device 2A has the advantage of being able to assist in smooth movement to a specific room while ensuring security for that room, for example, when the target user's purpose is to move to a specific room in a facility, by utilizing the door lock of that room, which is a controllable piece of equipment within the facility.

[0091] Furthermore, the information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2 comprises an information processing device 2A, a management system (for example, an elevator control system 3A1 or a door lock management system 3A2), and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of target users or users other than target users are registered. The information processing system 1A according to Embodiment 2 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2A described above.

[0092] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2A according to Embodiment 2 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2A described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 2 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1.

[0093] Embodiment 3. The information processing device 2A of Embodiment 2 generates instructions to a control system for controllable equipment as support information to support the objective. In contrast, the information processing device 2B of Embodiment 3 (see Figure 9) generates instructions to an equipment reservation system 3B, which is a management system capable of managing the use of rooms or equipment as facilities, as support information to support the objective.

[0094] Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing system 1B according to Embodiment 3. The information processing system 1B according to Embodiment 3 comprises at least an information processing device 2B and a facility reservation system 3B as a management system. The information processing system 1B may also have a schedule registration system 6. The information processing device 2B, the facility reservation system 3B, and the schedule registration system 6 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Similarly, the functions of the schedule registration system 6 are the same as those of the schedule registration system 6 according to Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0095] The information processing device 2B comprises a target information acquisition unit 21B, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, a management information acquisition unit 23B, and a support information generation unit 24B. The target information acquisition unit 21B, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, the management information acquisition unit 23B, and the support information generation unit 24B operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21B, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, the management information acquisition unit 23B, and the support information generation unit 24B will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0096] The purpose information acquisition unit 21B acquires purpose information indicating that the target user intends to use a room or equipment as facilities within the facility. The objective information acquisition unit 21B performs the estimation acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the objective information acquisition unit 21B acquires the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, analyzes the acquired schedule to estimate the target user's purpose, and acquires objective information indicating the estimated purpose.

[0097] When the objective information acquisition unit 21B identifies the target user to be supported, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 and retrieves the schedule registered in the schedule registration system 6 and associated with that user ID, based on the target user's user ID. Once the objective information acquisition unit 21B retrieves the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, it analyzes the retrieved schedule and estimates the objective. The purpose of the target user, as estimated by the purpose information acquisition unit 21B through analysis of the target user's schedule, is at least the use of a room or equipment as facilities within the facility.

[0098] Here, we assume that a designated room on a designated floor of an office building is the room where the target user works, and that each seat within that room is a so-called free-address system. The purpose information acquisition unit 21B, for example, if the acquired schedule of a target user indicates that the user is scheduled to go to a designated room within the facility at a certain time, it presumes that the target user has the purpose of reserving a free-address seat in that room, in other words, the purpose of reserving equipment that serves as a seat. The objective information acquisition unit 21B generates objective information indicating the estimated objective, and outputs the generated objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, the management information acquisition unit 23B, and the support information generation unit 24B. A user ID may be added to the objective information. Alternatively, instead of outputting the objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, or in addition to outputting the objective information, the objective information acquisition unit 21B may also output the acquired target user's schedule to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B.

[0099] The personal information acquisition unit 22B acquires the target user's schedule as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22B acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21B, it accesses the schedule registration system 6, for example, and based on the user ID attached to the purpose information, it acquires the schedule registered by the schedule registration system 6 in association with that user ID, thereby acquiring the target user's schedule as personal information. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21B includes multiple types of purpose information, including room or equipment reservations, the personal information acquisition unit 22B may acquire the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6 if the purpose information indicates a room or equipment reservation as the target user's purpose. Alternatively, the personal information acquisition unit 22B may, for example, directly acquire the target user's schedule from the purpose information acquisition unit 21B if the purpose type information included in the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21B is limited to room or equipment reservations. When the personal information acquisition unit 22B acquires the target user's schedule, it outputs the acquired schedule to the support information generation unit 24B.

[0100] The management information acquisition unit 23B acquires information indicating the reservation status of a room or equipment as management information from the equipment reservation system 3B, which is one or more management systems capable of managing the use of rooms or equipment. When the management information acquisition unit 23B acquires objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21B, it acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3B. The equipment from which the management information acquisition unit 23B acquires management information is a room or equipment that can be used by the target user. The room can be of any type. The equipment can also be any type of equipment. As mentioned above, the example of equipment here is a free-address seat. When the management information acquisition unit 23B acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3B, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24B.

[0101] The support information generation unit 24B identifies rooms or equipment that are available during the time period estimated from the schedule, and generates support information for reserving the use of the identified rooms or equipment during that time period. The support information generation unit 24B acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21B indicating that the purpose is to reserve a room or equipment, acquires personal-related information as a schedule from the personal-related information acquisition unit 22B, and acquires management information as information indicating the reservation status of the room or equipment from the management information acquisition unit 23B. Based on the acquired purpose information, schedule, and management information, the support information generation unit 24B generates support information for the equipment reservation system 3B to reserve the use of the room or equipment. Based on the schedule, the support information generation unit 24B can estimate when the intended use will begin, and can generate support information so that the use of the room or equipment is reserved at that estimated time. The support information generation unit 24B may further generate support information as notification information. Here, in addition to generating support information that reserves the use of a room or equipment, the support information generation unit 24B also generates support information as notification information to inquire about the appropriateness of the support content and transmits it to the information terminal 4 of the target user. In other words, the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24B for instructing the equipment reservation system 3B can be immediately transmitted to the equipment reservation system 3B, but here, the transmission of such support information is temporarily withheld and transmitted to the equipment reservation system 3B only after acceptance information is obtained from the information terminal 4.

[0102] Figure 10 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 3. Figure 10A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24B as notification information is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. Figure 10A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 405 as notification information. In Figure 10A, support information 405 includes a message asking whether the support is appropriate, such as "You will be at work at 9:00. Do you want to reserve seat 24 in area A on the 8th floor at 9:00 for business purposes?", and a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0103] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. The support information generation unit 24B of the information processing device 2B, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs the support information generation unit 24 according to Embodiment 1 according to the acceptance or rejection information as described above. In other words, when the support information generation unit 24B receives acceptance information, it confirms the support details and sends support information to the equipment reservation system 3B, etc., to instruct the system that had been holding the support details. The support information generation unit 24B may also generate support information as notification information to indicate the confirmed support details and send it to the information terminal 4. On the other hand, when the support information generation unit 24B receives rejection information, it discards the support information that had been holding the support information to instruct the equipment reservation system 3B. After that, the support information generation unit 24B may, for example, generate support information to reserve a different seat and repeat the same process as described above. In this case, the support information generation unit 24B may also generate support information as notification information to prompt a change in the support details and send it to the information terminal 4. In this case, the target user can operate the information terminal 4 to change seats, etc.

[0104] Hereinafter, it is assumed that the support details indicated by support information 405 in Figure 10A have been accepted, and that the support information generation unit 24B has generated support information as notification information to further indicate the confirmed support details and transmitted it to the information terminal 4.

[0105] Figure 10B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24B is information that notifies the target user of the support details. Figure 10B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 10B, the timeline 402 includes the schedule displays 4024, 4025, 4028Rev, 4029, and 4030. The schedule displays 4024 and 4025 have already been explained, so their explanation will be omitted here. Each schedule display 4028Rev is support information as notification information. Each schedule display 4028 indicates that at the time "9:00", support content "Seat reservation upon arrival at work" has been made for the location "8F / Area A Seat 24". In this example, each schedule display 4028Rev was displayed similarly to 4028 in Figure 12B described later, for example, before the seat reservation was made, but the display changed after the seat reservation was made. Each of the schedule displays, 4029 and 4030, shows the upcoming schedule for the respective user.

[0106] The support information generated by the support information generation unit 24B for instructing the equipment reservation system 3B includes information indicating which room or equipment should be reserved and from what time. When the support information generation unit 24B is approved, it transmits the generated support information to the equipment reservation system 3B in order to give instructions to the equipment reservation system 3B. When the equipment reservation system 3B receives the support information from the support information generation unit 24B, it makes a reservation for the room or equipment indicated in the support information so that the room or equipment indicated in the support information is reserved at the time indicated in the support information. In the example above, the equipment reservation system 3B reserves a seat so that seat 24 in area A on the 8th floor is reserved from 9:00. Rooms with free-address seating may also be used as meeting rooms. If the support information generation unit 24B obtains management information from the equipment reservation system 3B indicating that a room with free-address seating currently in use by the target user has been reserved as a priority meeting room, it may generate support information as notification information to inform the target user of this fact and transmit the generated information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user.

[0107] As described above, the information processing device 2B according to Embodiment 3 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21B acquires objective information indicating the purpose of a target user using a room or equipment as equipment within the facility, the personal information acquisition unit 22B acquires the target user's schedule as personal information, the management information acquisition unit 23B acquires information indicating the reservation status of a room or equipment as management information from an equipment reservation system 3B, which is a management system capable of managing the use of a room or equipment among one or more management systems, and the support information generation unit 24B identifies a room or equipment that is available during the time period in which use is estimated from the schedule, and generates support information for reserving the use of the identified room or equipment during that time period. More specifically, the information processing device 2B has the advantage of supporting the target user's objective, for example, when the target user's objective is to reserve a room or equipment in a facility, by generating support information for automatically reserving available equipment within the facility.

[0108] Furthermore, the information processing system 1B according to Embodiment 3 comprises an information processing device 2B, a facility reservation system 3B as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of target users or users other than target users are registered. The information processing system 1B according to Embodiment 3 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2B described above.

[0109] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2B according to Embodiment 3 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2B described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 3 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2.

[0110] Embodiment 4. The information processing device 2A of Embodiment 2 and the information processing device 2B of Embodiment 3 estimated and acquired target information from the target user's schedule. In contrast, the information processing device 2C of Embodiment 4 (see Figure 11), like the information processing device 2B of Embodiment 3, generates support information for the facility reservation system 3C, which is a management system capable of managing the use of rooms or equipment as facilities. However, it directly acquires purpose information indicating the purpose entered by the target user into the information terminal 4.

[0111] Figure 11 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing system 1C according to Embodiment 4. The information processing system 1C according to Embodiment 4 comprises at least an information processing device 2C and a facility reservation system 3C as a management system. The information processing system 1C may also have a schedule registration system 6. The information processing device 2C, the facility reservation system 3C, and the schedule registration system 6 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 is communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 3, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Similarly, the functions of the schedule registration system 6 are the same as those of the schedule registration system 6 according to Embodiments 1 to 3, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0112] The information processing device 2C comprises a target information acquisition unit 21C, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22C, a management information acquisition unit 23C, and a support information generation unit 24C. The target information acquisition unit 21C, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22C, the management information acquisition unit 23C, and the support information generation unit 24C operate in the same basic manner as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21C, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22C, the management information acquisition unit 23C, and the support information generation unit 24C will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0113] The purpose information acquisition unit 21C acquires purpose information that indicates the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting in which one or more specific users will participate, by the target user. The objective information acquisition unit 21C performs the direct acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the objective information acquisition unit 21C acquires objective information from the information terminal 4 that the target user has entered into the information terminal 4 for the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting.

