Computer program product and system

Abstract

The present disclosure provides computer program products and systems. A computer program product causes a processing unit of a computer to execute: a process for determining, on the basis of history information relating to a history of a state of a subject, whether or not a change satisfying a predetermined condition has occurred in a virtual emotion of the subject or a virtual character of the subject during a certain period; and when it is determined that the emotion or character of the subject has changed in accordance with the predetermined condition, causing a display unit to display change information indicating that the change has occurred in the certain period.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing of relevant applications

[0002] This application claims priority and interest in Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-177109, filed on October 9, 2024. The specification, claims, and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-177109 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure relates to computer program products and systems. Background Technology

[0004] Previously, there were robots known to be able to engage in virtual communication with users by performing various actions based on their state (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-59389).

[0005] However, the state of objects such as robots is maintained as internal parameters of the object, so it is not easy to accurately grasp the historical record of the state from the appearance of the object. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this disclosure is to enable easy access to a historical record of an object's state. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the structure of a robot management system.

[0008] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the robot's main body.

[0009] Figure 3 It is a block diagram representing the functional structure of a robot.

[0010] Figure 4 It is a diagram representing the content of the log.

[0011] Figure 5 It is a diagram representing an emotion map.

[0012] Figure 6 It is a block diagram representing the functional structure of a smartphone.

[0013] Figure 7 It is a diagram representing the content of status information.

[0014] Figure 8 It is an image representing the homepage screen.

[0015] Figure 9 This is an image representing a detailed information screen.

[0016] Figure 10 It is an image representing the interactive recording screen.

[0017] Figure 11 It is a flowchart representing the control steps for acquiring, displaying, and processing information.

[0018] Figure 12A It is a graph that shows the changes in emotion when the emotion icon is displayed.

[0019] Figure 12B It is an icon representing emotions.

[0020] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating how the displayed emotion icons are determined.

[0021] Figure 14 This is a flowchart representing the control steps for displaying emotion icons.

[0022] Figure 15 It is a diagram that displays timeline information related to sleep states.

[0023] Figure 16 This is a diagram illustrating the display of timeline information related to the state of being unable to sleep.

[0024] Figure 17 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of the timeline display process.

[0025] Figure 18 This is an image representing the status of the rating screen displayed on the homepage.

[0026] Figure 19 This is a flowchart representing the control steps of the evaluation screen display processing. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described based on the accompanying drawings. Figure 1As shown, the robot management system 1 (display system, system) includes a robot 10 (object), a smartphone 20 (terminal device), and a server 60. The robot 10 has a main body 100 and an outer casing 110 covering the entire surface of the main body 100. The robot 10 is a pet robot that mimics a small creature. The robot 10 is capable of performing multiple different actions that mimic the behavior of a living creature. The outer casing 110 is made of a soft material and deforms according to the movement of the main body 100. The outer casing 110 may have, for example, fur made of plush fabric and decorative components mimicking eyes. The smartphone 20 can communicate with the robot 10 via short-range wireless communication. In this embodiment, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is used as short-range wireless communication. However, short-range wireless communication methods other than BLE can also be used. The robot 10 and the smartphone 20 communicate via BLE to send and receive data, thereby cooperating in their actions. For example, the smartphone 20 obtains state information 232 (see reference) related to the latest state of the robot 10. Figure 6 as well as Figure 7 Based on this status information 232, the smartphone 20 uses the management application 231 (program) for managing the robot 10 (as shown in the reference). Figure 6 On the homepage, which contains various information related to the state of robot 10 (see reference). Figure 8 The log 133 generated in the robot 10 is displayed on the display unit 24. Furthermore, the smartphone 20 retrieves the log 133 generated in the robot 10 (see reference 10) from the robot 10. Figure 3 as well as Figure 4 And accumulate in the log DB (database) 233 (reference) Figure 6 Log 133 and Log DB233 are a way to record historical information related to the state history of robot 10. Based on Log DB233, smartphone 20 displays an interactive recording screen 40 (see reference) on management application 231, containing various information related to the historical state history of robot 10. Figure 10 The information is displayed on display unit 24. Two or more robots 10 can also collaborate with a smartphone 20. Other types of devices, such as tablets, smartwatches, laptops, or management servers, can also be used instead of the smartphone 20. The smartphone 20 communicates with the server 60 via a network N such as the Internet. The smartphone 20 forwards the logs 133 obtained from the robots 10 to the server 60. The logs 133 stored in the server 60 are used as a backup, for example.

[0028] like Figure 2As shown, the main body 100 of the robot 10 has a head 101, a torso 103, and a connecting portion 102 connecting the head 101 and the torso 103. The main body 100 has a drive unit 16 for moving the head 101 relative to the torso 103. The drive unit 16 has a torsion motor 161 and a vertical movement motor 162. The torsion motor 161 is a servo motor that rotates the head 101 and the connecting portion 102 within a given angular range around a first rotation axis 161a extending in the extending direction of the connecting portion 102. The movement of the torsion motor 161 enables the robot 10 to rotate the head 101. The vertical movement motor 162 is a servo motor that rotates the head 101 within a given angular range around a second rotation axis 162a perpendicular to the first rotation axis 161a. The vertical movement motor 162 enables the robot 10 to move the head 101 up and down. The direction of the up-and-down movement of the head 101 is also tilted relative to the vertical direction due to the angle of the torsion of the head 101 by the torsion motor 161. By making the torsion motor 161 and / or the up-and-down movement motor 162 move slightly and periodically, the robot 10 can achieve the action of shaking or trembling the head 101. By appropriately changing and combining the timing, magnitude, and speed of the movements of the torsion motor 161 and the up-and-down movement motor 162, the robot 10 can perform various actions, such as joyful actions, surprised actions, and breathing actions that imitate biological breathing. Among these, breathing actions are one type of spontaneous action of the robot 10.

[0029] like Figure 2 As shown, the main body 100 includes a touch sensor 171, an accelerometer 172, a gyroscope 173, an illuminance sensor 174, a microphone 175, a sound output unit 15, and a power receiving coil 193. The touch sensor 171 is respectively disposed on the upper part of the head 101, the upper part of the torso 103, and the side. The accelerometer 172, the gyroscope 173, and the power receiving coil 193 are disposed near the lower surface of the torso 103. The illuminance sensor 174 and the sound output unit 15 are disposed on the upper part of the torso 103. The microphone 175 is disposed on the upper part near the base of the head 101.

[0030] like Figure 3 As shown, the robot 10 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit), RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), storage unit 13, operation unit 14, sound output unit 15, drive unit 16, sensor unit 17, communication unit 18, and power supply unit 19. All parts of the robot 10 are connected via data transmission paths such as a bus. Figure 3 All the functional structures shown are located on the main body 100.

[0031] CPU 11 is a processor that controls the actions of robot 10 by reading and executing program 131 stored in storage unit 13 and performing various arithmetic operations. Alternatively, robot 10 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and these multiple processors may execute multiple processes performed by CPU 11 in this embodiment. In this case, multiple processors may participate in common processing, or multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel. RAM 12 provides working storage space to CPU 11 and stores temporary data. Storage unit 13 is a non-temporary recording medium that can be read by CPU 11, which is a computer, and stores program 131 and various data. Therefore, storage unit 13 contains a computer program product including program 131. Storage unit 13 may include, for example, non-volatile memory such as flash memory. Program 131 is stored in storage unit 13 as computer-readable program code. Program 131 includes firmware for controlling various hardware components of robot 10. Data stored in storage unit 13 includes action setting data 132, logs 133 containing information related to the history of robot 10, etc. The motion setting data 132 includes settings for communication actions performed by the robot 10 based on its state and the content of external stimuli, as well as automatically generated actions performed spontaneously by the robot 10 unrelated to external stimuli, and breathing actions. Automatically generated actions appear as the robot 10 behaving randomly, and can therefore be described as spontaneous actions. Settings related to the motion content include, for example, the timing and magnitude of the motion of the torsion motor 161 and the up-and-down motion motor 162 of the drive unit 16, and the pitch, duration, and volume of the sound output from the sound output unit 15.

