Information processing method and information processing system

Abstract

The information processing device executes, for a first user, a first environment control for a user having an attribute similar to that of the first user in the past, determines whether or not the psychological score of the first user has increased by the first environment control, and if it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, controls the first environment control. Second environment control, which is different from the first environment control and is capable of contributing to an increase in psychological score, performed in the past for users having attributes similar to those of the first user is determined as environment control performed next for the first user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to techniques for controlling the environment of the space in which a user resides. Background Technology

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses the following: calculating an index based on the user's state or the state of the user's surroundings; inputting the index into a device control algorithm composed of a neural network to determine the control content of the device; the device control algorithm can also be set according to the user's age, gender, occupation, and other attributes.

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-16137 Summary of the Invention

[0006] However, Patent Document 1 merely discloses operating the device based on control content determined by the device control algorithm and judging the quality of the determined control content, without disclosing how to change the control content based on the judgment result. Therefore, Patent Document 1 requires further improvement in order to efficiently determine the better control content for each user.

[0007] This disclosure provides a technique for efficiently determining the best environmental control for each user.

[0008] One aspect of this disclosure is an information processing method in a computer, comprising: deriving a psychological score representing the degree of a first user's mental state; performing a first environmental control previously performed on users with similar attributes to the first user; determining whether the psychological score of the first user has increased due to the first environmental control; and, if it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, deciding on a second environmental control to be performed next on the first user, the second environmental control being a previously performed environmental control on users with similar attributes to the first user, and being a different environmental control from the first environmental control that can contribute to an increase in the psychological score.

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is possible to efficiently determine better environmental control for each user. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the information processing system in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0011] Figure 2 It is a diagram representing the data structure of a personal database.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a graph representing the data structure of a group database.

[0013] Figure 4 It means Figure 1 The flowchart shown is a process flow diagram of the information processing system.

[0014] Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram of the first example of the method for determining the ascending condition.

[0015] Figure 6 This is an explanatory diagram of the second example of the determination and processing of the rising condition.

[0016] Figure 7 This is an explanatory diagram of the second example of the determination and processing of the rising condition.

[0017] Figure 8 This is an explanatory diagram of the process for determining the optimal threshold.

[0018] Figure 9 This is an explanatory diagram of the process for determining the optimal threshold.

[0019] Figure 10 This is an example of a display screen showing the effect of intervention.

[0020] Figure 11 This is an example of a display screen showing the effect of intervention.

[0021] Figure 12 This is another example of a display screen showing the intervention effect.

[0022] Figure 13 This is an example of a display showing the intervention effect related to a threshold.

[0023] Figure 14 This is another example of a display showing the intervention effect related to a threshold.

[0024] Figure 15 This is an example of a screen selection screen. Detailed Implementation

[0025] (One way of implementing this disclosure)

[0026] The following research is underway: to improve users' concentration or creativity by appropriately stimulating them in the work environment through environmental control of their space, thereby improving their work productivity.

[0027] The tasks in the workplace can be broadly divided into centralized tasks where the answer is determined by one point, and creative tasks that generate multiple answers or ideas.

[0028] In focused work, it is particularly important to maintain focus continuously over time, although this duration varies from person to person. Similarly, in creative work, it is important to maintain a state of creativity continuously over time, though this duration also varies from person to person. In this specification, focus can also be defined as an indicator of the degree to which convergent thinking is exercised. A state of creativity can also be defined as a state of exercising divergent thinking. A state of creativity can also be defined as a state of exercising at least one of originality, fluency, and flexibility.

[0029] Thus, the duration of concentration or creativity varies from user to user. Furthermore, the stimuli that enhance concentration or creativity differ from user to user. Therefore, to sustain concentration or creativity for extended periods, it is necessary to optimize the type and timing of stimuli for each user. On the other hand, when environmental control is based on user information, it varies according to the user's mood or state, making optimization with 100% precision difficult. Additionally, determining the optimal type and timing of stimuli for each user based on their stimulus intervention history requires not only the inability to provide optimal stimulation from the initial use but also the accumulation of a vast amount of intervention history. Therefore, this method is inefficient.

[0030] In Patent Document 1, the quality of the control content determined by the device control algorithm is judged. However, this judgment is made to adjust the weights of the intermediate layers of the neural network constituting the device control algorithm, not to determine whether to apply other stimuli. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, further improvements are needed to determine the better control content for each user.

[0031] Therefore, the inventors came to the following conclusions and conceived of various methods of this disclosure: if the environmental control content suitable for the first user is determined through trial and error based on the environmental control content of other users with attributes similar to the first user and the psychological score of the first user, then it is possible to efficiently determine better environmental control content for each user.

[0032] The following is an explanation of the manner in which this disclosure is made.

[0033] (1) One aspect of the information processing method in this disclosure is a computer-based information processing method, comprising: deriving a psychological score representing the degree of a first user's psychological state; performing a first environmental control on the first user that was previously performed on users with attributes similar to the first user; determining whether the psychological score of the first user has increased due to the first environmental control; and, if it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, deciding a second environmental control as the next environmental control to be performed on the first user, the second environmental control being an environmental control previously performed on users with attributes similar to the first user, and being a different environmental control from the first environmental control that can contribute to the increase of the psychological score.

[0034] According to this structure, if implementing the content of the first environmental control does not increase the psychological score of the first user, then a second environmental control, different from the first, is implemented. In this way, an environmental control suitable for the first user is determined through trial and error, thus enabling the determination of a better environmental control for each user. Furthermore, since both the first and second environmental controls are for users with attributes similar to the first user, the content of the environmental control can be determined efficiently even without accumulating a large amount of historical data on the first user's environmental control.

[0035] (2) According to the information processing method described in (1), the decision of the environmental control may also include: if it is determined that the psychological score has increased, based on the content of the first environmental control, deciding on the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next.

[0036] According to this structure, if the result of performing the first environmental control is an increase in the psychological score of the first user, the content of the next environmental control to be performed on the first user can be determined based on the content of the first environmental control, thus enabling a more efficient determination of the environmental control content that is more suitable for the first user.

[0037] (3) According to the information processing method described in (1) or (2), the first environmental control and the second environmental control may also include control of applying a stimulus to the first user that is associated with a sense of at least one selected from the group consisting of vision, hearing, smell and touch, and control of changing the content of the stimulus of the at least one in accordance with the decrease in the psychological score of the first user.

[0038] According to this structure, when the first user's psychological score decreases, the stimulus associated with at least one of the senses selected from the group consisting of vision, hearing, smell and touch is changed, thus enabling the determination of stimuli that can help increase the first user's psychological score.

[0039] (4) According to the information processing method described in (3), the control of changing the content of the stimulus in response to the decrease in the psychological score of the first user may also include: controlling the change of the content of the stimulus when the psychological score of the first user is lower than a threshold determined in accordance with the content established by the first environmental control.