[0114] The target user can operate the information terminal 4 to input the purpose of coordinating a meeting, including inputting participants and the date of the meeting, and transmit the purpose information to the information processing device 2. For example, information terminal 4 displays a screen for scheduling meetings (hereinafter referred to as the "meeting scheduling screen"), which is not shown in the diagram. The user can enter the names of one or more participants they wish to attend, and the date of the meeting, on the meeting scheduling screen. Here, for example, it is assumed that one or more participants that the target user wishes to attend are all users registered with the objective support service, and their names and user IDs are linked and managed accordingly. In this case, for example, the meeting scheduling screen may display a list of the names of users registered with the objective support service. The target user can select one or more users from the list as participants. The users selected as participants here are the "one or more specific users" mentioned above. In addition, a calendar may be displayed on the meeting scheduling screen. The target user can select the date of the meeting from the calendar.

[0115] Furthermore, the meeting scheduling screen may display a checkbox to specify that the target user should be excluded from the participants. This is because the target user may only be responsible for scheduling the meeting and not participating in it themselves. If the target user is not excluded from the participants, they will also be included in the "one or more specific users" mentioned above. Furthermore, the meeting scheduling screen may include fields for entering information restricting the meeting time slot, information such as the meeting name, and fields for specifying necessary equipment for the meeting. The target user can enter the necessary information in each of these fields. The entered information regarding the restricted time slot and necessary equipment is included in the objective information and used by the subsequent support information generation unit 24C when identifying the meeting time slot. The entered information regarding the meeting name is also included in the objective information and used by the subsequent support information generation unit 24C when generating support information as notification information.

[0116] When a target user operates the information terminal 4 and inputs information such as the participants and the date of the meeting for the purpose of coordinating the meeting, the information transmission unit 41 of the information terminal 4 generates purpose information and transmits the generated purpose information to the information processing device 2C. The purpose information may include supplementary purpose information, such as the user ID of each participant and information indicating the date of the meeting. In addition, information to identify the target user, such as the user ID of the target user, may be added to the purpose information. The purpose information acquisition unit 21C of the information processing device 2C acquires the purpose information transmitted from the information transmission unit 41. Based on the user ID and other information added to the purpose information, the information processing device 2C can identify which target user's purpose the purpose indicated by the purpose information belongs to. When the objective information acquisition unit 21C acquires objective information from the information terminal 4, it outputs the acquired objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22C, the management information acquisition unit 23C, and the support information generation unit 24C. A user ID may be added to the objective information.

[0117] The personal information acquisition unit 22C acquires the schedule of one or more specific users as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22C acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21C, it accesses the schedule registration system 6, for example, and acquires the schedules registered by the schedule registration system 6 in association with each user ID, based on the user IDs of one or more specific users indicated by the purpose information, thereby acquiring the schedules of one or more specific users as personal information. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21C includes multiple types of purpose information, including meeting arrangements, the personal information acquisition unit 22C may acquire the schedules of one or more specific users from the schedule registration system 6 when the purpose information indicates meeting arrangements as the purpose of the target user. When the personal information acquisition unit 22C acquires the schedules of one or more specific users, it outputs the acquired schedules to the support information generation unit 24C.

[0118] The management information acquisition unit 23C acquires information indicating the reservation status of a room or equipment as management information from one or more management systems, specifically from the equipment reservation system 3C, which is a management system capable of managing the use of rooms or equipment as facilities. When the management information acquisition unit 23C acquires objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21C, it acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3C. The equipment from which the management information acquisition unit 23C acquires management information is a room or equipment that can be used by users participating in a meeting. Any type of room or equipment is acceptable as long as it can be used for a meeting. When the management information acquisition unit 23C acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3C, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24C.

[0119] The support information generation unit 24C reserves a room or equipment for use during the time slots estimated to be available for a meeting based on the schedule and reservation status, and generates support information to notify one or more specific users of the meeting. The support information generation unit 24C acquires purpose information, which is output from the purpose information acquisition unit 21C and indicates the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting; acquires personal related information, which is output from the personal related information acquisition unit 22C, as the schedule of one or more specific users; and acquires management information, which is output from the management information acquisition unit 23C, as information indicating the reservation status of a room or equipment. Based on the acquired purpose information, schedule, and management information, the unit identifies a time slot on the meeting date indicated by the purpose information that is available for all one or more specific users to attend and for which a room is available for reservation. The support information generation unit 24C then generates support information for the equipment reservation system 3C to reserve a room or equipment during the time slot it has identified, and also generates support information as notification information to inform one or more specific users that a meeting will be held during the specified time slot on the meeting date. Here, the support information generation unit 24C generates support information as notification information to inquire with the target user about the validity of the meeting start date, time, and location, in addition to the support information, and transmits it to the target user's information terminal 4. In other words, the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24C for instructing the equipment reservation system 3C can be immediately transmitted to the equipment reservation system 3C, and the support information as notification information to notify that a meeting will be held at a specified time on the meeting date can be immediately transmitted to the information terminal 4 used by one or more specific users. However, here, the transmission of this support information is temporarily withheld, and it will be transmitted to the equipment reservation system 3C and the information terminal 4 only after acceptance information is obtained from the information terminal 4 used by the target user.

[0120] Figure 12 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 4. Figure 12A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24C as notification information is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. Figure 12A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 406 as notification information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. It should be assumed that the date on which the user operated the information terminal 4 to input information for the purpose of coordinating the meeting was October 15, 2024. This date is displayed at the top of the display screen 400 in Figure 12A. Support information 406 in Figure 12A includes a message to inquire about the suitability of the support, stating, "A meeting under the specified conditions can be held on 2024 / 10 / 17 from 13:30 to 14:15 in 8F Room 808. Would you like to reserve Conference Room 808 on 8F for 2024 / 10 / 17 from 13:30 to 14:15?", along with a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0121] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2C. The support information generation unit 24C of the information processing device 2C, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs the support information generation unit 24 according to Embodiment 1 according to the acceptance or rejection information as described above. In other words, when the support information generation unit 24C receives acceptance information, it confirms the support details and sends support information to the equipment reservation system 3C, etc., to give instructions to the equipment reservation system 3C that had been on hold, and also sends support information as notification information to the information terminal 4 used by one or more specific users that had been on hold, to notify them of the holding of the meeting. The support information generation unit 24C may further generate support information as notification information to indicate the confirmed support details and send it to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. On the other hand, when the support information generation unit 24C receives rejection information, it discards the support information for giving instructions to the equipment reservation system 3C that had been on hold and the support information as notification information to notify the information terminal 4 used by one or more specific users of the holding of the meeting. After that, the support information generation unit 24C may, for example, generate support information to hold a meeting at a new time slot or conference room and repeat the same process as described above. In this case, the support information generation unit 24C may generate support information as notification information to prompt a change in the support details and send it to the information terminal 4. In this case, the user can operate the information terminal 4 to change the meeting date or participants, etc.

[0122] Hereafter, it is assumed that the support details indicated by support information 406 in Figure 12A have been accepted, and the support information generation unit 24C generates support information as notification information to further indicate the confirmed support details and transmits it to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. In this case, the target user is also assumed to be one or more specific users, i.e., one of the participants in the meeting.

[0123] Figure 12B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24C is information notifying the target user of the support content, i.e., the holding of a meeting. Here, the date on which the target user operates the information terminal 4 to input information for the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting is, as described above, October 15, 2024, and on that day, the target user is viewing the schedule for October 17, 2024, displayed on the display device of the information terminal 4. Figure 12B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402 for October 17, 2024. In the example shown in Figure 12B, the timeline 402 includes each scheduled event display 4024, 4025, 4028-4030. Each of the scheduled events displayed (4024, 4025, 4028, 4030) shows an upcoming schedule that the user has registered themselves. Each schedule display 4029 is support information as notification information. Each schedule display 4029 indicates that a "company study session" will be held at the time "13:30-14:15" in "8F / 808 conference room".

[0124] The support information generated by the support information generation unit 24C for instructing the equipment reservation system 3C includes information indicating which room or equipment should be reserved and from what time. When the support information generation unit 24C is approved, it transmits the generated support information to the equipment reservation system 3C in order to give instructions to the equipment reservation system 3C. Upon receiving the support information from the support information generation unit 24C, the equipment reservation system 3C reserves a room or equipment so that the room or equipment indicated in the support information is reserved at the time indicated in the support information. In the example above, the equipment reservation system 3C reserves a room, which is a conference room, so that conference room 808 on the 8th floor is reserved for the time period from 13:30 to 14:15. Furthermore, the support information generation unit 24C transmits support information, which is generated as notification information to notify that a meeting will be held during a specified time slot on the day of the meeting, to one or more specific users' information terminals 4. When each information terminal 4 receives the support information from the support information generation unit 24C, it displays the support information on its respective display device.

[0125] The support information generation unit 24C may, after first identifying a time slot in which one or more specific users can participate and a room is available for reservation, generate support information as notification information to inquire with one or more specific users other than the target user, or one or more specific users including the target user, about the suitability of the meeting start date, time, and location, and send it to each user's information terminal 4. Each user, considering their own convenience, operates the "YES" button if they agree to hold a meeting at that date, time, and location, and the "NO" button if they do not agree. Information based on these operations is sent to the support information generation unit 24C of the information processing device 2C, and only if all participants operate the "YES" operation, support information such as instructing the equipment reservation system 3C to reserve a meeting room at that date, time, and location may be generated. Furthermore, if all meeting rooms within the facility are unavailable at the specified date and time, the support information generation unit 24C may search for available meeting rooms outside the facility, generate support information as notification to propose holding the meeting in an available meeting room, and transmit it to the information terminal 4 used by the target user.

[0126] As described above, the information processing device 2C according to Embodiment 4 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21C acquires objective information that indicates the purpose of coordinating the holding of a meeting in which one or more specific users will participate, the personal information acquisition unit 22C acquires the schedule of one or more specific users as personal information, the management information acquisition unit 23C acquires information indicating the reservation status of a room or equipment as management information from an equipment reservation system 3C, which is a management system capable of managing the use of a room or equipment as equipment among one or more management systems, and the support information generation unit 24C reserves the use of a room or equipment during a time period in which a meeting can be held, estimated based on the schedule and reservation status, and generates support information to notify one or more specific users of the holding of the meeting. More specifically, the information processing device 2C has the advantage of supporting the target user's objective, for example, when the target user's objective is to coordinate the holding of a meeting. This is achieved by identifying a time slot that is available for all one or more specific users to attend and for which the equipment is available, based on the schedule and reservation status; automatically reserving the equipment; and generating support information to notify each user of the meeting.

[0127] Furthermore, the information processing system 1C according to Embodiment 4 comprises an information processing device 2C, a facility reservation system 3C as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of target users or users other than target users are registered. The information processing system 1C according to Embodiment 4 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2C described above.

[0128] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2C according to Embodiment 4 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2C described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 4 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 3.

[0129] Embodiment 5. Information processing devices 2A to 2C of Embodiments 2 to 4 all generate support information to help the target user execute the schedule as intended. In contrast, information processing device 2D of Embodiment 5 (see Figure 13) generates support information to modify the schedule intended by the target user, taking into account the status of the facility, as support information to support the objective.

[0130] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing system 1D according to Embodiment 5. The information processing system 1D according to Embodiment 5 comprises at least an information processing device 2D and a location tracking system 3D as a management system. The information processing system 1D may also have a schedule registration system 6. The information processing device 2D, the location tracking system 3D, and the schedule registration system 6 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 4, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Similarly, the functions of the schedule registration system 6 are the same as those of the schedule registration system 6 according to Embodiments 1 to 4, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0131] The information processing device 2D comprises a target information acquisition unit 21D, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22D, a management information acquisition unit 23D, and a support information generation unit 24D. The target information acquisition unit 21D, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22D, the management information acquisition unit 23D, and the support information generation unit 24D operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21D, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22D, the management information acquisition unit 23D, and the support information generation unit 24D will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0132] The purpose information acquisition unit 21D acquires purpose information indicating that the target user intends to participate in the meeting. The purpose information acquisition unit 21D performs the estimation acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the purpose information acquisition unit 21D acquires the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, analyzes the acquired schedule to estimate the purpose of the target user's participation in the meeting, and acquires purpose information indicating the estimated purpose.