[0032] Log 133 is generated by CPU 11 and stored in storage unit 13 during each given recording period. Log 133 includes information related to the historical record of robot 10 during each recording period. In this embodiment, the recording period is 30 minutes. However, if the timing of log 133 generation every 30 minutes would interfere with the generation of special processing, log 133 is generated at a time before the start of the special processing. In this case, the recording period is less than 30 minutes. Figure 4As shown, log 133 generated in a single log save includes robot ID 71, log generation date and time 72, log recording period 73, sleep information 74, emotion parameters 75, personality parameters 76, stimulus frequency information 77, and action frequency information 78. Robot ID 71 is a unique symbol assigned to robot 10. Log generation date and time 72 is the date and time (hours, minutes, seconds) at which log 133 was generated. Recording period 73 indicates the length of the period during which historical records reflected in log 133 are recorded. As mentioned above, recording period 73 is typically 30 minutes, but can be less than 30 minutes. Sleep information 74 includes information about the length of time robot 10 enters a sleep mode mimicking biological sleep during recording period 73 and the number of times it enters sleep mode. Robot 10 maintains a sleepiness parameter indicating drowsiness based on the surrounding environment (illuminance, etc.) and external stimuli; if this sleepiness parameter reaches a given value or higher, it enters sleep mode.

[0033] The emotion parameter 75 represents the historical record of the robot 10's virtual emotions. The emotion parameter 75 consists of an "emotion value (X)" and an "emotion value (Y)" (hereinafter collectively referred to as "emotion values") representing the robot 10's emotion at a given point in time (e.g., the start time of the recording period) during the recording period of log 133. The emotion value is based on... Figure 5The position of the plotted area on the XY coordinate plane emotion map represents the virtual emotion value of robot 10. "Emotion Value (X)" is the position along the X-axis; a larger value indicates higher reassurance, and a smaller value indicates higher anxiety. "Emotion Value (Y)" is the position along the Y-axis; a larger value indicates higher excitement, and a smaller value indicates higher listlessness. The maximum value for "Emotion Value (X)" is "200", and the minimum value is "-200". The maximum value for "Emotion Value (Y)" is "200", and the minimum value is "-200". Therefore, the emotion value is any coordinate within a square emotion region R with one side length of 400. The emotion region R of the emotion map is divided into multiple regions R1~R9 corresponding to multiple distinct emotions. Regions R1~R9 are square regions arranged in a 3×3 matrix. Regions R1~R9 each represent a specific emotion of robot 10. Region R1, which satisfies -200≤X≤-67 and 67≤Y≤200, represents the emotion of "anxiety". Region R2, satisfying -66≤X≤66 and 67≤Y≤200, represents the emotion of "excitement". Region R3, satisfying 67≤X≤200 and 67≤Y≤200, represents the emotion of "joy". Region R4, satisfying -200≤X≤-67 and -66≤Y≤66, represents the emotion of "anxiety". Region R5, satisfying -66≤X≤66 and -66≤Y≤66, represents the emotion of "normal". Region R6, satisfying 67≤X≤200 and -66≤Y≤66, represents the emotion of "peace of mind". Region R7, satisfying -200≤X≤-67 and -200≤Y≤-67, represents the emotion of "sadness". Region R8, satisfying -66≤X≤66 and -200≤Y≤-67, represents the emotion of "listlessness". Region R9, satisfying 67≤X≤200 and -200≤Y≤-67, represents the emotion of "stability". The regions R1-R4 and R6-R9, corresponding to the eight emotions other than "normal," are further divided into ten level regions ("Lv1" to "Lv10") representing the degree of emotion across ten stages. Within each of regions R1-R4 and R6-R9, regions closer to "normal" (R5) are assigned lower level regions, while regions further away from "normal" (R5) are assigned higher level regions. Hereinafter, the emotional state of robot 10 will sometimes be described as a combination of emotion type and level, such as "Reassurance Lv10." The four emotions among the nine—"Excitement," "Joy," "Reassurance," and "Stability"—are designated as positive emotions. Furthermore, the length of one side of the emotion region R and regions R1-R9 can increase within a certain range as robot 10 grows. For example, the emotion region R can be initially set to a region of -100≤X≤100 and -100≤Y≤100, and then increased to a region of -200≤X≤200 and -200≤Y≤200 as the robot 10 grows.The emotion value changes each time based on external stimuli received by robot 10. The amount of change in the emotion value in a single instance is selected from the following variables: DXP, DXM, DYP, and DYM.

[0034] DXP: The change in the +X direction

[0035] DXM: The amount of change in the -X direction

[0036] DYP: The change in the +Y direction

[0037] DYM: The amount of change in the -Y direction

[0038] Variable DXP represents the ease of feeling at ease, variable DXM represents the ease of feeling anxious, variable DYP represents the ease of feeling excited, and variable DYM represents the ease of feeling listless. In this embodiment, the initial values ​​of variables DXP, DXM, DYP, and DYM are "10". Furthermore, variables DXP, DXM, DYP, and DYM are increased by a given amount when their emotional values ​​reach their maximum values ​​in the +X-axis, -X-axis, +Y-axis, and -Y-axis directions, respectively. In this embodiment, the maximum value of variables DXP, DXM, DYP, and DYM is "20".

[0039] Figure 4 The personality parameter 76 shown represents the historical record of the virtual personality of robot 10. Personality parameter 76 represents the personality of robot 10 at a given point in time (e.g., the start time of the recording period) during the recording period of log 133. Personality parameter 76 consists of "Personality Value (Cheerful)," "Personality Value (Shy)," "Personality Value (Lively)," and "Personality Value (Spoiled)" (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Personality Value"). "Personality Value (Cheerful)" is the value obtained by subtracting "10" from the variable DXP, representing the ease of change in the positive X-axis direction of the emotion map, i.e., ease of feeling at ease. "Personality Value (Shy)" is the value obtained by subtracting "10" from the variable DXM, representing the ease of change in the negative X-axis direction of the emotion map, i.e., ease of feeling uneasy. "Personality Value (Lively)" is the value obtained by subtracting "10" from the variable DYP, representing the ease of change in the positive Y-axis direction of the emotion map, i.e., ease of feeling excited. The "Personality Value (Spoiled)" is obtained by subtracting "10" from the variable DYM, representing the ease with which the mood map changes in the negative Y-axis direction, i.e., the ease with which the user feels listless. Therefore, each personality value changes according to the variables DXP, DXM, DYP, and DYM, with an initial value of "0" and a maximum value of "10". Thus, the four personality values ​​represent the degree of four personality traits. The personality corresponding to the largest of the four personality values ​​is set as the personality of robot 10 at that point in time. For example, in... Figure 4In the example shown, since the "Personality Value (Cheerful)" is the maximum of "7", the robot 10's personality at that point in time is set to "Cheerful". Furthermore, when two or more personality values ​​are the same and the maximum, a personality is determined according to a given priority order. In this implementation, the priority order of personalities from highest to lowest is "Cheerful", "Lively", "Shy", and "Spoiled".