[0040] According to this structure, the stimulus is changed if the first user's psychological score is below a threshold.

[0041] (5) According to the information processing method described in (4), the determination of the environmental control may also include: in the case of the increase in psychological score, not changing the stimulus applied by the first environmental control, but determining the environmental control that causes the threshold to change as the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next.

[0042] According to this structure, when the first environmental control can help increase the psychological score of the first user, the frequency of intervention of the stimulus can be adjusted while maintaining the content of the stimulus applied through the first environmental control. Thus, a threshold for achieving an appropriate intervention frequency is determined.

[0043] (6) In the information processing method according to any one of (3) to (5), the determination of the environmental control may also include: if it is determined that the psychological score has increased, determining the environmental control that applies a stimulus similar to the stimulus applied by the first environmental control to the user as the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next.

[0044] According to this structure, if the first environmental control can help increase the psychological score of the first user, a stimulus similar to the stimulus applied through the first environmental control is applied to the first user. Therefore, a better stimulus can be searched within the first environmental control.

[0045] (7) The information processing method according to any one of (1) to (6) may also include determining whether the psychological score of the first user has increased due to the first environmental control: comparing the increase in the psychological score of a user with similar attributes to the first user caused by the first environmental control in the past with the increase in the psychological score of the first user caused by the first environmental control, and determining that the psychological score of the first user has increased due to the first environmental control if the increase in the psychological score of the first user is higher than or approximately equal to the increase in the psychological score in the past.

[0046] Based on this structure, it is possible to determine whether the first user's psychological score has increased by considering the relationship between the increase in the psychological score of the first user and the increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes to the first user.

[0047] (8) The second environmental control determined by any one of the information processing methods according to (1) to (7) when it is determined that the psychological score has not increased may also be the environmental control that was ranked next to the first environmental control in the order of the increase in the psychological score from large to small in the environmental control that was previously performed on users with similar attributes to the first user.

[0048] Based on this structure, it is possible to efficiently determine the environmental controls that are most likely to increase the psychological score of the first user.

[0049] (9) In any one of the information processing methods (1) to (8), the psychological score may also represent the degree of concentration or the degree of creativity of the user.

[0050] This structure can enhance the concentration or creativity of the first user.

[0051] (10) The information processing method according to any one of (1) to (9) may also further include: recording the content of the environmental control performed on each user in association with the attributes of the first user in a personal database.

[0052] Based on this structure, it is possible to build a personal database that records historical data of environmental controls performed on users.

[0053] (11) According to the information processing method described in (10), the content of environmental control recorded in the personal database can also be summarized according to the user's attributes, thereby generating an attribute database representing the content of environmental control corresponding to the attributes.

[0054] Based on this structure, an attribute database is generated that records the content of environmental controls corresponding to the attributes, thus enabling the rapid determination of the content of environmental controls that helps improve the psychological score of the first user.

[0055] (12) The information processing method according to any one of (1) to (11) may also prompt the first user to display a screen showing the psychological score derived when the first environmental control or the second environmental control is executed.

[0056] According to this structure, the first user can identify the reasons for executing the first control content or the second control content, which can bring a sense of conviction to the first user.

[0057] (13) In another aspect of this disclosure, the information processing system is an information processing system including a processor, wherein the processor performs the following processing: performing a first environmental control previously performed on the first user for a first user, deriving a psychological score representing the degree of the first user's psychological state, determining whether the psychological score of the first user has increased through the first environmental control having attributes similar to those of the first user, and if it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, deciding a second environmental control as the next environmental control to be performed on the first user, the second environmental control being an environmental control previously performed on a user having attributes similar to those of the first user, and being a different environmental control from the first environmental control that can contribute to the increase of the psychological score.

[0058] Based on this structure, an information processing system is provided that can efficiently determine the best environmental control for each user.

[0059] Such information processing programs can also be distributed via computer-readable, non-transitory recording media such as CD-ROMs or communication networks such as the Internet.

[0060] Furthermore, the embodiments described below represent specific examples of this disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, constituent elements, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are examples and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Additionally, any constituent elements in the following embodiments that are not described in the independent claims representing the highest-level concept are described as arbitrary constituent elements. Furthermore, the various contents can be combined in all embodiments.

[0061] (Implementation Method)

[0062] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The information processing system 1 is communicatively connected to sensor devices 2, an environment forming apparatus 3, and terminal devices 4 via a network. The information processing system 1 is, for example, composed of a computer such as a cloud server or an edge server. In the case where the information processing system 1 is a cloud server, the network is, for example, the Internet; in the case where the information processing system 1 is an edge server, the Internet is, for example, a local area network (LAN).

[0063] Sensor device 2, environment forming device 3, and terminal device 4 are located in compartment 5. Compartment 5 is the space where the user works. The user performs tasks using computers, etc., within compartment 5. As described above, the tasks performed are broadly divided into centralized tasks and creative tasks.

[0064] Sensor device 2 is a device for acquiring a user's biological data. Sensor device 2 includes a sensor unit 21 and a sensor communication unit 22. Sensor unit 21 may be, for example, a cerebral blood flow sensor, a camera, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, or a brainwave sensor. A cerebral blood flow sensor, for example, is composed of a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sensor and detects hemoglobin concentration. A camera may capture images of the user's face or posture. An ECG sensor, composed of electrodes, detects the user's heart rate, etc. A brainwave sensor, for example, is composed of electrodes and detects the user's brain waves.

[0065] The sensor communication unit 22 is, for example, composed of a communication circuit, which sends the biological data detected by the sensor unit 21 to the information processing system 1.

[0066] The environment-forming device 3 is a device that stimulates the user by creating an environment within the compartment 5. The environment-forming device 3 is communicatively connected to an information processing system via a network. The environment-forming device 3 consists of a lighting device, a speaker, an air conditioning unit, a fragrance dispenser, and a display device. The lighting device, such as a ceiling light or table lamp, adjusts the color and intensity of light within the compartment 5. The speaker outputs sound. The air conditioning unit regulates the temperature and humidity within the compartment 5. The fragrance dispenser releases various scents, such as coffee, peach, forest, and mint. The display device shows images used to create the visual environment within the compartment 5. The lighting device and display device stimulate the user's vision, the speaker stimulates the user's hearing, the air conditioning unit stimulates the user's touch, and the fragrance dispenser stimulates the user's smell.

[0067] Terminal device 4, for example, is a portable computer, a stationary computer, or the like, and is a device held by the user. Terminal device 4 can also be a device used by the user in their work. Terminal device 4 includes an operating unit, a display, a processor, communication circuitry, etc., and can be communicatively connected to information processing system 1 via a network.

[0068] The information processing system 1 includes a display output unit 11, a score export unit 12, a storage unit 13, a physiological index calculation unit 14, a communication unit 15, a control unit 16, an environmental control decision unit 17, and a judgment unit 18.

[0069] The display output unit 11 generates a display screen to prompt the user.