[0133] When the objective information acquisition unit 21D identifies the target user to be supported, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 and retrieves the schedule registered in the schedule registration system 6 and associated with that user ID, based on the target user's user ID. Once the objective information acquisition unit 21D retrieves the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, it analyzes the retrieved schedule and estimates the objective. The purpose information acquisition unit 21D estimates, by analyzing the target user's schedule, that the target user's purpose is, at a minimum, participation in a meeting.

[0134] The purpose information acquisition unit 21D, for example, if the acquired schedule of a target user indicates that the user has an intention to attend a meeting at a certain time, it will presume that the target user has an intention to attend that meeting. Even if participation in a meeting is registered in the schedule, there is still a possibility that the target user will not actually attend the meeting, although it is generally considered that the likelihood of participation is high. Therefore, the "presumption" in this case is a highly accurate presumption and is close to "specification." The objective information acquisition unit 21D generates objective information indicating the estimated objective, and outputs the generated objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22D, the management information acquisition unit 23D, and the support information generation unit 24D. A user ID may be added to the objective information. Alternatively, instead of outputting the objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22D, or in addition to outputting the objective information, the objective information acquisition unit 21D may also output the acquired target user's schedule to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22D.

[0135] The personal information acquisition unit 22D acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22D acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21D, it may, for example, access the schedule registration system 6 and acquire the schedules of one or more unspecified users from the schedule registration system 6, thereby acquiring the schedules of those one or more unspecified users as personal information. The one or more unspecified users may include the target user. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21D includes multiple types of purpose information, including participation in a meeting, the personal information acquisition unit 22D may acquire the schedules of one or more unspecified users from the schedule registration system 6 if the purpose information indicates participation in a meeting as the target user's purpose. When the personal information acquisition unit 22D acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users, it outputs the acquired schedules to the support information generation unit 24D.

[0136] The management information acquisition unit 23D acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system 3D, which is a management system capable of tracking the location of one or more unspecified users among one or more management systems. Here, the location tracking system 3D is a management system that tracks the location of each user within the facility. The location of each user can be determined, for example, by obtaining location information of the information terminal 4 itself detected by the information terminal 4 carried by each user, obtaining the location of the desktop PC that each user logs into and uses with their assigned login ID, or obtaining information about the room or area where each person is located from a known access control system. The 3D location tracking system may simply store the current location information of each user within the facility, or it may also store the location information of each user's past locations, linked to the time information, as a history. When the management information acquisition unit 23D acquires objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21D, it acquires management information from the location tracking system 3D. When the management information acquisition unit 23D acquires management information from the location tracking system 3D, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24D.

[0137] The support information generation unit 24D generates support information to notify of proposed meeting schedule changes that can avoid congestion of equipment within the facility, based on schedule and location information. The support information generation unit 24D acquires purpose information, which indicates participation in a meeting as its purpose, output from the purpose information acquisition unit 21D; personal related information, which is the schedule of one or more unspecified users, output from the personal related information acquisition unit 22D; and management information, which is the location information of one or more unspecified users, output from the management information acquisition unit 23D. Based on the schedule and management information, it estimates the facilities within the building and the time periods that will be crowded from the present moment onward. This estimation process is hereinafter referred to as the "congestion estimation process." The management information acquisition unit 23D also considers the results of the congestion estimation process and, based on the purpose information, schedule, and management information, generates a proposal for schedule changes to avoid congestion by changing the time period, location, or both of the meeting, which is the purpose indicated by the purpose information, and generates support information as notification information to notify the recipient of that proposal. When generating this proposed change, the support information generation unit 24D identifies users who will participate in the aforementioned meeting along with the target user, based on the schedules of one or more unspecified users, and generates a schedule that can be modified for all of the identified users. The support information generated by the support information generation unit 24D as notification information is intended to be transmitted to the information terminal 4 used by the target user and all of the identified users mentioned above (hereinafter, including the target user, referred to as "all users participating in the meeting").

[0138] The congestion estimation algorithm performed by the support information generation unit 24D may be a so-called rule-based algorithm, or a pre-trained model that has been trained to output the equipment within the facility that will be congested from the present time onward and its time slots may be used. Alternatively, an LLM may be used as the pre-trained model. In this case, the prompt input to the LLM includes the schedule itself or a description specifying the schedule, management information as location information or a description specifying said management information, and a description instructing the LLM to output the equipment within the facility that will be congested from the present time onward and its time slots. A template for this prompt can be stored in advance in memory 106 or the like. When the support information generation unit 24D executes the congestion estimation process, it reads the template from memory 106 or the like, automatically generates a prompt by embedding the schedule and location information descriptions into the read template, inputs the generated prompt to the LLM, and obtains the results of the analysis process from the LLM. The information processing device 2D may use its own LLM, or it may use an LLM provided by an external LLM provider through API integration or the like.

[0139] Figure 14 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 5. Figure 14A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24D as notification information is information for inquiring about the appropriateness of the support provided to all users participating in the meeting. Figure 14A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 407 as notification information. In Figure 14A, support information 407 includes a message asking whether the support is appropriate, such as, "How about changing the in-house study session from 13:30 and lunch from 12:00-12:45 to a lunch meeting from 11:45-12:30? This will avoid congestion and allow us to use our time more efficiently." It also includes a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0140] Each user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support offer, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. When the "YES" button is pressed by a user, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and when the "NO" button is pressed, it generates rejection information, and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. Upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, the support information generation unit 24D of the information processing device 2D then performs processing according to the acceptance or rejection information. If the support information generation unit 24D receives acceptance information from all users participating in the meeting, it confirms the support details, generates support information as notification information to inform all users participating in the meeting that their schedules will be changed to the proposed schedule, and transmits it to the information terminal 4 used by each user participating in the meeting. On the other hand, if the support information generation unit 24D receives rejection information from some of the users participating in the meeting, for example, it will not change the schedule to the proposed schedule. In this case, the support information generation unit 24D may generate support information as notification information to inform all users that the schedule was not changed, and transmit it to the information terminal 4 used by each user participating in the meeting.

[0141] Hereinafter, we assume that the support information 407 shown in Figure 14A has been accepted by all meeting participants, and that the support information generation unit 24D further generates support information as notification to inform all meeting participants that their schedules will be changed to the proposed schedule, and transmits this information to each of the information terminals 4 used by each meeting participant. Figure 14B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 used by the target user in this case. Figure 14B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 14B, the timeline 402 includes each schedule display 4022, 4024, 4025Rev, 4029Rev, and 4030. Each of the scheduled events, 4022 and 4024, indicates an action already taken by the target user or information from the past relative to the present time, and is displayed in gray to make this clear. Each schedule display, 4025Rev, and 4029Rev, shows the schedule as it was changed by the support information. As shown in support information 407 in Figure 14A, the original lunch was from 12:00-12:45, but the time slot was changed to 11:45-12:30, and it became a lunch meeting that also served as an in-house study session. Therefore, each schedule display, 4025Rev, shows that the support content, "Lunch and In-House Study Session," will be held at "30F / Restaurant B" during the time slot "11:45-12:30." On the other hand, each schedule display, 4029Rev, is displayed in gray as it was before the change, to clearly indicate that the in-house study session during that time slot has been changed to a lunch meeting. Each schedule display (4030) shows the target user's upcoming schedule.

[0142] Furthermore, if Restaurant B is available for reservation during lunchtime and the information processing device 2 can access Restaurant B's reservation system, the support information generation unit 24D may access Restaurant B's reservation system, register a reservation for the aforementioned in-house study session lunch meeting, generate support information as notification to that effect, and transmit it to the information terminal 4 used by all users participating in the meeting.

[0143] As described above, the information processing device 2D according to Embodiment 5 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21D acquires objective information indicating that the target user intends to participate in a meeting, the personal information acquisition unit 22D acquires the schedule of one or more unspecified users as personal information, the management information acquisition unit 23D acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system 3D, which is a management system capable of knowing the location of one or more unspecified users from among one or more management systems, and the support information generation unit 24D generates support information to notify of a proposal to change the meeting schedule that can avoid congestion of equipment within the facility, based on the schedule and location information. More specifically, the information processing device 2D has the advantage of supporting the target user's objective while avoiding congestion in the facility's equipment, for example, when the target user's objective is to attend a meeting, by generating support information to notify the user of a suggestion to change the meeting schedule in order to avoid congestion in the facility's equipment.

[0144] Furthermore, the information processing system 1D according to Embodiment 5 comprises an information processing device 2D, a location tracking system 3D as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of the target user or users other than the target user are registered. The information processing system 1D according to Embodiment 5 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2D described above.

[0145] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2D according to Embodiment 5 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2D described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 5 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 4.

[0146] Embodiment 6. Information processing devices 2A to 2D in Embodiments 2 to 5 all supported the scheduling of a target user or a specified user. In contrast, information processing device 2E in Embodiment 6 (see Figures 15 and 16) generates information to support the objective, enabling the target user to find other users who align with their intentions and to make requests to those users.

[0147] (Example of configuration 1) First, a first configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6 will be described. Figure 15 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6. The first configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 5 includes at least an information processing device 2E and a location tracking system 3E as a management system. The information processing system 1E may also include a schedule registration system 6. The information processing device 2E, the location tracking system 3E, and the schedule registration system 6 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 5, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Similarly, the functions of the schedule registration system 6 are the same as those of the schedule registration system 6 according to Embodiments 1 to 5, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0148] The information processing device 2E comprises a target information acquisition unit 21E, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22E, a management information acquisition unit 23E, and a support information generation unit 24E. The target information acquisition unit 21E, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22E, the management information acquisition unit 23E, and the support information generation unit 24E operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21E, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22E, the management information acquisition unit 23E, and the support information generation unit 24E will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0149] The objective information acquisition unit 21E acquires objective information that indicates a request made by the target user to one or more unspecified users. The objective information acquisition unit 21E performs the direct acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the objective information acquisition unit 21E acquires objective information from the information terminal 4 that the target user has entered into the information terminal 4, which indicates that the purpose is to make a request to one or more unspecified users.

[0150] The target user can operate the information terminal 4 to input a request for one or more unspecified users, including the details of the request, and transmit the purpose information indicating that purpose to the information processing device 2. For example, information terminal 4 displays a request screen (hereinafter referred to as the "request screen") which is not shown in the diagram. The target user can enter the details of the request and the number of users to whom the target user wishes to make a request on the request screen. Here, for example, it is assumed that all users to whom the target user wishes to make a request are users who are already registered with the purpose support service, and whose names and user IDs are linked and managed accordingly. All of these users fall under the category of "one or more unspecified users" as described above.

[0151] The request screen includes a field for entering the request details. This field may be for text input of requests written in natural language, such as "a quick consultation," "someone to brainstorm with about a proposal for XX," or "carrying luggage," or it may display a selection of typical request options, or it may have both. Furthermore, the request screen will include a field for entering the number of people making the request. This field may be for entering a number, or it may display a selection of numbers, or it may have both features. Furthermore, the request screen may include a field for entering the desired time slot. This field should allow the user to enter the start and end times of the time slot, and may also display options such as "within 10 minutes," "within 30 minutes," "within 1 hour," or "immediately."