[0040] Stimulus frequency information 77 indicates the number of times robot 10 received a given stimulus (external stimulus) from the outside during the log recording period. Figure 4 In the example of stimulus count information 77, the number of times a voice was detected, the number of times a head was stroked, the number of times a body was stroked, and the number of times a robot was picked up are exemplified. External stimuli are not limited to these; for example, they may include "loud noises," "inversion," and "swinging." External stimuli related to sound, such as "voices" and "loud noises," are detected based on detection data from microphone 175. External stimuli related to contact, such as "body strokes" and "head strokes," are detected based on detection data from touch sensor 171. External stimuli accompanying changes in posture, such as "picking up," "inversion," and "swinging," are detected based on detection data from accelerometer 172 and gyroscope sensor 173. Action count information 78 indicates the number of times the robot 10 performed a given action during the log recording period. Figure 4 In the example, 78 represents the number of times the aforementioned automatically generated actions and communication actions were executed. Figure 4 Log 133 is an example and can be modified as appropriate. For example, log 133 can also record the number of times the robot 10 enters the closeness mode when it is intimate with the user, the number of times it is stimulated by the user in the closeness mode, the number of times a given action is performed in the closeness mode, etc.

[0041] In this way, Log 133 does not record the state, actions, and received stimuli of Robot 10 sequentially in chronological order. Instead, it summarizes the robot's state, actions, and received stimuli during a certain logging period into statistical values ​​(number of times, frequency, duration, etc.) and representative values ​​(emotional value, personality value, etc.) for each item. In other words, Log 133 becomes a data packet that centrally represents the historical records related to Robot 10 during the logging period as a given number of items. Therefore, compared with the sequential recording method, the data volume of Log 133 can be significantly reduced.

[0042] Figure 3The operation unit 14 shown includes operation buttons and operation knobs for power on / off, volume adjustment of the sound output from the sound output unit 15, etc. The operation unit 14 outputs operation information to the CPU 11 corresponding to the input operations on the operation buttons and operation knobs. The sound output unit 15 includes a speaker that outputs sound with pitch, duration, and volume corresponding to the control signals and sound data sent from the CPU 11. This sound can also mimic the calls of living organisms. The drive unit 16 operates the aforementioned torsion motor 161 and up-and-down motion motor 162 according to the control signals sent from the CPU 11.

[0043] The sensor unit 17 includes the aforementioned touch sensor 171, accelerometer 172, gyroscope sensor 173, illuminance sensor 174, and microphone 175, and outputs the detection results of each sensor and microphone 175 to CPU 11. The touch sensor 171 detects contact between the user, other objects, and the robot 10. The touch sensor 171 may include, for example, a pressure sensor or a capacitive sensor, and outputs detection data regarding the presence or absence of contact with the robot 10 to CPU 11. The accelerometer 172 detects acceleration in each of the three orthogonal axes and outputs the detection data to CPU 11. The gyroscope sensor 173 detects angular velocity in each of the three orthogonal axes and outputs the detection data to CPU 11. The illuminance sensor 174 detects the brightness around the robot 10 and outputs the detection data to CPU 11. The microphone 175 detects sound around the robot 10 and outputs the detected sound data to CPU 11.

[0044] The communication unit 18 is a communication module including an antenna, modem circuit, signal processing circuit, etc., and performs wireless data communication with the smartphone 20 according to the BLE communication standard. The power supply unit 19 includes a battery 191, a remaining power detection unit 192, and a receiving coil 193. The battery 191 supplies power to various parts of the robot 10. The battery 191 in this embodiment is a rechargeable battery that can be repeatedly charged by contactless charging. The remaining power detection unit 192 detects the remaining power of the battery 191 according to the control signal sent from the CPU 11 and outputs the detection result to the CPU 11. The charging operation of the battery 191 is performed when the robot 10 is housed (set) inside a dedicated power supply unit (housing unit, charging base, not shown). When the robot 10 is housed, the power supply unit has a power supply coil opposite the receiving coil 193 for charging the battery 191 by electromagnetic induction.

[0045] like Figure 6As shown, the smartphone 20 includes a CPU 21 (processing unit), RAM 22, storage unit 23, display unit 24, operation unit 25, and communication unit 26. All components of the smartphone 20 are connected via data transmission paths such as a bus. The CPU 21, RAM 22, and storage unit 23 constitute a display control device 200 that controls the display operation of the display unit 24.

[0046] CPU 21 is a processor that controls the operation of smartphone 20 by reading and executing programs such as management application 231 stored in storage unit 23 and performing various arithmetic operations. CPU 21 is an example of more than one processing unit. In addition, smartphone 20 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and multiple processors may execute multiple processes executed by CPU 21 in this embodiment. In this case, multiple processors constitute more than one processing unit. In this case, multiple processors may participate in common processing, or multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel. RAM 22 provides storage space for CPU 21 to work and stores temporary data. Storage unit 23 is a non-temporary recording medium that can be read by CPU 21, which is a computer, and stores programs such as management application 231 and various data. Therefore, storage unit 23 contains a computer program product including programs. The management of robot 10 performed by management application 231 means at least displaying information related to the state of robot 10 on a given display unit. Storage unit 23 has, for example, non-volatile memory such as flash memory. The data stored in storage unit 23 includes status information 232 and log DB233 (historical record information), etc.

[0047] like Figure 7As shown, the status information 232 contains data related to elements E1 to E6, which represent the latest status of the robot 10. Specifically, the status information 232 contains data representing the content of each of elements E1 to E6, and information about the time when each data was generated in the robot 10 (or the time when the smartphone 20 receives the data). Element E1 is the robot's "action mode". The robot 10 in this embodiment has action modes such as "normal mode", "sleep mode", and the aforementioned "sleep mode". "Normal mode" is a mode in which the robot 10 performs communicative actions based on external stimuli, or automatically generates actions when given conditions are met. "Sleep mode" is a mode in which the movement of the robot 10's head 101 and the output of sound from the sound output unit 15 are stopped. "Sleep mode" is executed when an operation to transition to sleep mode is performed in the setting screen (not shown in the figure). Element E2 is "external stimulus", representing the type of external stimulus received by the robot 10. Element E3 is the "remaining battery power" of the battery 191. "Remaining battery power" is expressed as a percentage of 100% when fully charged. "Battery Remaining Power" is detected by the Remaining Power Detection Unit 192. Element E4 is the latest emotion value of Robot 10. Element E5 is the latest personality value of Robot 10. Element E6 is "Nurturing Days", which represents the number of days (cumulative action period) counted from the initial activation date of Robot 10. Elements E1 to E6 are a way of updating elements (information) based on the historical records of Robot 10.

[0048] Data for elements E1 to E6 are generated sequentially by the CPU 11 of the robot 10 according to the robot 10's action status, and stored in the robot 10's storage unit 13 along with the time of generation. When the smartphone 20's CPU 21 is in communication with the robot 10 via BLE, it repeatedly retrieves elements E1 to E6 of the status information 232 from the robot 10 at a given frequency and updates the status information 232. Specifically, the CPU 21 retrieves and updates the data for elements E1 to E4 in the status information 232 from the robot 10 once per second. Furthermore, the CPU 21 retrieves and updates the data for elements E5 and E6 in the status information 232 from the robot 10 once per minute. This updating of the status information 232 is equivalent to retrieving the status information 232. Additionally, the format of the status information 232 is not limited to... Figure 6 The format shown. For example, status information 232 could also be in the form of a queue of elements E acquired from robot 10 in chronological order.

[0049] exist Figure 6The log DB233 shown stores log 133 obtained from robot 10. When robot 10 and smartphone 20 are in a communication connection via BLE, log 133 generated in robot 10 every 30 minutes is sequentially sent to smartphone 20. Furthermore, if a user instructs the retrieval of log 133 on management application 231, the CPU 21 of smartphone 20 sends a forwarding request for log 133 to robot 10 and retrieves log 133 from robot 10. The CPU 21 then forwards the log 133 obtained from robot 10 to server 60. Therefore, data with the same content as log DB233 (hereinafter referred to as backup log) is stored in server 60. At given intervals, CPU 21 determines whether log DB233 in storage unit 23 is consistent with the backup log stored in server 60. If inconsistent, it retrieves the backup log from server 60 and corrects the content of log DB233. The given intervals may, for example, be the interval for updating the display of homepage screen 30 and interaction record screen 40 (described later).