[0070] The scoring derivation unit 12 derives a psychological score representing the user's state based on the physiological indicators calculated by the physiological indicator calculation unit 14. The psychological score includes a concentration score and a creativity score. The concentration score indicates the level of the user's concentration. The creativity score indicates the degree of the user's creativity. The scoring derivation unit 12 derives a concentration score for users whose desired state is concentration, and a creativity score for users whose desired state is creativity. The desired state is pre-stored in... Figure 2 The personal database 20 shown. Psychological scores can also be represented by continuous numerical values ​​from 1 to 100. Alternatively, psychological scores can be represented by binary values. An example of a binary psychological score is 1 for creativity and 0 for lack of creativity, 1 for concentration and 0 for lack of concentration. Alternatively, psychological scores can also be represented as creative and uncreative, or as concentrated and unconcentrated.

[0071] As methods for calculating concentration, known methods include document D1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-8278), document D2 (International Publication No. 2012 / 150657), and document D3 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-201755). The scoring derivation section 12 can derive the concentration calculated using any of the methods in documents D1 to D3 as the psychological score of concentration.

[0072] For example, document D1 discloses a method that involves inputting an image of the user captured by a camera into an image processing neural network to infer the user's state, such as actions, blink count, gender, and age. The inferred user state is then input into a concentration inference neural network to calculate the concentration score. Therefore, when using the method in document D1, the score derivation unit 12 can derive the psychological score of the concentration score by using the user's state inferred from the image processing network as a physiological indicator.

[0073] Reference D2 discloses a method for calculating hemoglobin concentration, representing cerebral blood flow, based on biological data measured by a near-infrared sensor, and for calculating concentration based on hemoglobin concentration. Therefore, when using the method in reference D2, the scoring derivation unit 12 can derive the psychological score of concentration using hemoglobin concentration as a physiological indicator.

[0074] Document D3 discloses a method that detects the user's habitual posture when concentrating based on images of the user captured by a camera, and calculates the degree of concentration based on the detected habitual posture. Therefore, when using the method in document D3, the scoring derivation unit 12 can derive the user's psychological score of concentration by using data representing the habitual posture when concentrating as a physiological indicator.

[0075] As methods for calculating the degree of creative performance, there are known references D4 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-16943) and D5 (Cerebral blood flow associated with creative performance: A comparative study NeuroImage 38(2007)519-528). The scoring derivation section 12 can derive the psychological score of creativity using either reference D4 or D5.

[0076] Reference D4 discloses the following method: calculating the power spectrum of time-series data of heartbeat intervals, calculating the degree of change in the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity based on the power spectrum, and calculating the degree of creative expression based on the degree of change. Therefore, when using the method in reference D4, the scoring derivation unit 12 can derive the psychological score of creativity using the heartbeat index described later as a physiological indicator.

[0077] Reference D5 discloses a technique for calculating the degree of creative expression based on cerebral blood flow. Therefore, when using the method in reference D5, the scoring derivation unit 12 can derive the psychological score of creativity using cerebral blood flow as a physiological indicator.

[0078] Storage unit 13 is composed of a non-volatile, rewritable storage device such as a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. Storage unit 13 stores... Figure 2 The personal database 20 shown Figure 3 The group database shown is 30.

[0079] The physiological index calculation unit 14 calculates physiological indicators based on biological data transmitted by the sensor device 2. These physiological indicators are used by the score derivation unit 12 when deriving psychological scores. Physiological indicators may include the user's state as shown in document D1, hemoglobin concentration as shown in document D2, data representing habitual postures as shown in document D3, heart rate indicators as shown in document D4, and cerebral blood flow as shown in document D5. Heart rate indicators may include, for example, the RRI (interval between R waves) or the coefficient of variation of RR intervals (CvRR).

[0080] Communication unit 15 is a communication circuit that connects information processing system 1 to the network. Communication unit 15 receives biological data from sensor device 2. Communication unit 15 sends control signals to environment forming device 3. Communication unit 15 sends display data of the display screen to terminal device 4. Communication unit 15 receives the user's selection result from terminal device 4.

[0081] Control unit 16 is responsible for the overall control of information processing system 1.

[0082] The Environmental Control Decision Unit 17 performs the first environmental control measures previously applied to users with similar attributes to the first user. The first user refers to the user located in compartment 5. Attributes are information representing user characteristics such as gender, age, ambition, and occupation type. Ambition refers to the level of a user's desire for work, expressed using terms like "high" or "low." Occupation type refers to the category of the user's occupation, such as creative or simple work. Specifically, the Environmental Control Decision Unit 17 determines the environmental control measures for users with similar attributes to the first user from the group database 30, and then decides on the first environmental control measures from among these determined measures. The Environmental Control Decision Unit 17 records the content of the environmental control measures performed on the first user in relation to the first user's attributes in the personal database 20.

[0083] If the determination unit 18 determines that the psychological score of the first user has not increased as a result of performing the first environmental control on the first user, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the second environmental control to be performed on the first user next. This second environmental control is an environmental control that was previously performed on users with similar attributes to the first user, and is different from the first environmental control that can help increase the psychological score. In detail, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the environmental control for users with similar attributes to the first user from the group database 30, and decides on the second environmental control from the determined environmental controls. The environmental control decision unit 17 uses the communication unit 15 to send a control signal to the environment forming device 3 for performing the determined first or second environmental control.

[0084] The determination unit 18 determines whether the psychological score derived by the score derivation unit 12 increases by performing first environmental control on the first user.

[0085] exist Figure 1 In this system, the display output unit 11, the score export unit 12, the physiological index calculation unit 14, the control unit 16, the environmental control decision unit 17, and the judgment unit 18 can be implemented by a processor executing an information processing program, or they can be implemented by a dedicated hardware circuit.

[0086] Figure 2 This is a diagram representing the data structure of the personal database 20. The personal database 20 records historical data of environmental controls performed on each user. Each record in the personal database 20 is generated upon each intervention (described later) and corresponds to a historical record. The personal database 20 includes attributes, desired state, typical environment (five senses), intervention content, intervention effect, and items using the date and time.

[0087] The attributes section records each user's gender, age, career aspirations, and occupation. These attributes are entered by the user beforehand. The desired state is the state the user actually wants to become or anticipates becoming. The desired state can be determined, for example, based on the work content indicated by the user's schedule, or directly entered by the user. For example, if the work content is meeting minutes, the desired state is determined to be "concentration." If the work content is brainstorming ideas, the desired state is determined to be "creativity." Furthermore, the desired state can also be determined based on the user's current brainwave state. For example, if alpha waves persist for a certain period, the desired state is determined to be "creativity." The duration of alpha wave occurrence is measured, for example, by analyzing brainwaves detected by a brainwave sensor. These determinations of desired states are performed, for example, by the control unit 16. The control unit 16 records the determination results in the personal database 20.