[0152] When a target user operates the information terminal 4 and inputs a request that includes inputting the request details and the number of people to be served, the information transmission unit 41 of the information terminal 4 generates purpose information and transmits the generated purpose information to the information processing device 2E. The purpose information may include supplementary purpose information such as the request details, the number of people to be served, the desired time slot for the request, and the conditions of the user wishing to make the request. In addition, information to identify the target user, such as the user ID of the target user, may be added to the purpose information. The purpose information acquisition unit 21E of the information processing device 2E acquires the purpose information transmitted from the information transmission unit 41. Based on the user ID and other information added to the purpose information, the information processing device 2E can identify which target user's purpose the purpose indicated by the purpose information belongs to. When the objective information acquisition unit 21E acquires objective information from the information terminal 4, it outputs the acquired objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22E, the management information acquisition unit 23E, and the support information generation unit 24E. A user ID may be added to the objective information.

[0153] The personal information acquisition unit 22E acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22E acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21E, it may, for example, access the schedule registration system 6 and acquire the schedules of one or more unspecified users from the schedule registration system 6, thereby acquiring the schedules of those one or more unspecified users as personal information. The one or more unspecified users may include the target user. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21E includes multiple types of purpose information, including requests, the personal information acquisition unit 22E may acquire the schedules of one or more unspecified users from the schedule registration system 6 if the purpose information indicates a request as the purpose of the target user. When the personal information acquisition unit 22E acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users, it outputs the acquired schedules to the support information generation unit 24E.

[0154] The management information acquisition unit 23E acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system 3E, which is a management system capable of tracking the location of one or more unspecified users among one or more management systems. Here, the location tracking system 3E is a management system that tracks the location of each user within the facility. Since the location tracking system 3E has the same functions as the location tracking system 3D according to Embodiment 5, a detailed explanation will be omitted. When the management information acquisition unit 23E acquires the objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21E, it acquires management information from the location tracking system 3E. When the management information acquisition unit 23E acquires management information from the location tracking system 3E, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24E.

[0155] The support information generation unit 24E generates support information to notify users who are capable of responding to the request, based on the estimated schedule and location information. The support information generation unit 24E acquires objective information indicating the purpose of a request output from the objective information acquisition unit 21E, acquires personal related information as schedules of one or more unspecified users output from the personal related information acquisition unit 22E, and acquires management information as location information of one or more unspecified users output from the management information acquisition unit 23E. Based on the schedules and management information, it estimates which users are capable of handling the request. Hereinafter, this estimation process is referred to as the "responder estimation process." The management information acquisition unit 23E then generates support information as notification information to notify the users estimated to be capable of handling the request of the content of the request from the target user.

[0156] The algorithm used by the support information generation unit 24E for estimating the person who can respond may be a so-called rule-based algorithm, or a pre-trained model that has been trained to identify and output a user capable of responding to a request when given objective information including the request details and the schedule and location information of one or more unspecified users as input may be used. Alternatively, an LLM may be used as the pre-trained model. In this case, the prompt input to the LLM includes a description of the objective information, the schedules of one or more unspecified users themselves or a description specifying those schedules, management information as location information or a description specifying said management information, and a description instructing the LLM to identify and output a user capable of responding to the request details included in the objective information. A template for this prompt can be stored in advance in memory 106 or the like. When the support information generation unit 24E executes the person who can respond, it reads the template from memory 106 or the like, embeds the descriptions of the objective information, schedule and location information into the read template to automatically generate a prompt, inputs the generated prompt to the LLM, and obtains the results of the analysis process from the LLM. The information processing device 2E may use its own LLM, or it may use an LLM provided by an external LLM provider through API integration or the like.

[0157] (Second example configuration) Next, a second configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6 will be described. The second configuration example is adopted in which the support information generation unit 24E takes into account the attributes of each user when performing the person-to-response estimation process. For example, depending on the nature of the request from the target user, there may be cases where only users with specific attributes can handle the request, or where it is preferable for users with specific attributes to handle the request. Furthermore, for example, the request screen mentioned above may include a field where the target user can enter conditions for the user they wish to request. This field may be for text input of conditions described in natural language, such as "someone on the XXth floor" or "someone who is good at XX," or it may display a selection of typical conditions, or it may have both. Depending on the conditions entered by the target user, only users with specific attributes may meet those conditions. In these cases, adopting the second configuration example is effective.

[0158] Figure 16 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6. The second configuration example of the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 5 includes an attribute information registration system 7 in addition to the first configuration example. In the second configuration example, the information processing device 2E, the location tracking system 3E, the schedule registration system 6, and the attribute information registration system 7 are connected to each other via the network 5 so that they can communicate with one another. The attribute information registration system 7 is a system for registering attribute information that indicates the attributes of target users and users other than target users. The attribute information registration system 7 includes, for example, a server computer. The attribute information registration system 7 may be an existing system that provides attribute information registration services, or, as described above, the function of providing attribute information registration services in the attribute information registration system 7 may be provided by the information processing device 2. Attribute information indicating each user's attributes may be partially registered by the user's employer (for example, personnel-related information), or partially or entirely registered by the user. For example, a target user operates their own information terminal 4 and inputs their attributes into the information terminal 4. When the user inputs attributes, the information terminal 4 transmits attribute information indicating the input attributes to the attribute information registration system 7. A user ID may be attached to the attribute information. The attribute information registration system 7 acquires the attribute information transmitted from the information terminal 4 and identifies the user based on the user ID attached to the acquired attributes. If there is already registered attribute information for that user, the attribute information registration system 7 updates the user's attribute information based on the acquired attribute information. If there is no already registered attribute information for that user, the attribute information registration system 7 registers new attribute information for that user based on the acquired attribute information.

[0159] The following describes the differences between the second configuration example and the first configuration example, specifically that the second configuration example includes an attribute information registration system 7 in addition to the first configuration example. The functions of the objective information acquisition unit 21E and the management information acquisition unit 23E in the second configuration example are the same as those of the objective information acquisition unit 21E and the management information acquisition unit 23E in the first configuration example, so their explanation is omitted. In the second configuration example, the personal information acquisition unit 22E acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users, and further acquires attribute information of one or more unspecified users as personal information. In other words, when the personal information acquisition unit 22E acquires the target information from the target information acquisition unit 21E, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 to acquire the schedules of one or more unspecified users from the schedule registration system 6, and further accesses the attribute information registration system 7 to acquire the attribute information of the said one or more unspecified users from the attribute information registration system 7. The personal information acquisition unit 22E outputs the acquired schedules and attribute information to the support information generation unit 24E.

[0160] In the second configuration example, the support information generation unit 24E generates support information to notify users who are capable of handling the request, based on the schedule, location information, and attribute information. The responder estimation process by the support information generation unit 24E in the second configuration example is the same as the responder estimation process by the support information generation unit 24E in the first configuration example, except that attribute information is taken into consideration, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0161] The following explanation is common to both the first and second configuration examples. In this configuration, the support information generation unit 24E in the first or second configuration example generates support information as notification information to notify users who are presumed to be able to respond to the request. Furthermore, it also generates support information as notification information to inquire with the target user about the validity of the user who is presumed to be able to respond to the request, and transmits this information to the target user's information terminal 4. In other words, the support information as notification information generated by the support information generation unit 24E to notify users who are presumed to be able to respond to the request can be immediately transmitted to the information terminal 4 used by the user in question. However, in this configuration, the transmission of this support information is temporarily withheld, and only after acceptance information is obtained from the information terminal 4 used by the target user is it transmitted to the information terminal 4 used by the user who is presumed to be able to respond to the request.

[0162] Figure 17 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 6. Figure 17A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24E as notification information is information for inquiring with the target user about the appropriateness of the support content. Figure 17A shows the display screen 400 and the support information 408 as notification information. In Figure 17A, support information 407 includes a message to inquire about the appropriateness of the support request, which reads, "Ms. C can handle the specified request from 13:00 to 13:20. Shall we schedule an appointment for 13:00 to 13:20?", along with a "YES" button to indicate acceptance and a "NO" button to indicate rejection.

[0163] The target user operates the "YES" button if they accept the support, and the "NO" button if they do not accept it. If the target user operates the "YES" button, the information terminal 4 generates acceptance information, and if the "NO" button is operated, it generates rejection information and transmits either of the generated pieces of information to the information processing device 2. The support information generation unit 24E of the information processing device 2E, upon receiving the acceptance or rejection information, then performs processing according to the acceptance or rejection information. If the support information generation unit 24E receives acceptance information from the target user, it confirms the support details and sends support information as notification information to the information terminal 4 used by the user, to notify users who are estimated to be able to handle the pending request. On the other hand, if the support information generation unit 24E receives rejection information, it discards the pending support information. Subsequently, the support information generation unit 24E may, for example, automatically relax various conditions to estimate another user who can handle the request, generate support information, and repeat the same process as described above. In this case, the support information generation unit 24E may also generate support information as notification information to prompt a change in the support details and send it to the information terminal 4. In this case, the target user can operate the information terminal 4 to change conditions such as the time of the request, the number of people in the request, or the users the target user wishes to request help from.

[0164] Hereinafter, it is assumed that the support information 408 shown in Figure 17A has been accepted, and the support information generation unit 24E generates support information as notification information to show the further confirmed support details and transmits it to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. Figure 17B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 used by the target user in this case. Figure 17B shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 17B, the timeline 402 includes each schedule display 4024, 4025, 4029-4031. Each of the scheduled events, 4024 and 4025, indicates an action already performed by the user or is past information from the current time, and is displayed in gray to make this clear. Each schedule display 4031 indicates a schedule added based on support information. Each schedule display 4031 indicates that the support item "Request to Ms. C" can be requested at the time "13:00-13:20" in the location "8F / 808 Conference Room". The schedule entries 4029 and 4030 indicate the upcoming schedules of the target user.

[0165] As described above, the information processing device 2E according to Embodiment 6 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21E acquires objective information indicating the purpose of a request made by a target user to one or more unspecified users, the personal related information acquisition unit 22E acquires the schedule of one or more unspecified users as personal related information, the management information acquisition unit 23E acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system 3E, which is a management system capable of knowing the location of one or more unspecified users among one or more management systems, and the support information generation unit 24E generates support information for notifying users who are capable of responding to the request estimated based on the schedule and location information. More specifically, the information processing device 2E has the advantage of supporting the target user's objective, for example, when the target user's objective is to make a request to one or more unspecified users, by estimating which users can respond to the request and generating support information to notify those users of the request.

[0166] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2E according to Embodiment 6, the personal information acquisition unit 22E may further acquire attribute information for one or more unspecified users as personal information, and the support information generation unit 24E may generate support information for notifying users who are estimated to be able to respond to the request based on the schedule, location information, and attribute information. In this case, the information processing device 2E, as an advantage of the information processing device 2 described above, can, more specifically, for example, when the target user's objective is to make a request to one or more unspecified users, estimate which users can respond to the request by considering each user's attribute information in addition to each user's schedule and location information, and generate support information to notify those users of the request. As a result, the information processing device 2E has the advantage of being able to estimate which users are more suitable to respond to the content of the request from the target user, and to support the target user's objective more appropriately.

[0167] Furthermore, the information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6 comprises an information processing device 2E, a location tracking system 3E as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of the target user or users other than the target user are registered. The information processing system 1E according to Embodiment 6 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2E described above.

[0168] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2E according to Embodiment 6 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2E described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 6 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 5.