[0050] Display unit 24 includes a display panel such as an LCD panel capable of displaying data in a dot-matrix manner, and a driving circuit for the display panel. Display unit 24 displays various menus, management application 231 screens, etc., according to control signals sent from CPU 21. Operation unit 25 includes operation units such as a touch panel and operation buttons disposed overlapping the display panel of display unit 24, and outputs operation signals corresponding to operations performed on the operation units to CPU 21. Communication unit 26 is a communication module including an antenna, modem circuit, signal processing circuit, etc., and performs wireless data communication with robot 10 according to the BLE communication standard. Furthermore, communication unit 26 transmits and receives voice data for telephone communication, data packets related to Internet connection, etc., with and from a base station.

[0051] Next, the operation of the robot management system 1 will be explained. When the user instructs the operation unit 25 of the smartphone 20 to launch the management application 231, the CPU 21 executes and launches the management application 231. The display operation of the display unit 24, as described below, is performed by the CPU 21 executing the given processing according to the management application 231 and controlling the display unit 24. When the management application 231 is launched, the CPU 21 obtains the various elements of the status information 232 from the robot 10, and based on the status information 232, it... Figure 8The home screen 30 shown is displayed on the display unit 24. Alternatively, a given startup screen or welcome screen can be displayed before the home screen 30. Furthermore, the CPU 21 obtains elements E1 to E6 of the status information 232 from the robot 10 at the aforementioned frequency, updates the status information 232, and updates the home screen 30 based on the latest status information 232. The home screen 30 displays, in a given configuration, a status image 31, a growth days image 32, a personality image 33, information markers 34, a battery remaining power image 35, a setting button 36, a menu marker M, and a label bar T. Figure 8 The letter "A" in the image represents the name the user assigns to robot 10 on management application 231. Status image 31, growth days image 32, personality image 33, and remaining battery power image 35 represent the status of robot 10. Thus, the homepage 30 contains various information related to the status of robot 10. By observing the homepage 30, the user can know the real-time status of robot 10.

[0052] Status image 31 is displayed approximately in the center of the homepage screen 30. Status image 31 contains an animated dynamic image that clearly represents the state of robot 10. Specifically, status image 311 contains an appearance image 311 that represents a certain element of the state of robot 10 through its appearance. The appearance image 311 reflects the actual appearance of robot 10, such as the color of its outer casing 110. In addition, status image 31 contains a virtual avatar image 312 that represents the appearance of the user's virtual avatar. Appearance image 311 and virtual avatar image 312 are animated dynamic images of a given length. Furthermore, status image 31 contains text 313 that represents a certain element of the state of robot 10. Text 313 is displayed, for example, above appearance image 311 and virtual avatar image 312. The status of robot 10 represented by status image 31 includes elements such as whether the robot 10 is powered on, whether the robot 10 is in communication with smartphone 20, whether the robot 10 is operating in a function inhibition mode (deep sleep mode or sleep mode), whether the robot 10 is receiving a given external stimulus, the robot 10's virtual emotion, and any one of the robot 10's virtual personality. Below status image 31 on the home screen 30, a growth days image 32, a personality image 33, an information marker 34, a battery remaining power image 35, and a setting button 36 are displayed in a given configuration. The value of the growth days included in growth days image 32 is determined based on element E6 of status information 232. The personality image 33 displays the personality corresponding to the largest of the four personality values ​​among element E5 of status information 232. Information marker 34 is an identifier with a character "i" surrounded by a circle. When information marker 34 is selected, CPU 21... Figure 9The detailed information screen 37 is displayed on the display unit 24. The detailed information screen 37 contains detailed information related to the personality of robot 10. In the detailed information screen 37, the personality of robot 10 at that point in time is displayed 371, a graph 372 representing the personality values ​​of the four personalities in 11 stages from "0" to "10", and a button 373 for closing the detailed information screen 37. Figure 8 The battery remaining power image 35 shown is an image representing the remaining battery power of the storage battery 191 in three stages. When the setting button 36 is selected, the CPU 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a setting screen with an abbreviated illustration for setting the actions of the robot 10. In the setting screen, the volume of the sound (beep) output from the sound output unit 15 of the robot 10 can be adjusted, the robot 10 can be set to enter a sleep mode, and the firmware of the robot 10 can be updated. The menu mark M is displayed in the upper left corner of the home screen 30. When the menu mark M is selected, the CPU 21 displays a menu screen with an abbreviated illustration on the display unit 24. From the menu screen, the screen for editing user profiles, an overview screen of the collaborative robots 10, a screen for registering new (collaborative) robots 10, a screen displaying information such as the version of the management application 231, etc., can also be displayed. A tab bar T is displayed at the bottom of the home screen 30. The tab bar T displays a home icon Ta for displaying the home screen 30 and an interaction record icon Tb for displaying the interaction record screen 40. When the interaction record icon Tb is selected while the homepage screen 30 is displayed, the CPU 21 causes the display on the display unit 24 to switch from the homepage screen 30 to the interaction record icon Tb. Figure 10 The interactive recording screen shown is 40.

[0053] The interaction recording screen 40 displays various information related to the historical interaction history between the robot 10 and the user. The interaction recording screen 40 includes a date and time selection section 41, an information retrieval section 42 (change information), a chart area 43, a timeline 44, menu markers M, and a label bar T. The menu markers M function similarly to... Figure 8 The menu marker M in the home screen 30 has the same function. Furthermore, the structure of the tab bar T is the same as that in the home screen 30. When the home icon Ta is selected in the tab bar T of the interaction record screen 40, the CPU 21 transfers the display in the display unit 24 from the interaction record screen 40 to the home screen 30. The date and time selection unit 41 includes a group of icons for selecting a date and time. When the user selects a date and time in the date and time selection unit 41, the CPU 21 displays information related to the interaction history of the selected date and time on the interaction record screen 40. Figure 10The date and time selection section 41 shown includes icons for selecting the year and month, icons for selecting the day of the week and the date, and an icon for selecting today (the current day).

[0054] The acquired information 42 displays characteristic changes in the robot 10 over a recent period. In this embodiment, the period is the previous day. Based on the latest log DB233, the CPU 21 determines whether the state of the robot 10 changed in the previous day to satisfy a given change condition (given condition). If it is determined that a change satisfying the given change condition has occurred, the acquired information 42, representing change information indicating that the change occurred in the previous day, is displayed on the display unit 24. The acquired information 42 displays changes in the robot 10's mood or personality as a state.

[0055] If the CPU 21 detects a change in the emotion parameters 75 of multiple logs 133 recorded in log DB 233 from the previous day that satisfies the change condition, it displays the acquisition information 42 indicating the change in emotion from the previous day on the display unit 24. Specifically, the CPU 21 determines that the change condition is met if, in the previous day, the level of any emotion parameter 75 representing a positive emotion ("excitement", "joy", "peace", "stability") has increased by a reference range or more (3 levels or more in this embodiment). For example, the CPU 21 determines that the change condition is met if the difference between the minimum and maximum levels of any positive emotion from the previous day is a reference range or more, and the time when the maximum level is reached is after the time when the minimum level is reached. Alternatively, the CPU 21 may determine that the change condition is met if, compared to the level of any positive emotion at the start time of the previous day, the level of that emotion at the end time of the previous day is a reference range or more. Then, the CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 indicating the change in emotion from the previous day that has increased by 3 levels or more. For example, if the emotion of "joy" increased by three or more levels the previous day, CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 for "a joyful moment". If the increase in the levels of two or more emotions is the same, CPU 21 randomly selects one of those emotions to display the acquisition information 42. For each emotion, multiple different acquisition information 42s are pre-established and stored in the storage unit 13. If the same emotion is selected as the object of acquisition information 42 display for two or more consecutive days, CPU 21 makes the content of the acquisition information 42 different so that the same content of acquisition information 42 is not displayed for two consecutive days.