[0088] The "normal environment" refers to the environmental controls applied to the user under normal conditions. The normal environment includes stimulation from the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch (warmth), and taste. The first line of the record includes visual "coffee shop image," auditory "sounds from other tables," olfactory "coffee," and tactile "warmth." Therefore, this record includes the following: an image of a coffee shop is displayed on the screen; simulated conversations from other tables are output from speakers; the aroma of coffee is released from the spice dispenser; and air conditioning provides a specified temperature of warmth. The "normal state" refers to a state where the psychological score does not drop below a threshold.

[0089] Intervention content refers to the stimulus applied to a user when their psychological score falls below a threshold. Applying this stimulus to the user is called intervention. Intervention content includes the threshold and the stimulus. The threshold is the value of the threshold at which the intervention is performed. The record in the first row records "when psychological score drops to 30%" as the threshold. This means that intervention was performed when the psychological score dropped to 30% of its maximum value. The maximum psychological score refers to the maximum psychological score derived so far for each user. The stimulus represents the content of the stimulus applied to the user during intervention. The record in the first row records "enhanced coffee aroma." This indicates that an intervention to enhance the coffee aroma was performed.

[0090] The intervention effect indicates the outcome of the intervention. The first line of the record states "Psychological score increased by 10%." This means that the psychological score after intervention increased by 10% compared to the psychological score before intervention. The psychological score after intervention relative to the psychological score before intervention is represented by ((psychological score after intervention - psychological score before intervention) / psychological score before intervention) × 100.

[0091] The intervention date and time indicate the execution time of the intervention. For example, the record in the first row states "2022 / 10 / 5 15:00-15:45". This indicates that the intervention was performed from 15:00 to 15:45 on October 5, 2022. Therefore, it is possible to optimize the stimulus by considering effective stimulus types that depend on the time period (e.g., stimulus types that depend on prevalence or season).

[0092] exist Figure 2 In the example, the desired state is creation, therefore the mental score represents the mental score for creation. When the desired state is concentration, the mental score is calculated based on the mental score for concentration.

[0093] The control unit 16 generates a group database 30 that represents the environmental control content corresponding to each attribute by summarizing the environmental control content recorded in the individual database 20 according to each attribute.

[0094] Figure 3 This is a diagram representing the data structure of the group database 30. The items in the group database 30 are identical to those in the individual database 20, except that they include a reference period instead of the intervention date and time item; therefore, description is omitted. The reference period includes the start and end dates of the period referenced when determining environmental controls for the first user.

[0095] Control unit 16 generates group database 30 as follows. (Refer to...) Figure 2 Record group 210 is a collection of records from users with the same attributes. Record group 210 consists of records from users whose attributes include gender "male," age "20s," ambition "high," and occupation "creative position." Control unit 16 extracts record group 210 from personal database 20. Control unit 16 categorizes the extracted record group 210 according to records with the same intervention content "stimulus." Record sets 201 in rows 1-3 all have the same intervention content "stimulus." Therefore, control unit 16 aggregates record sets 201 into one record 301. Figure 3In record 301, "psychological score decreased to 30%" is recorded as an intervention content "threshold". This is because the representative value of "30%", "40%", and "20%" of the intervention content "threshold" in record set 201 is calculated to be "30%". The representative value is the average or median. In record 301, "psychological score increased by 11%" is recorded as an intervention effect. This is because the representative value of "10%", "12%", and "11%" of the intervention effect in record set 201 is calculated to be "11%". The control unit 16 generates a group database 30 by performing the same processing on other record groups. Record group 310 is a record group obtained by summarizing record group 210 by each record set. In record group 310, records with different intervention content "stimuli" are included among users with the same attributes.

[0096] Figure 4 It means Figure 1 The flowchart of the information processing system 1 shown is as follows: Control unit 16 obtains attribute information representing the attributes of the first user (step S1). Control unit 16 obtains the attribute information of the first user by extracting attribute information corresponding to the user ID sent from terminal device 4 from personal database 20. In this case, it is assumed that the user ID (not shown) is associated with each record in the personal database. Terminal device 4 obtains the user ID by having the user input the user ID.

[0097] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 retrieves historical data from the group database 30 on environmental controls previously performed on users with attributes similar to the first user (step S2). See also... Figure 3 If the first user's attributes are "male," "20+ years old," "high ambition," and "creative job," then the attributes of the three historical data points shown in record groups 310 (rows 1-3) match the first user's attributes. Therefore, the environmental control decision unit 17 acquires these three historical data points. Alternatively, if the group database 30 does not store attributes completely identical to the first user's, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the record group 310 among the multiple record groups 310 that is most similar to the first user's attributes, and extracts the historical data contained in the determined record group 310. In this case, the more items (gender, age, ambition, job type) in each of the multiple record groups 310 that match the first user's attributes, the higher the similarity is considered by the environmental control decision unit 17.

[0098] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17, based on the historical data obtained in step S2, determines the historical data with the highest intervention effect as the first environmental control (step S3). Figure 3In the example, the historical data with the greatest intervention effect among the historical data in rows 1-3 is the historical data in row 1. Therefore, the historical data in row 1 is determined as the first environmental control.

[0099] Next, the score derivation unit 12 begins to derive the psychological score of the first user (step S4). In this case, the score derivation unit 12 uses physiological indicators calculated using any of the methods described above to derive the psychological score. In this example, since the state the first user wants to become is creation, a psychological score for creation is derived.

[0100] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 applies the stimulus to the first user as represented by the "normal environment" in the first environmental control determined in step S3 (step S5). Figure 3 In the example, the historical data in the first row records the visual "coffee shop image," the auditory "sounds from other tables," the olfactory "coffee," and the tactile "warmth" as the "normal environment," and thus these four stimuli are applied to the first user. Specifically, the environmental control decision unit 17 sends control signals regarding each of the coffee shop image, sounds from other tables, coffee aroma, and warmth to the environment forming device 3 via the communication unit 15, thereby applying these four stimuli to the first user. Furthermore, the intensity of the coffee aroma applied to the first user and the intensity of the air conditioning equipment (set temperature) corresponding to the warmth are predetermined. Here, all four stimuli recorded in the "normal environment" are applied, but it is also possible to apply one or more, or up to three, of these four randomly determined stimuli to the first user.

[0101] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether the psychological score of the first user derived by the score derivation unit 12 is lower than a threshold. If the psychological score of the first user is not lower than the threshold (no in step S6), the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the psychological score of the first user is lower than the threshold (yes in step S6), the process proceeds to step S8. The threshold is the threshold corresponding to the first environmental control determined in step S3. Here, Figure 3 The historical data in the first row is determined as the first environmental control, so "when the psychological score drops to 30%" is used as the threshold. Therefore, when the first user's psychological score is below 30%, it is determined that the first user's psychological score is below the threshold.