[0169] Embodiment 7. Information processing devices 2A to 2E in Embodiments 2 to 6 all generate support information that assists with purposes related to the schedules of the target user or users other than the target user. In contrast, information processing device 2F in Embodiment 7 (see Figure 18) generates support information when the target user aims to interact with other users.

[0170] Figure 18 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing system 1F according to Embodiment 7. The information processing system 1F according to Embodiment 7 comprises at least an information processing device 2F and a location tracking system 3F as a management system. The information processing system 1F may also have an attribute information registration system 7. The information processing device 2F, the location tracking system 3F, and the attribute information registration system 7 are communicated with each other via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be communicated with the network 5. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 6, so a detailed explanation is omitted. Similarly, the functions of the attribute information registration system 7 are the same as those of the attribute information registration system 7 according to Embodiment 6, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0171] The information processing device 2F comprises a target information acquisition unit 21F, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22F, a management information acquisition unit 23F, and a support information generation unit 24F. The target information acquisition unit 21F, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22F, the management information acquisition unit 23F, and the support information generation unit 24F operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21F, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22F, the management information acquisition unit 23F, and the support information generation unit 24F will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0172] The objective information acquisition unit 21F acquires objective information indicating that the target user intends to interact with one or more unspecified users. The objective information acquisition unit 21F performs the estimation acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the objective information acquisition unit 21F acquires the attribute information of the target user from the attribute information registration system 7, analyzes the acquired attribute information to estimate the purpose of interaction between the target user and one or more unspecified users, and acquires objective information indicating the estimated purpose.

[0173] When the objective information acquisition unit 21F identifies the target user to be supported, it accesses the attribute information registration system 7 and retrieves attribute information registered in the attribute information registration system 7 that is associated with that user ID, based on the target user's user ID. After obtaining the target user's attribute information from the attribute information registration system 7, the objective information acquisition unit 21F analyzes the retrieved attribute information and estimates the purpose of interaction with one or more unspecified users.

[0174] The purpose information acquisition unit 21F, for example, if the acquired attribute information of the target user includes attributes such as hobbies, interests, or things to consult about, it will presume that the target user has the purpose of interacting with one or more unspecified users. As described above, for example, if the attributes are the target user's hobbies, interests, or things to consult about, the attribute information indicating these attributes is registered in the attribute information registration system 7 at the target user's discretion. If the target user has registered these attributes in the attribute information registration system 7, it is highly likely that the target user has a desire, for example, to talk to a user who shares the same hobbies or interests, or to consult a user who has expertise in their own matters. For this reason, in such cases, the purpose information acquisition unit 21F makes the assumption that the target user has the purpose of interacting with one or more unspecified users.

[0175] When a user, such as a target user, operates their own information terminal 4 to register attribute information in the attribute information registration system 7, an attribute input screen (hereinafter referred to as the "attribute input screen"), not shown in the diagram, is displayed on the information terminal 4. The attribute input screen is provided with input fields for each type of attribute, such as a field for entering hobbies, a field for entering interests, and a field for entering questions. After the user operates the information terminal 4 to enter attributes, when the information terminal 4 transmits the attribute information to the attribute information registration system 7, the attribute information includes information to distinguish each item (hobbies, interests, or questions) and the attribute content for each item entered by the user, linked together. Therefore, the attribute information registration system 7 also registers attribute information for each item along with information to distinguish the items, and the attribute information of the target user obtained from the attribute information registration system 7 also includes attribute information for each item along with information to distinguish the items. As a result, the objective information acquisition unit 21F can infer that the user has the purpose of interacting with one or more unspecified users if the information used to distinguish items in the attribute information acquired from the attribute information registration system 7 indicates, for example, hobbies, interests, or matters to discuss, and if attribute information exists for at least one of these items. In this case, the estimation algorithm used by the objective information acquisition unit 21F is a so-called rule-based algorithm. Furthermore, the purpose information acquisition unit 21F may make an assumption that the target user has the purpose of interacting with one or more unspecified users if any attribute information other than hobbies, interests, or matters to be discussed exists. The objective information acquisition unit 21F generates objective information indicating the estimated objective, and outputs the generated objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22F, the management information acquisition unit 23F, and the support information generation unit 24F. A user ID may be added to the objective information. Furthermore, the target information acquisition unit 21F may output the attribute information of the target user obtained from the attribute information registration system 7 to the personal information acquisition unit 22F.

[0176] The personal information acquisition unit 22F acquires attribute information for the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal information. When the Personal Information Acquisition Unit 22F acquires the objective information from the Objective Information Acquisition Unit 21F, it accesses the Attribute Information Registration System 7 and acquires the attribute information of one or more unspecified users from the Attribute Information Registration System 7, thereby acquiring the attribute information of those one or more unspecified users as Personal Information. The one or more unspecified users may include the target user. If the Personal Information Acquisition Unit 22F acquires the attribute information of the target user from the Objective Information Acquisition Unit 21F, the one or more unspecified users here do not need to include the target user. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21F includes multiple types of purpose information, including interaction, the personal information acquisition unit 22F may acquire attribute information of one or more unspecified users from the attribute information registration system 7 if the purpose information indicates interaction as the purpose of the target user. When the personal information acquisition unit 22F acquires attribute information for one or more unspecified users, it outputs the acquired attribute information to the support information generation unit 24F.

[0177] The management information acquisition unit 23F acquires location information as management information from a location tracking system 3F, which is one or more management systems capable of tracking the location of the target user and one or more unspecified users. Here, the location tracking system 3F is a management system that tracks the location of each user within the facility. Since the position tracking system 3F has the same functions as the position tracking system 3D according to Embodiment 5, a detailed explanation will be omitted. When the management information acquisition unit 23F acquires the target information from the target information acquisition unit 21F, it acquires management information from the location tracking system 3F. When the management information acquisition unit 23F acquires management information from the location tracking system 3F, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24F.

[0178] The support information generation unit 24F determines, based on location information, that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance. Based on the attribute information of the user whose location has been determined to be close to the target user, the attribute information of the target user, and predetermined matching conditions, it performs a matching determination to determine whether or not there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two users. If a relationship is determined in the matching determination, it generates support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination. The support information generation unit 24F acquires purpose information, which indicates the purpose of interacting with one or more unspecified users, output from the purpose information acquisition unit 21F; acquires personal related information, which is attribute information of the target user and one or more unspecified users, output from the personal related information acquisition unit 22F; and acquires management information, which is location information of the target user and one or more unspecified users, output from the management information acquisition unit 23F. First, based on the location information, it determines that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance (hereinafter referred to as "proximity determination").

[0179] The predetermined distance used in proximity determination is set to a value of approximately 10 to 50 meters. If the predetermined distance is, for example, 10 meters, the support information generation unit 24F determines that the two users are approaching within the predetermined distance if the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user are on the same floor and the distance between the two users is within 10 meters. Furthermore, in proximity determination, the support information generation unit 24F may determine that, for example, if the location of any of the one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user are on the same floor, the two users are approaching within a predetermined distance; or if the locations of both users are in the same room, the two users are approaching within a predetermined distance.

[0180] When the support information generation unit 24F determines that both users have approached each other within a predetermined distance during proximity determination, it then performs a matching determination to determine whether there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two approaching users and predetermined matching conditions. The matching conditions are defined, for example, that the two users have common or similar hobbies, that the two users have common or similar interests, that one user possesses attributes related to the target user's interests, or that the other user possesses attributes related to the target user's concerns.

[0181] The matching determination algorithm used by the support information generation unit 24F may be a so-called rule-based algorithm, or a pre-trained model may be used. This model is pre-trained based on pairs of attribute information for multiple users and the determination results based on matching conditions for those pairs. The model is trained to output a determination result indicating whether the matching conditions are met (i.e., whether the attribute information of both users is related) when the attribute information of both users is input. Alternatively, an LLM may be used as the pre-trained model. In this case, the prompt input to the LLM includes a description of the attribute information of both users, a description of the matching conditions, and a description instructing the LLM to determine and output whether the attributes indicated by the attribute information of both users satisfy the matching conditions. The template for this prompt can be pre-stored in memory 106 or the like. When the support information generation unit 24F performs a matching determination, it reads the template from memory 106 or the like, embeds the descriptions of the attribute information of both users into the read template, automatically generates a prompt, inputs the generated prompt to the LLM, and obtains the results of the analysis process from the LLM. The information processing device 2F may use its own LLM, or it may use an LLM provided by an external LLM provider through API integration or the like.

[0182] If the support information generation unit 24F determines that there is a relationship between the attribute information of both users in the matching determination, it then generates support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination. The support information generation unit 24F generates support information as notification information to notify the target user, including the attribute information registered in the attribute information registration system 7 for the matched user. The support information generation unit 24F generates support information for each user and then transmits the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by each user.

[0183] Figure 19 is a screen diagram showing an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 7. Figure 19A shows an example of a display screen showing attribute information registered by the target user. Figure 19A shows the display screen 400 and the attribute information 409 of the registered target user. In the attribute information 409 shown in Figure 19A, the content of the project is displayed under the item "Current Project" as the target user's current work content, the fields in which the target user has expertise are displayed under the item "Knowledge" as the target user's specialty or hobby, and the issues for which the target user would like help from others are displayed under the item "Problems" as concerns or things to consult about.

[0184] Figure 19B shows an example of a display screen showing support information on an information terminal 4 used by the target user. Figure 19B displays the display screen 400, icons 410 such as the face image of a user matched with the target user, and attribute information 411 of that user. In the example in Figure 19B, the icons 410 and attribute information 411 for at least two users who, on October 16, 2024, approached the target user within a predetermined distance and who had registered attribute information relevant to the target user's attribute information in the matching determination, are displayed.

[0185] In the example screen shown in Figure 19B, if there are more matching users, it is possible to scroll the display screen 400 in Figure 19B to display the icons 410 and attribute information 411 of the third and subsequent users who are not currently shown on the screen. Furthermore, in the example screen shown in Figure 19B, for example, by performing a predetermined operation on the displayed user icon 410, a chat screen with that user may be displayed, and a function may be provided that allows the user to chat with that user. Furthermore, in the example screen shown in Figure 19B, a function may be provided that allows users to add bookmarks by performing a predetermined operation on the displayed user icon 410, for example.

[0186] The information processing system 1F according to Embodiment 7 further includes a schedule registration system 6 (not shown in Figure 18), and the information processing device 2F, the location tracking system 3F, the schedule registration system 6, and the attribute information registration system 7 may be connected to each other via a network 5 so that they can communicate with one another. In this case, the personal information acquisition unit 22F in the information processing device 2F may further acquire the schedules of the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal information, and the support information generation unit 24F may, if it is determined in the matching determination that there is a relationship, further generate a suggestion for the timing of interaction between the two users based on the schedule, and generate support information to notify both users of the generated suggestion.

[0187] The support information generation unit 24F may, based on the schedules of both users determined to be related in the matching determination, generate support information as notification information that notifies both users of a suggestion to contact the other user at that time, for example, when both users are likely to participate in the same meeting or when a situation arises in which both users are likely to be close to each other. The support information generation unit 24F transmits the generated support information to the information terminals 4 used by each user, and when the information terminals 4 receive the support information, they can display the support information on their display devices.