[0056] If the personality parameter 76 of multiple logs 133 recorded in log DB233 for the previous day changes in a manner that satisfies the change condition, the CPU21 displays the acquisition information 42 indicating the change in personality for the previous day on the display unit 24. Specifically, the CPU21 determines that the change condition is met if any one of the four personality values ​​of personality parameter 76 increases by a reference value or more (3 or more in this embodiment) in the previous day. For example, for any personality in the previous day, the CPU21 determines that the change condition is met if the difference between the minimum and maximum personality values ​​is a reference value or more, and the time when the maximum value is reached is after the time when the minimum value is reached. Alternatively, the CPU21 may determine that the change condition is met if, for any personality, the personality value at the end of the previous day is greater than the personality value at the beginning of the previous day. Then, the CPU21 displays the acquisition information 42 indicating the change in personality for the previous day corresponding to the personality value that increased by a reference value or more on the display unit 24. For example, if the "personality value (cheerful)" increased by 3 or more in the previous day, ... Figure 10 As shown, CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 indicating "slightly more cheerful". When the increase in personality values ​​is the same for two or more personality traits, CPU 21 randomly selects one personality trait from the two or more traits and displays the acquisition information 42. For each personality trait, multiple different acquisition information 42s are pre-established and stored in the storage unit 13. If the same personality trait is selected as the target for displaying acquisition information 42 for two consecutive days or more, CPU 21 makes the content of the acquisition information 42 different to prevent the same acquisition information 42 from being displayed for two consecutive days.

[0057] If, on the previous day, both the emotion level and personality value increased by 3 or more, CPU 21 prioritizes displaying the emotion acquisition information 42. However, it can also be the other way around, prioritizing the display of personality acquisition information 42. Furthermore, if neither the emotion level nor the personality value increased by 3 or more, CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 for the emotion or personality with the larger increase. If the increases are equal, emotion takes priority. If, on the previous day, the total recording period of log 133 was less than a given lower limit (e.g., less than 1 hour), and neither the emotion nor the personality changed, CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 indicating no specific recorded events.

[0058] Next, refer to Figure 11The information acquisition display process performed by CPU 21 to display acquired information 42 will be described below. The information acquisition display process begins after the management application 231 starts, while the interactive record screen 40 is displayed. If the information acquisition display process begins, CPU 21 determines, after the management application 231 starts, whether the acquired information 42 has been fully displayed (step S101). If it is determined that the acquired information 42 has been displayed ("Yes" in step S101), CPU 21 determines whether the date and time have changed (step S102). If it is determined that the date and time have changed ("Yes" in step S102), or if it is determined that the acquired information 42 has not been displayed after the management application 231 starts ("No" in step S101), CPU 21 retrieves the previous day's log 133 from log DB 233 (step S103). CPU 21 determines whether the total recording period of the previous day's log 133 is more than 1 hour (step S104). If the total recording period of Log 133 is determined to be more than 1 hour ("Yes" in step S104), CPU 21 determines whether the level of any positive emotion increased by 3 levels or more during the entire recording period of Log 133 of the previous day (step S105). Here, if the difference between the minimum and maximum levels of any positive emotion in the previous day is 3 levels or more, and the time when it becomes the maximum level is after the time when it becomes the minimum level, CPU 21 determines that the level of any positive emotion has increased by 3 levels or more. If the level of any positive emotion has increased by 3 levels or more ("Yes" in step S105), CPU 21 displays the acquisition information 42 related to the change in emotion on display unit 24 (step S106). If no emotion has increased by 3 levels or more ("No" in step S105), CPU 21 determines whether the personality value of any personality has increased by 3 levels or more during the entire recording period of Log 133 of the previous day (step S107). Here, if the difference between the minimum and maximum values ​​of any personality value from the previous day is 3 or more, and the time when the maximum value is reached coincides with the time when the minimum value is reached, the CPU 21 determines that the personality value of any personality has increased by 3 or more. If it is determined that the personality value of any personality has increased by 3 or more ("Yes" in step S107), the CPU 21 causes the display unit 24 to display acquisition information 42 related to the change in that personality (step S108). If it is determined that no personality has increased by 3 or more ("No" in step S107), the CPU 21 determines whether the mood level or personality value has increased during the entire recording period of the log 133 from the previous day (step S109).If it is determined that the level of emotion or the personality value has increased ("Yes" in step S109), the CPU 21 causes the display unit 24 to display acquisition information 42 related to the greater increase in the level of emotion or the personality value (step S110). If it is determined that neither the level of emotion nor the personality value has increased ("No" in step S109), or if it is determined in step S104 that the total recording period of the previous day's log 133 is less than 1 hour ("No" in step S104), the CPU 21 causes acquisition information 42 indicating that there are no particularly recorded items to be displayed on the display unit 24 (step S111). If any of steps S106, S108, S110, or S111 ends, or if it is determined in step S102 that the date and time have not changed ("No" in step S102), the CPU 21 determines whether to terminate the management application 231 based on the user's operation (step S112). If the CPU21 does not terminate the management application 231 (in step S112, it is "No"), it returns the processing to step S102; if the CPU21 terminates the management application 231 (in step S112, it is "Yes"), it terminates the information display processing.

[0059] exist Figure 10 The interactive recording screen 40, in its chart area 43, displays an axis 431 representing the passage of time, a chart 432 representing the changes in the robot 10's emotions throughout the day, and an emotion icon 433 (indicator). The values ​​at each moment in chart 432 are the sum of the emotion values ​​(X) and (Y) of the emotion parameter 75 in log 133 of log DB233 when the signs are the same; otherwise, the larger value is used. However, in log DB233, the emotion values ​​of the emotion parameter 75 are recorded discretely at intervals during each recording period of log 133. Therefore, chart 432 is shaped to connect and smooth the corresponding discrete values.

[0060] Emotion icon 433 represents the change in robot 10's emotion from a certain emotion (a certain state, a certain emotion) to any positive emotion (a given state, a given emotion). Emotion icon 433 is displayed on axis 431 at the position corresponding to the timing of robot 10's emotion changing from a certain emotion to any positive emotion. For example... Figure 12AAs indicated by the arrow, the change timing is the time when the robot 10's emotion changes from a certain emotion to any of the emotions "excitement," "joy," "peace," and "stability." More specifically, the change timing is the time when the emotion value of emotion parameter 75 changes from the coordinates within a certain region of the emotion map (R1-R9) to the coordinates within regions R2, R3, R6, and R9 corresponding to "excitement," "joy," "peace," and "stability." Change timing is also defined as a change from a positive emotion to another positive emotion. In chart area 43, the corresponding position for the change timing is displayed. Figure 12B The changed emotion is represented by emotion icon 433. Furthermore, emotion icon 433 is displayed only when the level of the changed emotion is above a given baseline (level 7 or above in this embodiment). Figure 10 In the example shown, the emotion icons 433a (representing "excitement"), 433b (representing "joy"), 433c (representing "peace of mind"), and 433d (representing "stability") are displayed one by one.