[0102] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether the termination condition is met (step S7). Termination conditions include, for example, the current time being the predetermined time for the first user to end their use of compartment 5, or the first user inputting an operation requesting the termination of environmental control. If the termination condition is not met (no in step S7), the process returns to step S6. That is, if both step S6 and step S7 are no, the stimulus applied in step S5 is valid, and therefore the stimulus continues to be applied. If the termination condition is met (yes in step S7), the process ends.

[0103] Next, the Environmental Control Decision Department 17 intervenes (step S8). Here, in Figure 3 The first row of historical data records "enhancing coffee aroma" as the item under the intervention content "stimulus," therefore, an intervention to enhance coffee aroma is implemented. The degree to which the stimulus is enhanced is determined by a pre-defined value.

[0104] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether the first user's psychological score meets the criteria for increase (step S9). The details of this determination will be described later.

[0105] If the first user's psychological score does not meet the upward condition (No in step S9), the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether all environmental controls previously assigned to users with attributes similar to the first user have been applied (step S11). If all environmental controls have been assigned to the first user (Yes in step S11), the process ends because there are no environmental controls that meet the upward condition for the psychological score. For example, even if environmental controls are assigned to the first user in the record group 310 in descending order of intervention effect and the environmental control with the lowest intervention effect is applied to the first user, the psychological score still does not meet the upward condition, and this is determined as Yes in step S11. In addition, when the process ends in this case, a message urging the first user to use other compartments 5 can be sent.

[0106] If not all environmental controls have been assigned (no in step S11), the environmental control decision unit 17 determines a second environmental control and assigns the determined second environmental control to the first user (step S12). In this case, the historical data with the second highest intervention effect from the historical data shown in the record group 310 obtained in step S2 is determined as the second environmental control. Here, Figure 3 The first row of historical data was determined as the first environmental control. The third row of historical data had the second highest intervention effect in group 310; therefore, it was determined as the second environmental control. Figure 3In the example, the historical data in the third row records visual "coffee shop imagery," auditory "sounds from other tables," olfactory "coffee," and tactile "warmth" as the "normal environment," and therefore these four stimuli are applied to the first user. Furthermore, as an intervention, it is recorded that the aroma of coffee is enhanced when the psychological score drops to 20%, so when the psychological score drops to 20%, an intervention to enhance the aroma of coffee is implemented. When applying environmental control, similar to the first environmental control, it is achieved by sending various control signals from the communication unit 15 to the environment forming device 3. When the processing in step S12 ends, the process returns to step S9.

[0107] In step S9, if the first user's psychological score meets the upward condition (yes in step S9), the environmental control decision unit 17 fine-tunes the current environmental control (step S10). Thus, the first environmental control or the second environmental control effective for the first user is fine-tuned. The fine-tuned environmental control is an example of an environmental control that applies a stimulus to the user similar to the stimulus applied through the first environmental control or the second environmental control.

[0108] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether N (N is an integer) environmental control fine-tuning operations have been performed (step S13). If no N fine-tuning operations have been performed ("No" in step S13), the environmental control decision unit 17 obtains the psychological score derived by the score derivation unit 12 (step S14) and returns the process to step S10. If N fine-tuning operations have been performed ("Yes" in step S13), the process proceeds to step S15.

[0109] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the optimal type of stimulus for the first user based on the processing results of steps S10, S13, and S14 (step S15). Details of the processing of steps S10, S13, S14, and S15 will be described later.

[0110] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 fine-tunes the threshold (step S16). This fine-tuning is a process of searching for the optimal threshold among the types of optimal stimuli determined in step S15.

[0111] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether the threshold has been fine-tuned M times (M is an integer) (step S17). If no fine-tuning has been performed ("No" in step S17), the environmental control decision unit 17 obtains the psychological score derived by the score derivation unit 12 (step S18) and returns the process to step S16. If M fine-tuning has been performed ("Yes" in step S17), the process proceeds to step S19.

[0112] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the optimal threshold for the first user based on the processing results of steps S16, S17, and S18 (step S19). Details of the processing of steps S16, S17, S18, and S19 will be described later.

[0113] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines whether the termination condition is met (step S20). The termination condition is the same as in step S7, so a detailed explanation is omitted. If the termination condition is met (yes in step S20), the process proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, if the termination condition is not met (no in step S20), the process returns to step S9.

[0114] Next, the display output unit 11 displays a screen showing the intervention effect on the display of the terminal device 4 (step S21). The details of this process will be described later.

[0115] Next, the display output unit 11 obtains the content of the environment control selected by the first user from the terminal device 4 (step S22). The details of this process will be described later.

[0116] (Details of step S9)

[0117] Next, regarding Figure 4 The following is a detailed explanation of the method for determining whether step S9 meets the rising condition. There are two examples of this method. Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first example of a method for determining the ascent condition. Figure 5 In the diagram, the vertical axis represents the psychological score, and the horizontal axis represents time. In the first example of the method for determining the escalation condition, the psychological score is determined to have increased based on whether the rate of increase in the psychological score before and after intervention exceeds a threshold. For example, at time t1, the environmental control decision unit 17 intervenes with a stimulus intensity of "medium". At time t2, after a predetermined time has elapsed from time t1, the environmental control decision unit 17 calculates the rate of increase in the psychological score. The rate of increase is calculated by ((psychological score after intervention - psychological score before intervention) / psychological score before intervention) × 100. Since the rate of increase in the psychological score after intervention at time t2 is lower than the threshold and worsens, it is determined that the escalation condition is not met. In this case, it is determined as "no" in step S9. At time t3, an intervention with a stimulus intensity of "strong" is implemented. At time t4, after a predetermined time has elapsed from time t3, the rate of increase in the psychological score is higher than the threshold and improves, therefore it is determined that the escalation condition is met. In this case, it is determined as "yes" in step S9. Here, the predetermined time can be a value set by the user or a value predetermined in advance.

[0118] Thus, in the first example of the judgment and processing of the rising condition, the psychological score is judged to have risen based on whether the rate of increase of the psychological score exceeds the threshold, so it is possible to easily determine whether the psychological score exists.

[0119] Next, a second example of the determination process for the rising condition will be explained. In this second example, the environmental control decision unit 17 compares the rate of increase in the psychological score of a user with attributes similar to the first user caused by past environmental controls with the rate of increase in the first user's psychological score caused by those same environmental controls. Then, when the rate of increase in the first user's psychological score is higher than or approximately equal to the rate of increase in the psychological score of a user with attributes similar to the first user, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines that the first user's psychological score has increased due to those environmental controls. Furthermore, the rate of increase in psychological score corresponds to an example of the amount of increase in psychological score.