[0188] As described above, the information processing device 2F according to Embodiment 7 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21F acquires objective information indicating the purpose of interaction between the target user and one or more unspecified users, the personal related information acquisition unit 22F acquires attribute information of the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal related information, the management information acquisition unit 23F acquires location information indicating the location of the target user and one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system 3F, which is a management system capable of tracking the location of the target user and one or more unspecified users among one or more management systems, and the support information generation unit 24F determines, based on the location information, that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance, and performs a matching determination to determine whether there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two users based on the attribute information of the user whose location has been determined to be close to the target user, the attribute information of the target user, and predetermined matching conditions, and generates support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination if a relationship is determined in the matching determination. As an advantage of the information processing apparatus 2F described above, more specifically, for example, when the purpose of the target user is to communicate with one or more unspecified users, the information processing apparatus 2F can determine the presence of users whose positions are close to the target user and whose attribute information is relevant to each other, and generate support information for notifying both of these users to that effect. By doing so, the information processing apparatus 2F has the advantage of being able to support the purpose of the target user.

[0189] In addition, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22F in the information processing apparatus 2F according to Embodiment 7 may further acquire the schedules of the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal-related information, and when it is determined in the matching determination that there is relevance, the support information generation unit 24F may further generate a proposal regarding the timing for the two users to communicate based on the schedules, and generate support information for notifying the two users of the generated proposal. As an advantage of the information processing apparatus 2F described above, more specifically, for example, when the purpose of the target user is to communicate with one or more unspecified users, the information processing apparatus 2F can propose to both users whose attribute information matches regarding the timing for the two users to communicate, and has the advantage of being able to more appropriately support the purpose of the target user.

[0190] In addition, the information processing system 1F according to Embodiment 7 may include the information processing apparatus 2F, a position grasping system 3F as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of the target user or users other than the target user are registered. The information processing system 1F according to this Embodiment 6 has the same advantages as the information processing apparatus 2F described above.

[0191] In addition, the program for the information processing apparatus 2F according to Embodiment 7 has the same advantages as the information processing apparatus 2F described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 7 has the same advantages as the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 6.

[0192] Embodiment 8. The information processing apparatuses 2A to 2F according to Embodiments 2 to 7 were all for assisting the purposes of target users or identified users when it was mainly assumed that the rooms in the facility were used in the normal state. On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 2G (see FIGS. 20 and 21) according to Embodiment 8 generates support information for assisting the purposes of target users when a room in the facility is normally rented out to external users who do not use the facility.

[0193] For example, the occupancy rate of rooms in an office building significantly decreases after regular hours or on holidays. In such a case, during a time period or on a day when a certain room is not being used, the room may be rented out to external users who normally do not use the facility. The facility reservation system 3G described later also manages reservations of rooms by such external users, and the management information includes information for identifying the room to be rented out, the date and time period of the rental, information for identifying the external user as the representative of the party to whom the room is rented out, information for identifying all external users who will use the room rented out during that time period, and the like. Hereinafter, external users who normally do not use the facility can also register for using the purpose support service, and can register their own schedules in the schedule registration system 6 and their own attribute information in the attribute information registration system 7, respectively. It is assumed that the external users have each performed the respective registrations. That is, in this case, the external users are also regarded as target users and can receive support for their purposes.

[0194] (First Configuration Example) First, a first configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8 will be described. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8. The first configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8 includes at least an information processing device 2G and a facility reservation system 3G as a management system. The information processing system 1G may also include a schedule registration system 6 and an attribute information registration system 7. The information processing device 2G, the facility reservation system 3G, the schedule registration system 6, and the attribute information registration system 7 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a network 5. An information terminal 4 may also be connected to the network 5 so as to be able to communicate. The functions of the information terminal 4 are the same as those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 7, so a detailed explanation is omitted. The functions of the schedule registration system 6 are the same as those of the schedule registration system 6 according to Embodiments 1 to 6, so a detailed explanation is omitted. The functions of the attribute information registration system 7 are the same as those of the attribute information registration system 7 according to Embodiment 6, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0195] The information processing device 2G comprises a target information acquisition unit 21G, a personal-related information acquisition unit 22G, a management information acquisition unit 23G, and a support information generation unit 24G. The target information acquisition unit 21G, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G, the management information acquisition unit 23G, and the support information generation unit 24G operate in the same basic way as the target information acquisition unit 21, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22, the management information acquisition unit 23, and the support information generation unit 24 of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, respectively, and are more concrete implementations of those units. Therefore, the following description of the target information acquisition unit 21G, the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G, the management information acquisition unit 23G, and the support information generation unit 24G will mainly focus on their concrete implementations.

[0196] The purpose information acquisition unit 21G acquires purpose information indicating the target user's purpose for using the facilities within the facility. The purpose information acquisition unit 21G performs the estimation acquisition described above in Embodiment 1. More specifically, the purpose information acquisition unit 21G acquires the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, analyzes the acquired schedule to estimate the purpose of the target user's use of the facilities, and acquires purpose information indicating the estimated purpose.

[0197] When the objective information acquisition unit 21G identifies the target user to be supported, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 and retrieves the schedule registered in the schedule registration system 6 and associated with that user ID, based on the target user's user ID. After retrieving the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6, the objective information acquisition unit 21G analyzes the retrieved schedule and estimates the objective. The purpose information acquisition unit 21G estimates, by analyzing the target user's schedule, that the target user's purpose is, at a minimum, the use of equipment within the facility. The purpose information acquisition unit 21G estimates that regardless of what equipment within the facility the target user uses or in what manner, the target user has the purpose of using equipment within the facility. The objective information acquisition unit 21G generates objective information indicating the estimated objective, and outputs the generated objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G, the management information acquisition unit 23G, and the support information generation unit 24G. A user ID may be added to the objective information. In addition, instead of outputting the objective information to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G, or in addition to outputting the objective information, the objective information acquisition unit 21G may also output the acquired target user's schedule to the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G.

[0198] The personal information acquisition unit 22G acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal information. When the personal information acquisition unit 22G acquires purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21G, it accesses the schedule registration system 6 and the attribute information registration system 7, and acquires the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6 to acquire the target user's schedule as personal information, and acquires the target user's attribute information from the attribute information registration system 7 to acquire the target user's attribute information as personal information. For example, if the purpose information acquired by the purpose information acquisition unit 21G may include multiple types of purpose information, including requests, the personal information acquisition unit 22G may acquire the target user's schedule from the schedule registration system 6 and the target user's attribute information from the attribute information registration system 7 if the purpose information indicates the use of equipment within the facility as the target user's purpose. When the personal information acquisition unit 22G acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information, it outputs the acquired schedule and attribute information to the support information generation unit 24G.

[0199] The management information acquisition unit 23G acquires information as management information from one or more of the aforementioned management systems, specifically from the equipment reservation system 3G, which is a management system capable of managing the use of rooms as facilities, indicating the reservation status of rooms by external users who are temporary users of the facilities. When the management information acquisition unit 23G acquires the objective information from the objective information acquisition unit 21G, it acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3G. When the management information acquisition unit 23G acquires management information from the equipment reservation system 3G, it outputs the acquired management information to the support information generation unit 24G.

[0200] The support information generation unit 24G, based on attribute information, determines that the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility, and generates support information to notify the target user that a room reservation has been made by an external user during the time period when usage is estimated to occur based on the schedule. The support information generation unit 24G acquires objective information indicating the purpose of the request output from the objective information acquisition unit 21G, acquires personal information as the target user's schedule and attribute information output from the personal information acquisition unit 22G, and acquires management information as the reservation status output from the management information acquisition unit 23G. First, it determines whether the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility based on the attribute information. Attribute information includes, for example, attribute information indicating the company to which the target user belongs. Based on the information of the company to which the target user belongs indicated by the attribute information, the support information generation unit 24G can determine whether or not the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility by comparing it with separately obtainable information of companies that have offices within the facility.

[0201] If the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is a user who uses the facility regularly, it then estimates the time periods when the target user will use the facility based on the target user's schedule. If a room reservation has been made by an external user during these estimated time periods, it generates support information as notification information to inform the target user of this fact. When the support information generation unit 24G generates support information, it transmits the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. Upon receiving the support information, the information terminal 4 can display the support information on its display device.

[0202] On the other hand, if the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is not a user who uses the facility on a regular basis, it may generate support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of the room that can be temporarily used by an external user and the route to the room, during the time period when such use is estimated to occur based on the schedule.

[0203] If the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is not a user who uses the facility on a regular basis, it then determines, based on the target user's schedule, whether or not the target user is an external user who uses the facility on an occasional basis. If the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is not an external user who uses the facility on an occasional basis, it may terminate the process without performing any further processing. On the other hand, if the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is an external user who will be using the facility temporarily, it generates support information to notify the external user of the location of a room that is temporarily available for use during the time period the target user will be using the facility, and the route to that room, which is estimated based on the target user's schedule. When the support information generation unit 24G generates support information, it transmits the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user, who is an external user. Upon receiving the support information, the information terminal 4 can display the support information on its display device.

[0204] (Second example configuration) Next, a second configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8 will be described. The second configuration example is used when equipment within a facility is leased to external users, and a different security area than usual is established within the facility. For example, even if a regular user of a facility can normally freely enter a particular room and its surroundings, during the time that room is rented out to an external user, access to that room and its surroundings may be permitted for the external user, including the time before and after the rented time, while access by the regular user of the facility may be restricted. In such cases, even if the external user can freely enter the room and its surroundings during the time that the room is rented out, including the time before and after the rented time, access to other areas within the facility may be restricted. The second configuration example is effective in such cases.

[0205] FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8. The second configuration example of the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8 includes, as a management system, in addition to the facility reservation system 3G1 similar to the facility reservation system 3G of the first configuration example, a security system 3G2. The information processing apparatus 2G, the facility reservation system 3G1, the security system 3G2, the schedule registration system 6, and the attribute information registration system 7 in the second configuration example are communicably connected to each other via the network 5. The security system 3G2 is a management system capable of restricting entry of people into each area within the facility. The security system 3G2 only needs to grasp and manage the restriction status of each area. The actual restriction method may be any method, for example, restriction by arranging security guards, restriction by security gates, etc., or monitoring using surveillance cameras.

[0206] Hereinafter, differences from the first configuration example due to the second configuration example having the security system 3G2 in addition to the first configuration example will be described. The functions of the purpose information acquisition unit 21G and the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G in the second configuration example are the same as those of the purpose information acquisition unit 21G and the personal-related information acquisition unit 22G in the first configuration example, respectively, so the description is omitted.

[0207] The management information acquisition unit 23G in the second configuration example further acquires, as management information, restriction information of each area associated with the reservation status of a room by an external user from the security system 3G2, which is a management system capable of restricting entry of people into each area within the facility, among one or more management systems. That is, when the management information acquisition unit 23G acquires the purpose information from the purpose information acquisition unit 21G, in addition to acquiring, as management information, information indicating the reservation status of a room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility from the facility reservation system 3G1, the management information acquisition unit 23G further acquires, as management information, restriction information of each area associated with the reservation status of a room by an external user from the security system 3G2.

[0208] Furthermore, in the second configuration example, if the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is a user who uses the facility regularly, it generates support information to notify the target user of areas that are restricted from being entered during the time period estimated from the schedule. In other words, if the support information generation unit 24G determines that the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility, it generates support information to notify the target user that a room reservation has been made by an external user during the time period when the target user is estimated to be using the facility. Furthermore, it also generates support information to notify the target user of areas that are restricted from being entered during that time period. When the support information generation unit 24G generates this support information, it transmits the generated support information to the information terminal 4 used by the target user. Upon receiving the support information, the information terminal 4 can display the support information on its display device.