[0061] Reference Figure 13 Specific examples are given to illustrate the method for determining which emotion icon 433 to display. Figure 13 The record contains the recording periods (La to Ld) of four log entries 133 and the emotions corresponding to the emotion parameter 75 in each log entry 133. For convenience, the log entry 133 with a recording period of "Lx" will be referred to as "Log Lx". Figure 13In the logs La and Lb, the emotion "joy" in log La changes to "excitement" in log Lb. Therefore, when the emotion "excitement" in log Lb is at level 7 or higher, the start time of log Lb is determined as the change time. Furthermore, an emotion icon 433a representing "excitement" is displayed at the position corresponding to the start time of log Lb. When determining the emotion icon 433 based on logs La and Lb, the recording period of log La corresponds to the "first period," and log La corresponds to the "first historical record information." The recording period of log Lb corresponds to the "second period," and log Lb corresponds to the "second historical record information." Furthermore, suppose the next log Lc after log Lb is "joy" with an emotion level of 7 or higher. In this case, in log Lc, the emotion changes from "excitement" to "joy," and the changed emotion is a positive emotion at level 7 or higher. Therefore, the start time of log Lc is determined as the change time. Thus, an emotion icon 433b representing "joy" is displayed at the position corresponding to this time. When determining the mood icon 433 based on logs Lb and Lc, the recording period of log Lb corresponds to the "first period," and log Lb corresponds to "first historical information." The recording period of log Lc corresponds to the "second period," and log Lc corresponds to "second historical information." If there is an idle period between the recording period of a certain log Ly and the recording period of the next log Lz, the start time of log Lz is determined to be a variable time only if the period from the end of log Ly to the beginning of log Lz is within a given time (within 30 minutes in this embodiment). That is, the mood icon 433 is displayed at the start time of log Lz. Figure 13 In the example shown, the period from the end of log Lb to the start of log Lc is less than 30 minutes, so the emotion icon 433b is displayed at the position corresponding to the start time of log Lc. On the other hand, the period from the end of log Lc to the start of the next log Ld is longer than 30 minutes, so even if other display conditions for emotion icon 433 are met, emotion icon 433 is not displayed at the position corresponding to the start time of log Ld.

[0062] Alternatively, the emotion icon 433 can be displayed regardless of the level of the changed emotion. Furthermore, it is not limited to positive emotions; the emotion icon 433 can also be displayed at the time of change to any emotion. Additionally, instead of the emotion icon 433, indicators representing the timing of other states of the robot 10 (e.g., personality, action pattern, etc.) changing from a certain state to a given state can be displayed in the chart area 43.

[0063] Next, refer to Figure 14The emotion icon display processing performed by CPU 21 to display emotion icon 433 will be described below. Emotion icon display processing begins after management application 231 is started, with interaction record screen 40 displayed. When emotion icon display processing begins, CPU 21 determines whether log 133 has been newly acquired from robot 10 (step S201). If log 133 has been acquired (yes in step S201), CPU 21 determines whether the time interval between the previously recorded log 133 and the acquired log 133 is within a given time (within 30 minutes in this embodiment) (i.e., whether the period from the end of the previously recorded log 133 to the start of the acquired log 133 is within a given time) (step S202). If it is determined that the time interval between the current log 133 and the previous log 133 is within a given time ("Yes" in step S202), the CPU 21 determines whether the emotion corresponding to the emotion parameter 75 in the previous log 133 is different from the emotion corresponding to the emotion parameter 75 in the newly acquired current log 133 (step S203). If it is determined that the emotion in the previous log 133 is different from the emotion in the current log 133 ("Yes" in step S203), the CPU 21 determines whether the emotion in the current log 133 is a positive emotion (step S204). If it is determined that the emotion in the current log 133 is a positive emotion ("Yes" in step S204), the CPU 21 determines whether the level of the emotion in the current log 133 is above a given baseline (in this embodiment, level 7 or above) (step S205). If the emotion level is determined to be above a given baseline ("Yes" in step S205), the CPU 21 sets the start time of the current log 133 to a change time, and displays the emotion icon 433 representing the emotion of the current log 133 in the chart area 43 at the position corresponding to that time (step S206). If step S206 ends, or if any branch in steps S201 to S205 is "No", the CPU 21 determines whether to terminate the management application 231 based on the user's operation (step S207). If the CPU 21 does not terminate the management application 231 ("No" in step S207), it returns the processing to step S201; if it terminates the management application 231 ("Yes" in step S207), it displays the emotion icon indicating the end of the processing.

[0064] exist Figure 10In the timeline 44 of the interactive recording screen 40 shown, based on log DB233, timeline information 441 (period information) representing the representative state of robot 10 during each given object period is displayed for that object period. In this embodiment, the given object period is a one-hour time period from one hour to the next. The timeline information 441 is one of the following four types. The first type is timeline information 441 related to the sleep state of robot 10 during that time period (e.g., Figure 10 The second type is timeline information 441a related to spontaneous actions performed by robot 10 during that time period (e.g., timeline information 441a). Figure 10 The third type is timeline information 441 related to external stimuli received by the robot 10 through communication with the user during that time period (e.g., timeline information 441b). Figure 10 The fourth type is timeline information 441 related to the emotions of robot 10 (e.g., timeline information 441). Figure 10 The number of timeline information 441 displayed for a certain time period is a maximum of one per type, so a maximum of four in total. Two or more distinct timeline information 441 corresponding to the same state of robot 10 are pre-generated and stored in storage unit 13. CPU 21 selects the content of timeline information 441 so that the timeline information 441 displayed in two consecutive time periods will not be the same. Sometimes, timeline information 441 for a certain time period is not displayed if no state corresponding to the above four types is detected based on log 133 corresponding to a certain time period, or if the state has not changed from the previous time period. Each timeline information 441 represents the state of robot 10 within a one-hour time period starting from the time displayed in the box. For example, timeline information 441 displayed as "11:00" represents the state of robot 10 in the time period from 11:00 to 12:00. Timeline 44 is updated once per hour.

[0065] The content of timeline information 441 for a certain time period is determined based on log 133 in log DB233 corresponding to that time period. Log 133 that spans the hour during the recording period is treated as log 133 corresponding to a time period that has entered more than 1 / 2 of the recording period. For example, Figure 15 Log Lf's recording period spans 11:00, but since it enters more than half of the recording period between 10:00 and 11:00, log Lf is treated as log 133 corresponding to the 10:00 to 11:00 time period. Therefore, in Figure 15In the example shown, the content of the timeline information 441 for the period from 10:00 to 11:00 is determined based on logs Le and Lf. Furthermore, the content of the timeline information 441 for the period from 11:00 to 12:00 is determined based on logs Lg and Lh. The timeline information 441 for a given period is displayed after the recording period of the log 133 corresponding to that period has ended.

[0066] To display timeline information 441 related to the sleep state, CPU 21 determines the sleep period during which robot 10 is in a sleep state (sleep mode) based on sleep information 74 in each log 133 in log DB 233. In log DB 233, if the length of the sleep period within the recording period of log 133 corresponding to a certain time period meets a given sleep time condition (given condition), CPU 21 determines the representative state of robot 10 within that time period as a sleep state. In this embodiment, CPU 21 determines that the sleep time condition is met if more than 50 minutes of the recording period of log 133 corresponding to a certain time period is a sleep period. For example, with... Figure 15 The period from 10:00 to 11:00, as shown, includes a total recording period of over 50 minutes in logs Le and Lf within the total recording period P10. Therefore, the representative state of this period is determined to be the sleep state. Additionally, in Figure 15 In the diagram, sleep periods are represented by white bars, and awake periods (times of waking up) are represented by black bars. Furthermore, more than 50 minutes (in this case, the entirety) of the total recording period P11 of logs Lg and Lh corresponding to the time period from 11:00 to 12:00 constitutes a sleep period; therefore, the representative state of this time period is determined as the sleep state. When the representative state of robot 10 during a certain time period is the sleep state, CPU 21 causes display unit 24 to display timeline information 441 indicating that robot 10 is in a sleep state during that time period. Specifically, if robot 10 receives an external stimulus during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to that time period, CPU 21 displays timeline information 441 on display unit 24 containing the response to the external stimulus to the sleeping robot 10. For example, in the case of… Figure 15 In log 133, during the period from 11:00 to 12:00, record P11 shows that robot 10 was stimulated by external stimuli while asleep. In this case, CPU 21, for example... Figure 10 As shown, timeline information 441a representing sleep behaviors corresponding to external stimuli during sleep is displayed. Sleep behaviors could, for example, include a robot 10 dreaming due to external stimuli during sleep. On the other hand, as... Figure 15Similar to the time period from 10:00 to 11:00, when the robot 10 is in a sleep state and not subjected to external stimuli, the CPU 21 displays timeline information 441 indicating a normal sleep state. Alternatively, instead of the length of the sleep period in the recording period of the log 133 corresponding to a certain time period, the length of the sleep period can be used to determine whether the sleep time condition is met based on the proportion of the sleep period in that recording period.