[0120] Figure 6 , Figure 7 This is an explanatory diagram of the second example of the determination and processing of the rising condition. Figure 6 In the graph, the vertical axis represents the rate of increase in psychological scores, and the horizontal axis represents the type of stimulus. Figure 6 In the chart, the white chart represents the growth rate of the first user, and the branch chart represents the average or median growth rate of users with similar attributes to the first user. These are in... Figures 7-9 The same applies to the charts. Figure 6 In the example, the first user is set as user A. Figure 6 In the case where an intervention was implemented to enhance the intensity of the coffee aroma stimulation for user A, user A's psychological score increased by 0.2% compared to users with similar attributes. In this case, the environmental control decision unit 17 determined that the current environmental control met the conditions for an increase.

[0121] exist Figure 7 In this context, the first user is set as user B. Figure 7In the example, when intervention to enhance the intensity of the coffee aroma stimulation was implemented for user B, although the psychological score improved, the rate of increase in the psychological score was 15% lower than that of users with similar attributes. In this case, the environmental control decision unit 17 determined that the current environmental control did not meet the condition for an increase. Similarly, when intervention to enhance the wind was implemented for user B, the psychological score worsened, and the rate of increase in the psychological score was 10% lower than that of users with similar attributes. In this case, the environmental control decision unit 17 determined that the environmental control for user B did not meet the condition for an increase. On the other hand, when intervention to provide a warning alarm sound was implemented for user B, the psychological score improved, and the rate of increase in the psychological score was 15% higher than that of users with similar attributes. In this case, the environmental control decision unit 17 determined that the current environmental control met the condition for an increase. Thus, according to the determination method of the second example, it is possible to determine whether the psychological score of the first user has increased by considering the relationship between the increase in the psychological score of the first user and the increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes to the first user.

[0122] (Details of the processing in steps S10, S13, S14, and S15)

[0123] Next, regarding Figure 4 The fine-tuning process of the environmental control shown in steps S10, S13, S14, and S15 will be explained. When the most effective environmental control is continuously implemented among users with similar attributes, it is impossible to determine the threshold and type of stimulus with high intervention effect for each user. Therefore, this disclosure searches for types of stimuli with high intervention effect in the environmental control currently applied to the first user. Specifically, it searches for types of stimuli with high intervention effect from the stimuli listed in the "normal environment" of the environmental control currently applied to the first user.

[0124] First, the environmental control decision unit 17 randomly extracts one or more sets of stimuli from the categories of stimuli represented by the current environmental control as the basis for the "normal environment". Figure 3 In the example in the first row, one or more sets of stimuli are extracted from the visual "coffee video", the auditory "sounds from other tables", the olfactory "coffee", and the tactile "warmth".

[0125] Next, the environmental control decision unit 17 applies the stimulus represented by the stimulus set to the first user and obtains a psychological score after a predetermined period of time. The environmental control decision unit 17 processes each stimulus set in this way. Then, based on the psychological scores for each stimulus set, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the optimal type of stimulus for the first user. For example, the environmental control decision unit 17 may determine the optimal type of stimulus as the stimulus set that results in the largest increase in psychological score after intervention compared to the psychological score before intervention.

[0126] (Details of the processing in steps S16, S17, S18, and S19)

[0127] Steps S16, S17, S18, and S19 involve determining the optimal threshold for the first user from the types of optimal stimuli determined in step S15. First, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines a threshold by increasing or decreasing it within a specified range in units of a specified magnitude. Next, if the first user's psychological score is below a threshold, the environmental control decision unit 17 applies the optimal stimulus determined in step S15 to the first user. Then, the environmental control decision unit 17 obtains the first user's psychological score after a specified time has elapsed since the stimulus was applied. The environmental control decision unit 17 repeatedly performs this process of changing the threshold while obtaining psychological scores. Finally, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the optimal threshold based on the psychological scores obtained for each threshold.

[0128] Figure 8 , Figure 9 This is an illustrative diagram illustrating the process for determining the optimal threshold. In Figure 8 In the example, the first user is user A, and the type of stimulus best suited for user A determines the enhancement of the coffee aroma. Figure 8 The example shows the rate of increase in user A's psychological score and the rate of increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes when the threshold for enhancing coffee aroma is changed to 10%, 20%, and 30%. The threshold with the largest rate of increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes is "20%". On the other hand, the rate of increase in user A's psychological score at the threshold of "20%" is higher than the rate of increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes. Therefore, "20%" is determined to be the optimal threshold for user A.

[0129] exist Figure 9 In the example, the first user is user B, and the type of stimulus optimal for user B determines the alert tone. Figure 9The example shows the rate of increase in user B's psychological score and the rate of increase in the psychological score of users with similar attributes when the threshold is changed to 30%, 40%, and 50% during the alert sound. Among users with similar attributes, the threshold with the highest rate of increase in psychological score is "40%". On the other hand, the rate of increase in user B's psychological score at the threshold "40%" is lower than that of users with similar attributes. Therefore, the threshold "40%" is determined to be not optimal for user B. The second highest rate of increase in psychological score among users with similar attributes is "30%". At this threshold, the rate of increase in user B's psychological score is lower than that of users with similar attributes. Therefore, the threshold "30%" is also determined to be not optimal for user B. Conversely, at the threshold of "50%", the rate of increase in user B's psychological score is higher than that of users with similar attributes. Therefore, the optimal threshold for user B is determined to be "50%".

[0130] Thus, in Figure 8 , Figure 9 In the example, the environmental control decision unit 17 compares the rate of increase of the psychological scores of users with similar attributes with the rate of increase of the psychological scores of the first user, in descending order of the psychological scores of users with similar attributes. Then, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the threshold at which the rate of increase of the psychological scores of the first user is higher than the rate of increase of the psychological scores of users with similar attributes as the optimal threshold for the first user.

[0131] In addition, Figure 8 , Figure 9 In the example, a threshold is used as the search target, but the same method as the threshold can be used to search for the intensity of the stimulus, either directly or in lieu of a threshold. Additionally, in Figure 9 In the example, the frequency of the alarm tone can also be searched in the same way as the method for searching for a threshold. Furthermore, in Figure 8 , Figure 9 In the example, the search threshold is for the type of stimulus determined in step S15, but the optimal threshold can also be searched for based on the current environmental control before fine-tuning. In this case, the processing in steps S10, S13, S14, and S15 can also be omitted.

[0132] (Details of steps S21 and S22)

[0133] Figure 10 This diagram illustrates an example of a display screen 500 showing the effects of intervention. Display screen 500 displays, in tabular form, the optimal environmental controls determined by user A. Display screen 500 includes columns for the desired state, the normal environment, the intervention content, and the intervention effects. Details of these items are provided in... Figure 2 , Figure 3The explanation has already been provided, so it will be omitted here. This example demonstrates the optimal environmental controls for creativity and concentration, respectively. For instance, in the creative case, it shows that if an intervention to enhance the aroma of coffee is performed when the psychological score drops to 40%, the psychological score increases by 10%. Referring to display screen 500, user A can objectively determine which environmental controls are suitable for them.