[0209] The following explanation is common to both the first and second configuration examples. Figure 22 is a screen diagram showing an example of the first display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 8. Figure 22A shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24G for target users who use the facility regularly is information to notify the target user that a room reservation status has been made by an external user during the time period when the target user is estimated to be using the facility. Figure 22A shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 22A, the timeline 402 includes each schedule display 4024, 4025, 4028, 4029, and 4032. Since the schedules and other information displayed in 4024, 4025, 4028, and 4029 have already been explained, we will omit further explanation. Each schedule display 4032 shows information added by the support information. Each schedule display 4032 indicates that during the time period "13:00-16:00", there is a support item "Temporary restricted area" at the location "8F / 804 conference room and surrounding area".

[0210] Figure 22B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24G for target users who use the facility on a regular basis is information to notify the target user of areas that are restricted from being entered during the time period when the target user is estimated to be using the facility. For example, the target user can display the screen shown in Figure 22B by selecting each of the schedule displays 4032 in Figure 22A. Figure 22B shows the display screen 400 and a diagram 412 showing the restricted area. The diagram 412 shown in Figure 22B displays that the restricted time period is "2024 / 10 / 17 13:00-16:00" and that "entry is prohibited in the shaded area," and also shows the restricted area with a shaded line.

[0211] Figure 23 is a screen diagram showing an example of a second display screen of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 8. Figure 23A shows an example of the timeline screen displayed on information terminal 4 used by the target user, an external user who is temporarily using the facility. Figure 23A shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 413. In the example shown in Figure 23A, the timeline 413 includes schedule displays 4131 to 4135. Each of the schedule displays 4131 to 4135 represents the future schedule of the target user, who is an external user. Of the schedule displays 4131 to 4135, each schedule display 4134 indicates that the target user, an external user, has rented a room at the facility. Specifically, it indicates that a joint meeting will be held from 13:00 to 16:00 in conference room 804 on the 8th floor of Building J, and the target user, an external user, is scheduled to attend this joint meeting. Furthermore, the information terminal 4 used by the target user, who is an external user, may display information other than a timeline indicating that the external user will be using a room in the facility at a predetermined time. In other words, the support information generation unit 24G may generate support information as notification information to be displayed in a manner other than a timeline, and transmit the generated support information to the information terminal 4.

[0212] Figure 23B shows an example of the display screen of the information terminal 4 when the support information generated by the support information generation unit 24G for a target user, who is an external user temporarily using the facility, is information to notify the target user of the location of a room that is temporarily available for use during the time the user is using the facility, and the route to that room. For example, the target user can display the screen shown in Figure 23B by selecting each of the schedule displays 4134 in Figure 23A. Figure 23B shows the display screen 400 and a floor plan 414 showing the route. In the floor plan 414 shown in Figure 23B, the route from the elevator to conference room 804 is indicated by two arrows. Furthermore, in the floor plan 414 shown in Figure 23B, it is indicated that Conference Room 804 is available from 13:00 to 16:00 on October 17, 2024, and that the shaded area is off-limits. The area marked with a shaded line is also shown as a restricted area. Such a display is possible when the second configuration example is adopted as the information processing system 1G.

[0213] As described above, the information processing device 2G according to Embodiment 8 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21G acquires objective information indicating the purpose of use of facilities within the facility by the target user, the personal information acquisition unit 22G acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal information, the management information acquisition unit 23G acquires information indicating the room reservation status by an external user who is a user who uses the facility temporarily, from one or more management systems, which are facility reservation systems 3G, 3G1, which are management systems capable of managing the use of rooms as facilities, as management information, and the support information generation unit 24G generates support information to notify the target user that a room reservation status by an external user has occurred during the time period in which usage is estimated to occur based on the schedule, when the target user is determined to be a user who uses the facility on a regular basis based on the attribute information. More specifically, the information processing device 2G has the advantage of supporting the target user's objective, for example, when the target user's objective is to use the facilities within the facility, and a room reservation has been made by an external user during the estimated time period for such use, by generating support information as notification information to inform the target user of this fact.

[0214] Furthermore, in the information processing device 2G according to Embodiment 8, the management information acquisition unit 23G may further acquire restriction information for each area as management information from a security system 3G2, which is one or more management systems capable of restricting people's access to each area within the facility, due to the existence of a room reservation status by an external user. The support information generation unit 24G may, if it determines that the target user is a user who uses the facility regularly, further generate support information to notify the target user of areas that are restricted from being accessed during the time period estimated from the schedule. In this case, the information processing device 2G has the advantage of the information processing device 2 described above, more specifically, that if the target user's purpose is to use the facilities within the facility, and during the estimated time period for such use, a room reservation has been made by an external user, and there is an area where the target user is restricted from entering, the information processing device 2G can generate support information to notify the target user of that area. This gives the information processing device 2G the advantage of being able to provide more useful information to the target user when using the facilities within the facility, and to support the target user's purpose more appropriately.

[0215] Furthermore, the information processing device 2G according to Embodiment 8 is a specific example of the information processing device 2 according to Embodiment 1, wherein the objective information acquisition unit 21G acquires objective information indicating the purpose of use of facilities within the facility by the target user, the personal related information acquisition unit 22G acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal related information, the management information acquisition unit 23G acquires information indicating the reservation status of a room by an external user who is a user temporarily using the facility as management information from one or more management systems, which are facility reservation systems 3G, 3G1, which are management systems capable of managing the use of rooms as facilities, and the support information generation unit 24G, when it is determined based on the attribute information that the target user is an external user who is temporarily using the facility, generates support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of a room that the external user can temporarily use and the route to that room during the time period in which use is estimated to occur based on the schedule. In this case, the information processing device 2G has the advantage of the information processing device 2 described above, more specifically, that when the target user, who is an external user, intends to use the facilities within the facility on a temporary basis, it can generate support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of a room that the external user can use temporarily and the route to that room during the estimated time period for such use. As a result, the information processing device 2G has the advantage of being able to provide more useful information to the target user who is an external user when using the facilities within the facility, and to support the target user's intentions more appropriately.

[0216] Furthermore, the information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 8 comprises an information processing device 2G, a facility reservation system 3G as a management system, and a schedule registration system 6 in which the schedules of target users or users other than target users are registered. The information processing system 1G according to Embodiment 6 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2G described above.

[0217] Furthermore, the program for the information processing device 2G according to Embodiment 8 has advantages similar to those of the information processing device 2G described above, and the information terminal 4 according to Embodiment 8 has advantages similar to those of the information terminal 4 according to Embodiments 1 to 7.

[0218] (A modified version of the display screen of an information terminal) As described in Embodiments 1 to 8, the information processing devices 2 to 2G can insert and display various types of information on the timeline of the display screen shown on the display device of the information terminal 4. Furthermore, the information processing devices 2 to 2G may have a function to insert and display information such as advertisements, promotions, and other notices (hereinafter, these types of information are collectively referred to as "notice information") on the timeline.

[0219] Figure 24 is a screen diagram showing a modified version of the display screen of an information terminal. Figure 24 shows the display screen 400 and the timeline 402. In the example shown in Figure 24, the timeline 402 includes the schedule displays 4024, 4025, 4029, 4030, and 4033. Since the schedules and other information displayed in 4024, 4025, 4029, and 4030 have already been explained, we will omit further explanation.

[0220] Each schedule display 4033 shows information added by notification information transmitted from information processing devices 2-2G. If the information processing devices 2-2G can access the schedule registration system 6, each schedule display 4033 will estimate, for example, the time slots in the timeline when the target user is free, based on the target user's schedule obtained from the schedule registration system 6. It will then generate support information for displaying announcements about events held within the facility during those time slots, and transmit this information to the information terminal 4 for display. Furthermore, information processing devices 2-2G can generate support information to display announcements, for example, announcements unrelated to the chronological order on the timeline, as each schedule display 4033, and transmit this information to the information terminal 4 for display. In the example in Figure 24, each schedule display 4033, as an example of the latter, indicates that the announcement "Halloween Limited Lunch!" will be offered at "30F / Restaurant B" on the date "[Starting 10 / 26]".

[0221] Furthermore, if the information processing devices 2-2G can access the attribute information registration system 7, the information processing devices 2-2G can deliver advertisements, promotions, and other notices that are likely to attract the attention of the target user, based on the attribute information obtained from the attribute information registration system 7.

[0222] Information processing devices 2-2G have the function of inserting and displaying notification information on the timeline displayed on the information terminal 4. For example, advertisements, promotions, and other announcements that will attract the attention of the target user can be displayed during times when the target user's schedule is free, or when the target user finishes an appointment and checks their next appointment (in the example in Figure 24, when lunch, indicated by appointment display 4025, is finished and the target user checks the schedule for the in-house study session, indicated by appointment display 4029).

[0223] Furthermore, it is possible to combine each embodiment, modify any component of each embodiment, or omit any component in each embodiment. Embodiments 2 to 8 support different purposes, and for example, even when any one or more of these embodiments are combined, when purpose information indicating that purpose is obtained, support information corresponding to the purpose indicated by the obtained purpose information can be generated, and any combination is possible.

[0224] The various aspects of this disclosure are summarized below as an appendix.