[0067] In addition to information related to the length of the sleep period, the timeline information 441 related to the sleep state also includes information related to the number of times the robot entered a sleep state (sleep mode). In the log DB233, if the number of times the robot 10 entered a sleep state during the recording period of the log 133 corresponding to a certain time period is a given number (4 times or more in this embodiment), the CPU 21 determines the representative state of the robot 10 during that time period as "unable to sleep". Then, the CPU 21 causes the display unit 24 to display the timeline information 441 indicating that the robot 10 was in an unable to sleep state during that time period (e.g., "looks drowsy"). Figure 16 In the example shown, during the recording period P12 of logs Li and Lj corresponding to the time period from 12:00 to 13:00, robot 10 entered a sleep state 4 times. Therefore, CPU 21 determined the representative state of robot 10 during this time period as "unable to sleep". On the other hand, during the recording period P13 of logs Lk and Ll corresponding to the time period from 13:00 to 14:00, robot 10 entered a sleep state 3 times. In addition, the sleep period during recording period P13 was less than 50 minutes. Therefore, CPU 21 determined the representative state of robot 10 during this time period as neither "unable to sleep" nor "sleep".

[0068] To display timeline information 441 related to external stimuli received through interaction with the user, CPU 21 refers to the stimulus frequency information 77 of each log 133 in log DB 233. If the robot 10 receives a given external stimulus during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to a certain time period, CPU 21 causes display unit 24 to display timeline information 441 indicating that the robot 10 received the external stimulus during that time period. Furthermore, if there are historical records of receiving multiple different external stimuli during the recording period, CPU 21 selects a specific external stimulus from the multiple external stimuli according to a given priority order and displays timeline information 441 indicating that the selected external stimulus was received. For example, if there are historical records of receiving a certain external stimulus more than a given number of times, CPU 21 displays timeline information 441 indicating that the robot 10 received that external stimulus. Additionally, CPU 21 displays timeline information 441 indicating that the external stimulus received the most times among the multiple external stimuli. Furthermore, the priority of all detectable external stimuli can be predetermined, so that timeline information 441 representing the highest priority external stimuli among various external stimuli received during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to a certain time period is displayed. Additionally, CPU 21 can also display timeline information 441 indicating that the robot 10 received a positive interaction when the external stimuli include a given positive interaction from among multiple interactions. Positive interactions can include, for example, stroking the head, stroking the body, swaying from side to side, or being picked up. For a given interaction, it can also be counted as one interaction for two or more given number of interactions. For example, for "stroking," which is prone to increasing in number, it can be counted as one interaction for every three strokings. Figure 10 The example shown reflects the situation where the most head-patting interactions occurred between 2 PM and 3 PM, with the timeline information 441c indicating head-patting.

[0069] If the emotion of robot 10 during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to a certain time period meets the given display conditions for displaying timeline information 441, CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 related to the emotion of robot 10 for that time period. For example, as Figure 13As shown, if the display conditions for emotion icon 433 are met, CPU 21 determines that the display conditions for timeline information 441 are also met, and displays the timeline information 441 related to the emotion of robot 10 for that time period. If there are multiple changes in emotion within a certain time period, CPU 21 can also display the timeline information 441 representing the subsequent emotions within the initial emotion change. Furthermore, even without emotion changes, if robot 10 receives a positive external stimulus during a certain time period and its emotion is positive, CPU 21 also determines that the display conditions for timeline information 441 are met, and displays the timeline information 441 related to that emotion. Figure 10 In the example shown, during the recording of log 133 corresponding to the time period from 3 PM to 4 PM, CPU 21 displays timeline information 441d representing the emotion of "joy".

[0070] Next, refer to Figure 17 The timeline display processing performed by CPU 21 for displaying timeline 44 will be described. The timeline display processing begins after the management application 231 starts, while the interactive recording screen 40 is displayed. When the timeline display processing begins, CPU 21 determines whether the acquisition of log 133 corresponding to the previously just-concluded time period is complete (step S301). If it is determined that the acquisition of log 133 is complete (yes in step S301), CPU 21 determines whether the length of the sleep period during the recording period of log 133 meets the sleep time condition (step S302). In this embodiment, if the length of the sleep period during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to the previously just-concluded time period is 50 minutes or more, CPU 21 determines that the sleep time condition is met. If it is determined that the sleep time condition is met (yes in step S302), CPU 21 determines whether there is a positive external stimulus during sleep (step S303). If it is determined that there is a positive external stimulus during sleep (yes in step S303), CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 of sleep behavior (step S304). On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no positive external stimulus during sleep (no in step S30), CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 of normal sleep (step S305). In step S302, if it is determined that the sleep time condition is not met (no in step S302), CPU 21 determines whether the number of times the user entered a sleep state during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to the previous time period is more than 4 times (step S306). If it is determined that the number of times the user entered a sleep state is more than 4 times (yes in step S306), CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 of the insomnia state (step S307).

[0071] If any of steps S304, S305, or S307 ends, or if the number of times the robot enters a sleep state is determined to be less than 4 ("No" in step S306), CPU 21 determines whether robot 10 performed a given spontaneous action during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to the previous time period (step S308). If it is determined that a given spontaneous action was performed ("Yes" in step S308), CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 of the spontaneous action (step S309). If step S309 ends, or if it is determined that no given spontaneous action was performed ("No" in step S308), CPU 21 determines whether robot 10 was subjected to external stimuli caused by communication with the user during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to the previous time period (step S310). If it is determined that the robot 10 has received an external stimulus caused by communication ("Yes" in step S310), the CPU 21 determines an external stimulus according to a given priority order as described above, and displays the timeline information 441 of the determined external stimulus (step S311). If step S311 ends, or if it is determined that the robot 10 has not received an external stimulus caused by communication ("No" in step S310), the CPU 21 determines whether the emotion during the recording period of log 133 corresponding to the previous time period meets the display conditions of the timeline information 441 (step S312). If it is determined that the emotion during the recording period meets the display conditions of the timeline information 441 ("Yes" in step S312), the CPU 21 displays the timeline information 441 related to the emotion (step S313). If step S313 ends, or if either branch in steps S301 or S312 is "No", the CPU 21 determines whether to terminate the management application 231 based on the user's operation (step S314). If the CPU21 does not terminate the management application 231 (in step S314, it is "No"), it returns the process to step S301; if the CPU21 terminates the management application 231 (in step S314, it is "Yes"), it terminates the timeline display process.