[0134] Figure 11 This diagram illustrates an example of a display screen 600 showing the intervention effect. This display screen 600 is for user A. The display screen 600 includes a chart display bar 601 and a selection bar 602. The display screen 600 shows messages indicating that the intervention effect of "enhancing coffee aroma" is the highest, that the coffee aroma intervention will be performed more frequently the next time user A uses cubicle 5, and that the intervention content can be changed.

[0135] Chart 601 displays bar charts for each of the multiple interventions assigned to user A, showing the intervention effect on user A and the intervention effect on users with similar attributes. Here, the rate of increase in psychological scores is used as the intervention effect. In this example, enhancing coffee aroma is determined to be the best intervention, therefore the bar charts for user A representing coffee aroma and the bar charts for users with similar attributes are surrounded by dashed lines 604.

[0136] Selection bar 602 is a bar for user A to select the desired intervention from other intervention candidates. Selection bar 602 displays, for example, interventions with the 2nd to 4th highest effectiveness among users with similar attributes. If user A wants to choose another intervention instead of enhancing coffee aroma, they can select one from the interventions displayed in selection bar 602 by using icon 603. The selected intervention is stored in storage unit 13 and determined as the intervention for user A's next use of cubicle 5.

[0137] Figure 12 This is another example of a display screen 600 showing the intervention effect. This display screen 600 is for user B. The display screen 600 displays messages indicating the following: the intervention effect of enhancing coffee aroma, which has the greatest intervention effect among users with similar attributes, has decreased; the intervention effect of enhancing wind has increased; the intervention of enhancing wind will be performed more frequently in the next use of compartment 5; the intervention content can be changed.

[0138] exist Figure 12In the example, enhanced wind was determined to be the optimal intervention, therefore, in chart display bar 601, the bar chart representing user B with enhanced wind and the bar charts representing users with similar attributes are surrounded by dashed lines 604. Furthermore, compared to enhanced coffee aroma, which had the greatest intervention effect among users with similar attributes, the intervention effect of enhanced wind for user B increased by 8%, therefore, an arrow marker and message indicating this situation are displayed in display screen 600. In addition, Figure 12 The display screen 600 and Figure 11 The display screen is the same as the original, so the description is omitted.

[0139] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen 800 showing the intervention effect related to a threshold. This display screen 800 is for user A. The display screen 800 shows messages indicating that the intervention effect at the threshold "20%" is the highest in "Enhanced Coffee Aroma," that the intervention at the threshold "20%" is performed more frequently the next time user A uses compartment 5, and that the intervention frequency can be changed. The display screen 800 includes a chart display bar 801 and a selection bar 802.

[0140] Chart 801 shows bar charts representing the intervention effect on user A and the intervention effect on users with similar attributes, for each of the multiple thresholds assigned to user A. Here, the rate of increase in psychological score is used as the intervention effect. In this example, the threshold "20%" is determined to be the optimal threshold, therefore the bar charts representing user A at this threshold and the bar charts representing users with similar attributes are surrounded by dashed lines 804.

[0141] Selection bar 802 is for selecting the intervention frequency. In selection bar 802, user A can choose any of three intervention frequencies: more, just right, or less. When more is selected, the optimal threshold determined by user A increases by a predetermined value, thus increasing the intervention frequency. When just right is selected, the optimal threshold determined by user A is maintained, thus maintaining the intervention frequency. When less is selected, the optimal threshold determined by user A decreases by a predetermined value, thus decreasing the intervention frequency. If user A wants to change the intervention frequency, they can select the intervention frequency displayed in selection bar 802 using operation icon 803. The selected intervention frequency is stored in storage unit 13 and determined as the intervention frequency for user A's next use of cubicle 5. Furthermore, a message indicating that enhanced coffee aroma has been selected as the optimal intervention is displayed in the lower section of display screen 800.

[0142] Figure 14This is another example of a display screen 800 showing the intervention effect related to a threshold. This display screen 800 is the display screen when the first user is user C. The display screen 800 shows messages indicating that in "enhancing coffee aroma", the intervention effect of the threshold "20%" is the highest among users with similar attributes, the intervention effect of the threshold "30%" is the greatest for user C, the intervention of the threshold "30%" will be performed the next time user C uses compartment 5, and the intervention frequency can be changed.

[0143] exist Figure 14 In the example, "enhancing coffee aroma" was determined to be the optimal intervention. Therefore, in chart display bar 801, the bar chart representing user C with the threshold "30%" and the bar charts of users with similar attributes are surrounded by dashed lines 804. Furthermore, compared to the threshold "20%" which has the greatest intervention effect among users with similar attributes, the intervention effect of user C's threshold "30%" is increased by 8%, therefore, an arrow indicating this situation and a message are displayed on display screen 800. In addition, Figure 14 The display screen 800 and Figure 13 The display screen is the same as the original, so the description is omitted.

[0144] Furthermore, the display output unit 11 can display any one of the display screens 500, 600, and 800, or it can switch between displaying all the display screens.

[0145] Thus, according to the information processing system in this embodiment, if the first user's psychological score does not increase after executing the first environmental control, a second environmental control, different from the first environmental control, is executed. Furthermore, the optimal intervention content for the user is determined within either the first or second environmental control. In this embodiment, the content of the environmental control suitable for the first user is determined through trial and error, thus enabling the determination of better environmental control for each user. Moreover, since both the first and second environmental controls are for users with attributes similar to the first user, the content of the environmental control can be determined efficiently even without accumulating a large amount of historical data for the first user.

[0146] The following variations are possible with respect to this disclosure.

[0147] (1) The display output unit 11 can also be in step S22. Figure 15 The selection screen 1400 shown is displayed on the monitor of the terminal device 4. If the first user continues to use the optimized intervention content, although the intervention effect can be obtained, the user may become bored with the optimized intervention content. Therefore, the display output unit 11 displays the selection screen 1400 for selecting one of the intervention content, intervention frequency, and stimulation intensity on the monitor of the terminal device 4.

[0148] The selection screen 1400 includes a selection bar 1410 for other intervention content, a selection bar 1420 for intervention frequency, and a selection bar 1430 for stimulation intensity. Selection bar 1410 displays the intervention content with the 2nd to 4th highest intervention effect among users with similar attributes to the first user. The first user selects the desired intervention content from the intervention content displayed in selection bar 1410 using the operation icon 1411.

[0149] Selection bar 1420 is for the first user to select the intervention frequency. Its details are the same as selection bar 802, therefore descriptions are omitted. The first user selects the desired intervention frequency from the frequencies displayed in selection bar 1420 using the operation icon 1421.