[0225] (Note 1) A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, A support information generation unit generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. An information processing device characterized by the following: (Note 2) The support information generation unit generates the support information as notification information for notifying the target user, and transmits the generated support information to the information terminal used by the target user. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 3) The support information generation unit generates the support information to be inserted into the timeline, which includes the schedule of the target user, as notification information, and transmits the generated support information to the information terminal. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 2, characterized by the features described herein. (Note 4) The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information indicating that the objective is for the target user to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more of the management systems capable of controlling the equipment. The support information generation unit generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that the equipment is in an operational state capable of supporting the movement at the time the movement is estimated to occur based on the schedule. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 5) The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the operating status of the elevator as management information from the elevator control system, which is the management system capable of controlling the elevator as equipment. The support information generation unit generates the support information to instruct the elevator control system to arrive at the elevator landing where the target user is estimated to board the elevator during the aforementioned journey. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 4, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 6) The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the operating status of the door lock as management information from the door lock management system, which is the management system capable of controlling the lockable door as equipment. The support information generation unit generates support information to instruct the door lock management system to unlock the door at the time it is estimated that the target user will arrive at the room with the door during the movement. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 4, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 7) The purpose information acquisition unit acquires the purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of a room or equipment as facilities within the facility by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room or equipment as management information from the equipment reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room or equipment. The support information generation unit identifies the rooms or equipment available during the time period estimated from the schedule in which the use is to take place, and generates support information for reserving the use of the identified rooms or equipment during that time period. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 8) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is to coordinate the holding of a meeting in which one or more specific users will participate, by the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of each of the one or more specific users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room or equipment as management information from the equipment reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room or equipment as equipment. The support information generation unit reserves the room or equipment for use during the time period in which the meeting can be held, as estimated based on the schedule and reservation status, and generates support information to notify one or more specific users of the holding of the meeting. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 9) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the target user's objective is to participate in the meeting. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system, which is one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users. The support information generation unit generates the support information for notifying a proposal to change the meeting schedule to avoid congestion of equipment within the facility, based on the schedule and location information. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 10) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is a request made by the target user to one or more unspecified users. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires location information indicating the location of one or more unspecified users as management information from a location tracking system, which is one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users. The support information generation unit generates support information to notify users who are capable of responding to the request, based on the schedule and location information. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 11) The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires attribute information for each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The support information generation unit generates support information to notify the user who is capable of responding to the request, based on the schedule, location information, and attribute information. The information processing apparatus according to Appendix 10, characterized in that (Note 12) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is interaction between the target user and one or more unspecified users. The personal information acquisition unit acquires attribute information of the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires location information indicating the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit determines, based on the location information, that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance, and performs a matching determination to determine whether there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two users based on the attribute information of the user whose location has been determined to be close to the target user, the attribute information of the target user, and predetermined matching conditions, and if a relationship is determined in the matching determination, generates the support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 13) The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedules of the target user and the one or more unspecified users as personal information. If the matching determination determines that there is a relationship, the support information generation unit further generates a suggestion for the timing of interaction between the two users based on the schedule, and generates support information to notify both users of the generated suggestion. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 12, characterized by the features described herein. (Note 14) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. The support information generation unit, based on the attribute information, determines that the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility, and generates support information to notify the target user that a reservation has been made by an external user for the room during the time period estimated to be when the facility is used, based on the schedule. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 15) The management information acquisition unit further acquires, as management information, restriction information for each area resulting from the fact that a room reservation status has been created by an external user, from the security system, which is one or more of the management systems capable of restricting access by people to each area within the facility. If the support information generation unit determines that the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility, it further generates support information to notify the target user of the area that is restricted from access during the time period estimated from the schedule during which the facility is used. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 14, characterized by the features described herein. (Note 16) The objective information acquisition unit acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule and attribute information of each of the target users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. When the support information generation unit determines, based on the attribute information, that the target user is an external user who will be using the facility temporarily, it generates support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of the room that the external user can temporarily use and the route to that room, during the time period estimated based on the schedule during which the facility will be used. The information processing apparatus described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it is a processing apparatus. (Note 17) An information processing device described in any one of the appendices 1 to 16, The aforementioned management system, An information processing system equipped with [the following features]. (Note 18) An information processing device described in any one of the appendices 3 to 11 or 13 to 16, The aforementioned management system, The system includes a schedule registration system in which the schedules of the aforementioned target user or users other than the aforementioned target user are registered. An information processing system characterized by the following: (Note 19) A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device as described in any one of the items from Appendix 1 to Appendix 16. (Note 20) An information transmission unit that transmits the aforementioned purpose information or the aforementioned personal information to an information processing device described in any one of the appendices 1 to 16, An information receiving unit that receives the support information from the information processing device, The information receiving unit includes a display control unit that causes the information receiving unit to display the support information on a display device based on the support information it has received. An information terminal characterized by the following features. (Note 21) A program to enable a computer to function as an information terminal as described in Appendix 20. (Note 22) An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user, The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. An information processing method characterized by the following: [Industrial applicability]

[0226] The information processing device described herein can be used, for example, to support the diverse purposes of facility users. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0227] 1,1A~1G Information processing system, 2,2A~2G Information processing device, 3 Management system, 3A1 Elevator control system, 3A2 Door lock management system, 3B,3C,3G,3G1 Equipment reservation system, 3D~3F Location tracking system, 3G2 Security system, 4 Information terminal, 5 Network, 6 Schedule registration system, 7 Attribute information registration system, 21 Purpose information acquisition unit, 22 Personal information acquisition unit, 23 Management information acquisition unit, 24 Support information generation unit, 41 Information transmission unit, 42 Information reception unit, 43 Display control unit, 100 Processing circuit, 101 Processor, 102 Memory.

Claims

1. A purpose information acquisition unit acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the target user moving from a first location to a second location within the facility, the target user using a room or equipment as facilities within the facility, or the purpose involving coordination with users other than the target user. A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information indicating that the objective is for the target user to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of the target user as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more of the management systems capable of controlling the equipment. The support information generation unit generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that the equipment is in an operational state capable of supporting the movement at the time the movement is estimated to occur based on the schedule. An information processing device characterized by the following:

2. The support information generation unit generates the support information as notification information for notifying the target user, and transmits the generated support information to the information terminal used by the target user. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

3. The support information generation unit generates the support information to be inserted into the timeline, which includes the schedule of the target user, as notification information, and transmits the generated support information to the information terminal. The information processing apparatus according to feature 2.

4. The management information acquisition unit acquires the operating status of the elevator as management information from the elevator control system, which is the management system capable of controlling the elevator as equipment. The support information generation unit generates the support information to instruct the elevator control system to arrive at the elevator landing where the target user is estimated to board the elevator during the aforementioned journey. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

5. The management information acquisition unit further acquires the operating status of the door lock as management information from the door lock management system, which is the management system capable of controlling the lockable door as equipment. The support information generation unit further generates support information to instruct the door lock management system to unlock the door at the time it is estimated that the target user will arrive at the room having the door during the movement. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

6. The purpose information acquisition unit further acquires purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of the room or equipment as facilities within the facility by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the target user's schedule as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room or equipment from the equipment reservation system, which is one or more of the management systems capable of managing the use of the room or equipment, as the management information. The support information generation unit further identifies the rooms or equipment available during the time period estimated from the schedule in which the use is to take place, and generates support information for reserving the use of the identified rooms or equipment during that time period. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

7. The objective information acquisition unit further acquires the objective information indicating that the objective is to coordinate the holding of a meeting in which one or more specific users will participate, by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedule of each of the one or more specific users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room or equipment as management information from the equipment reservation system, which is one or more of the management systems capable of managing the use of the room or equipment as equipment. The support information generation unit further reserves the room or equipment for use during the time period in which the meeting can be held, as estimated based on the schedule and reservation status, and generates support information to notify one or more specific users of the holding of the meeting. The information processing apparatus according to feature 1.

8. A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the target user's purpose is to participate in the meeting. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users as personal information. The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit generates the support information for notifying a proposal to change the meeting schedule to avoid congestion of equipment within the facility, based on the schedule and location information. An information processing device characterized by the following:

9. A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The objective information acquisition unit further acquires objective information indicating that the objective is a request from the target user to one or more unspecified users. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit generates support information to notify users who are capable of responding to the request, based on the schedule and location information. An information processing device characterized by the following:

10. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires attribute information for each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The support information generation unit generates support information to notify the user who is capable of responding to the request, based on the schedule, location information, and attribute information. The information processing apparatus according to feature 9.

11. A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The objective information acquisition unit further acquires objective information indicating that the objective is interaction between the target user and one or more unspecified users. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires attribute information of the target user and each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit further determines, based on the location information, that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance, and performs a matching determination to determine whether there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two users based on the attribute information of the user whose location has been determined to be close to the target user, the attribute information of the target user, and predetermined matching conditions, and if a relationship is determined in the matching determination, generates the support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination. An information processing device characterized by the following:

12. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedules of the target user and one or more unspecified users as personal information. If the matching determination determines that there is a relationship, the support information generation unit further generates a suggestion for the timing of interaction between the two users based on the schedule, and generates support information to notify both users of the generated suggestion. The information processing apparatus according to feature 11.

13. A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedule and attribute information of the target user as personal information. The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. The support information generation unit further generates support information to notify the target user that a reservation has been made by an external user during the time period estimated to be when the facility is used, based on the attribute information, if the target user is determined to be a user who regularly uses the facility. An information processing device characterized by the following:

14. The management information acquisition unit further acquires, as management information, restriction information for each area resulting from the fact that a room reservation status has been created by an external user, from the security system, which is one or more of the management systems capable of restricting access by people to each area within the facility. If the support information generation unit determines that the target user is a user who regularly uses the facility, it further generates support information to notify the target user of the area that is restricted from access during the time period estimated from the schedule during which the facility is used. The information processing apparatus according to feature 13.

15. A purpose information acquisition unit that acquires purpose information indicating the purpose of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user, A personal information acquisition unit that acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the aforementioned target user, A management information acquisition unit that acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the aforementioned facility, The system includes a support information generation unit that generates support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit, The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. The support information generation unit further generates support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of a room that the external user can temporarily use and the route to that room, during the time period estimated to be when the facility is used based on the schedule, based on the attribute information, if the target user is determined to be an external user who will be using the facility temporarily. An information processing device characterized by the following:

16. An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, The aforementioned management system, An information processing system equipped with [the following features].

17. An information processing device according to any one of claims 3 to 10 or 12 to 15, The aforementioned management system, The system includes a schedule registration system in which the schedules of the target user or other users are registered. An information processing system characterized by the following:

18. A program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

19. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information indicating the objective of the target user, which involves the target user moving from a first location to a second location within the facility, the target user using a room or equipment as facilities within the facility, or the objective involving coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information indicating that the objective is for the target user to move from a first location to a second location within the facility. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of the target user as personal information, The management information acquisition unit acquires the operating status of the equipment as management information from one or more of the management systems capable of controlling the equipment. The support information generation unit generates support information for the management system to control the equipment so that the equipment is in an operational state capable of supporting the movement at the time the movement is estimated to occur based on the schedule. An information processing method characterized by the following:

20. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the target user's purpose is to participate in the meeting. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedules of one or more unspecified users as personal information. The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit generates the support information for notifying a proposal to change the meeting schedule to avoid congestion of equipment within the facility, based on the schedule and location information. An information processing method characterized by the following:

21. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The objective information acquisition unit further acquires objective information indicating that the objective is a request from the target user to one or more unspecified users. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the schedule of each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of each of the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit generates support information to notify users who are capable of responding to the request, based on the schedule and location information. An information processing method characterized by the following:

22. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The objective information acquisition unit further acquires objective information indicating that the objective is interaction between the target user and one or more unspecified users. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires attribute information of the target user and each of the one or more unspecified users as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires location information indicating the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users from the location tracking system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of determining the location of the target user and the one or more unspecified users, as the management information. The support information generation unit further determines, based on the location information, that the location of one or more unspecified users and the location of the target user have approached within a predetermined distance, and performs a matching determination to determine whether there is a relationship between the attribute information of the two users based on the attribute information of the user whose location has been determined to be close to the target user, the attribute information of the target user, and predetermined matching conditions, and if a relationship is determined in the matching determination, generates the support information to notify both users of the result of the matching determination. An information processing method characterized by the following:

23. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The aforementioned personal information acquisition unit further acquires the schedule and attribute information of the target user as personal information. The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. The support information generation unit further generates support information to notify the target user that a reservation has been made by an external user during the time period estimated to be when the facility is used, based on the attribute information, if the target user is determined to be a user who regularly uses the facility. An information processing method characterized by the following:

24. An information processing method executed by an information processing device comprising a target information acquisition unit, a personal information acquisition unit, a management information acquisition unit, and a support information generation unit, The objective information acquisition unit acquires objective information that indicates the objective of the target user, which involves the use of equipment within the facility or coordination with users other than the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires personal information relating to at least one user, including the target user. The management information acquisition unit acquires management information provided by one or more management systems that manage the facility, The support information generation unit includes the step of generating support information to support the objective based on the objective information acquired by the objective information acquisition unit, the personal information acquired by the personal information acquisition unit, and the management information acquired by the management information acquisition unit. The aforementioned purpose information acquisition unit further acquires the purpose information indicating that the purpose is the use of the equipment within the facility by the target user. The personal information acquisition unit acquires the target user's schedule and attribute information as personal information, The management information acquisition unit further acquires information indicating the reservation status of the room by an external user who is a user who temporarily uses the facility, from the facility reservation system, which is one of the one or more management systems capable of managing the use of the room as equipment, as management information. The support information generation unit further generates support information to notify the target user, who is an external user, of the location of a room that the external user can temporarily use and the route to that room, during the time period estimated to be when the facility is used based on the schedule, based on the attribute information, if the target user is determined to be an external user who will be using the facility temporarily. An information processing method characterized by the following:

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