[0150] Selection bar 1430 is for selecting the intensity of the stimulus. In selection bar 1430, the first user can select any of the following stimulus intensities: increased, just right, or decreased. The first user selects the desired stimulus intensity from the intensities displayed in selection bar 1430 by operating icon 1431. When increased is selected, the intensity of the intervention content selected in selection bar 1410 is increased by a predetermined value compared to the default value. When just right is selected, the intensity of the intervention content selected in selection bar 1410 remains at the default value. When decreased is selected, the intensity of the intervention content selected in selection bar 1410 is decreased by a predetermined value compared to the default value. The selected intervention content, intervention frequency, and stimulus intensity are stored in storage unit 13 and determined as the intervention content, intervention frequency, and stimulus intensity for the next time the first user uses compartment 5.

[0151] also, Figure 15 The selection screen 1400 can be displayed in place of display screens 500, 600, and 800, or it can be displayed in a way that allows switching between display screens 500, 600, and 800.

[0152] (2) In step S10, fine-tuning is made to determine the optimal intervention content, but the optimal normal environmental control for the first user can also be determined in this fine-tuning.

[0153] (3) In step S2, when historical data on environmental controls performed on users with attributes similar to the first user are obtained from the group database 30, the environmental control decision unit 17 may also consider the period when obtaining historical data. For example, the environmental control decision unit 17 estimates the current season based on the current date and time, and estimates the season in which intervention was performed in each historical data based on the "intervention date and time" recorded in the historical data with similar attributes. The estimated season is a hot season, a cold season, or spring, summer, autumn, winter, etc. Then, the environmental control decision unit 17 obtains historical data that matches the current season from the historical data with similar attributes. In addition, in step S3, the environmental control decision unit 17 determines the historical data with the highest intervention effect from the historical data that matches the current season as the first environmental control.

[0154] (Other 1)

[0155] The information processing method and system, and the camera system disclosed herein are not limited to the embodiments described above. Other embodiments implemented by combining any of the constituent elements of the above embodiments, and variations of the above embodiments that can be conceived by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this disclosure, are also included in this disclosure.

[0156] (Other 2)

[0157] Variations of the embodiments disclosed herein may also be shown below.

[0158] A method executed by a computer,

[0159] Receive first information indicating the amount of cerebral blood flow in the target user measured before the first device performs the Pe1 process.

[0160] The first device performs the process Pe1.

[0161] The system receives second information representing the amount of cerebral blood flow to the target user measured after the first device performs the process Pe1.

[0162] Based on the first and second information, a value is determined, which indicates the extent to which the amount of cerebral blood flow to the target user increases before and after the first device performs the process Pe1.

[0163] After confirming that the value is smaller than the specified value, the first device executes process Pe2.

[0164] Value V1 indicates the extent to which the amount of cerebral blood flow to the first user increases before and after the first treatment, ..., value Vn indicates the extent to which the amount of cerebral blood flow to the nth user increases before and after the nth treatment.

[0165] 1 ≦ k ≦ n, 1 ≦ j ≦ n, k ≠ j, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, k is an integer, and j is an integer.

[0166] The value Vk is the largest among the values ​​V1, ..., Vn.

[0167] The value Vj is the second largest among the values ​​V1, ..., and the value Vn.

[0168] The process Pe1 is the same as the k-th process.

[0169] The process Pe2 is the same as the j-th process.

[0170] If the first device performs the process Pe1, sound is output.

[0171] If the first device performs the process Pe2, the image is output.

[0172] The first user is different from the target user, ..., the nth user is different from the target user.

[0173] Industrial applicability

[0174] This disclosure is useful in the technical field of forming a user's operating environment.

[0175] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0176] 1. Information Processing System

[0177] 2. Sensor equipment

[0178] 3. Environment Formation Device

[0179] 4. Terminal device

[0180] 5 compartments

[0181] 11 Display Output Section

[0182] 12 Score Derivation Section

[0183] 13 Storage Department

[0184] 14. Physiological Indicator Calculation Department

[0185] 15 Ministry of Communications

[0186] 16 Control Department

[0187] 17. Environmental Control Decision Department

[0188] 18 Judgment Department

[0189] 20 Personal Databases

Claims

1. An information processing method, which is an information processing method in a computer, comprising: Derive a psychological score representing the degree of the first user's mental state; Perform the first environmental control that was previously applied to users with similar attributes to the first user on the first user; Determine whether the psychological score of the first user increases due to the first environmental control; and If it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, the second environmental control is determined to be the next environmental control to be performed on the first user. The second environmental control is the environmental control that was previously performed on users with similar attributes to the first user, and is a different environmental control from the first environmental control that can help increase the psychological score.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The environmental control decision includes: if it is determined that the psychological score has increased, determining the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next, based on the content of the first environmental control.

3. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The first environmental control and the second environmental control each include control of applying a stimulus associated with a sense selected from at least one of the group consisting of visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile senses to the first user, and control of changing the content of the stimulus of the at least one in accordance with a decrease in the psychological score of the first user.

4. The information processing method according to claim 3, wherein, The control of changing the content of the stimulus in response to a decrease in the psychological score of the first user includes: controlling the change of the content of the stimulus when the psychological score of the first user is lower than a threshold determined in accordance with the content established by the first environmental control.

5. The information processing method according to claim 4, wherein, The environmental control decision includes: if the psychological score increases, without changing the stimulus applied through the first environmental control, but determining the environmental control that causes the threshold change as the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next.

6. The information processing method according to claim 3, wherein, The environmental control decision includes: if it is determined that the psychological score has increased, determining that the environmental control to apply a stimulus similar to the stimulus applied through the first environmental control will be the content of the environmental control to be performed on the first user next.

7. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether the psychological score of the first user increases due to the first environmental control includes: The increase in the psychological score of a user with similar attributes to the first user due to the first environmental control in the past is compared with the increase in the psychological score of the first user due to the first environmental control. If the increase in the first user's psychological score is greater than or approximately equal to the increase in the previous psychological score, it is determined that the first user's psychological score has increased due to the first environmental control.

8. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The second environmental control, determined when the psychological score has not increased, is the next environmental control after the first environmental control in the past environmental controls performed on users with similar attributes to the first user, in descending order of the increase in the psychological score.

9. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The psychological score represents the user's level of concentration or creativity.

10. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, Also includes: The environmental controls performed on each user are recorded in the personal database in association with the attributes of the first user.

11. The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein, Also includes: The environmental control content recorded in the personal database is aggregated according to the user's attributes, thereby generating an attribute database representing the environmental control content corresponding to the attributes.

12. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein, The system also displays a screen showing the psychological score generated when the first environmental control or the second environmental control was executed.

13. An information processing system, comprising a processor, The processor performs the following processing: Derive a psychological score representing the degree of the first user's mental state. The first environmental control measures previously implemented for users with similar attributes to the first user are applied to the first user. Determine whether the psychological score of the first user increases due to the first environmental control. If it is determined that the psychological score has not increased, the second environmental control is determined to be the next environmental control to be performed on the first user. The second environmental control is the environmental control that was previously performed on users with similar attributes to the first user, and is a different environmental control from the first environmental control that can help increase the psychological score.

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