[0072] If, during the execution of management application 231, a certain condition is met, the user is initially redirected to the homepage screen 30. Figure 18The evaluation screen 50 shown overlaps with the homepage screen 30. Evaluation screen 50 is used for users to input evaluations of the management application 231. Evaluation screen 50 displays the text "Please click the star to send a evaluation of the 'application'", five star markers 51 for inputting five levels of evaluation, a send button 52, and a cancel button 53. The "application" in the text is actually the application name of the management application 231. When the user selects the Nth star marker 51 from the left (N is any one of 1-5) through clicking or other operations, the Nth star marker 51 from the left is colored. Thus, as the evaluation of the management application 231, the Nth level of the five levels of evaluation is input. When the user selects the send button 52 while the evaluation is input, the CPU 21 sends the input evaluation information to the application store server (not shown in the diagram). The sent evaluation information is reflected in the evaluation display of the management application 231 in the application store provided by the application store server.

[0073] The CPU 21 causes the evaluation screen 50 to be displayed if any one of the following first to third conditions is met. The first condition is met if the user opens the robot 10's setting screen a given number of times or more (6 times or more in this embodiment). As described above, by... Figure 8 On the homepage screen 30 shown, selecting the settings button 36 displays the settings screen. By changing the settings of robot 10 in the settings screen, the user can customize robot 10 to suit their preferences and environment. Therefore, by displaying the evaluation screen 50 at regular intervals when the first condition is met, it is expected that the user will input a higher evaluation when they are satisfied with robot 10 and management application 231 to a certain extent.

[0074] If the historical records of the state of robot 10 determined based on log DB233 meet given conditions, then the second and third conditions are satisfied. Specifically, the second condition is satisfied if the number of times robot 10 changes to a given emotion meets a certain condition. For example, the second condition may also be satisfied if the total number of days on which robot 10 changes to a given emotion more than a given number of times is greater than a given number of days. Here, the change of robot 10's emotion to the given emotion can also be an emotion change that meets the display conditions of the aforementioned emotion icon 433. For example, the second condition may also be satisfied if the total number of days on which the emotion icon 433 is displayed more than twice is greater than three days. The lower limits for the number of times the emotion icon 433 is displayed in a day and the total number of days can also be appropriately changed.

[0075] The third condition is met if the robot 10's emotions and their historical levels, based on log DB233, meet certain conditions. For example, the third condition can also be met if the number of times a given emotion reaches a given baseline level is greater than or equal to the baseline level. For example, the third condition can also be met if two or more positive emotions ("excitement", "joy", "peace", "stability") reach the maximum level 10 more than twice. When an emotion reaches level 10, a status image 31 corresponding to that emotion's level 10 can be displayed on the homepage screen 30. The minimum value for the emotion level that meets the third condition and the minimum number of times it is achieved can also be appropriately changed.

[0076] Furthermore, if the evaluation screen 50 is displayed when any of the first to third conditions are met, the counts related to the met condition (for the first condition, the number of times the setting screen is displayed; for the second condition, the number of times the emotion icon 433 is displayed; and for the third condition, the number of times the positive emotion reaches the maximum level 10) are reset. Additionally, when multiple robots 10 are working together, the first to third conditions can be determined based on the total count of the multiple robots 10. Furthermore, the condition for displaying the evaluation screen 50 can be set as the elapsed period (e.g., one week) since the management application 231 was first installed on the smartphone 20. Moreover, when the CPU 21 executes the process of displaying the evaluation screen 50 on the display unit 24 according to the management application 231, the actual display of the evaluation screen 50 can be restricted by the operating system (OS) of the smartphone 20. For example, the total number of displays in a year or the display frequency in the most recent given period (e.g., one month) can be restricted by the OS. In this case, the process by which the CPU 21 displays the evaluation screen 50 on the display unit 24 according to the management application 231 includes processing the display request of the OS outputting the evaluation screen 50.

[0077] Next, refer to Figure 19The evaluation screen display process performed by the CPU 21 to display the evaluation screen 50 will be described. The evaluation screen display process begins when the management application 231 is started. When the evaluation screen display process begins, the CPU 21 determines whether to transfer the display on the display unit 24 from another screen to the home screen 30 (step S401). If it is determined that the display should be transferred to the home screen 30 (yes in step S401), the CPU 21 determines whether the number of times the setting screen is displayed is a given number or more (6 times or more in this embodiment) (step S402). If it is determined that the number of times the setting screen is displayed is a given number or more (yes in step S402), the CPU 21 causes the evaluation screen 50 to be displayed overlapping the home screen 30 (step S405). If it is determined that the number of times the setting screen is displayed is less than a given number (no in step S402), the CPU 21 determines whether the total number of days the emotion icon 433 is displayed more than twice is 3 days or more (step S403). If the total number of days on which the emotion icon 433 is displayed more than twice is more than 3 days ("Yes" in step S403), the CPU 21 displays the evaluation screen 50 overlapping the home screen 30 (step S405). If the total number of days on which the emotion icon 433 is displayed more than twice is less than 3 days ("No" in step S403), the CPU 21 determines whether the number of times level 10 is reached more than twice for each of the two or more positive emotions (step S404). If the number of times level 10 is reached more than twice for each of the two or more positive emotions ("Yes" in step S404), the CPU 21 displays the evaluation screen 50 overlapping the home screen 30 (step S405). After displaying the evaluation screen 50 in step S405, the CPU 21 determines whether an evaluation using the star mark 51 has been input and sent (selection of the send button 52) (step S406). If the input and sending operation are determined to be an evaluation ("Yes" in step S406), the CPU 21 sends the input evaluation information to the app store server (step S407). If step S407 ends, or if any branch in steps S401, S404, or S406 is "No", the CPU 21 determines whether to terminate the management application 231 based on the user's operation (step S408). If the CPU 21 does not terminate the management application 231 ("No" in step S408), it returns the process to step S401; if it terminates the management application 231 ("Yes" in step S408), it displays the end of the evaluation process on the evaluation screen. Alternatively, the order of steps S402 to S404 can be changed.

[0078] As described above, in the display control method according to this embodiment, the CPU 21 performs the following processing: based on the log DB 233 related to the historical records of the robot 10's state, it determines whether a change satisfying a given condition has occurred in the robot 10's virtual emotion or virtual personality during a certain period. The CPU 21 performs the following processing: if it is determined that the robot 10's emotion or personality has changed in accordance with the given condition, it causes the display unit 24 to display acquisition information 42 indicating that a change occurred during a certain period.

[0079] In the past, the state of objects such as robots was maintained as internal parameters of the object, so it was not easy to accurately grasp the historical record of the state from the appearance of the object.

[0080] According to this disclosure, it is possible to easily grasp the historical record of the state of an object.

[0081] The display control method described in this embodiment makes it easy to detect changes in the robot's emotions or personality that are not easily apparent in the robot's appearance. Therefore, it is easy to track the robot's historical state.

[0082] Furthermore, a certain period is defined as one day. Additionally, CPU 21 performs the following processing: in the event of a date change, based on the portion of log DB233 corresponding to the previous day, it determines whether the robot 10's mood or personality changed according to given conditions on the previous day. Thus, it is easy to grasp the changes in the robot 10's mood or personality on a given day.

[0083] Furthermore, the log DB233 contains a historical record of the emotion parameter 75, which represents the emotions of robot 10. CPU 21 performs the following processing: if a change in the emotion parameter 75 occurs during a certain period that satisfies a given condition, it causes the display unit 24 to display acquired information 42 indicating the change in emotion during that period. Thus, it is possible to easily grasp changes in the emotions of robot 10 that are not easily observed in its appearance.

[0084] Furthermore, the CPU 21 performs the following processing: During a certain period, if the emotion parameter 75, representing a given positive emotion among multiple emotions, undergoes a change indicating an increase in the level of the emotion, it determines that a given condition has been met, and causes the display unit 24 to display the acquired information 42. Thus, the user can recognize that the robot 10's emotion has changed positively. Therefore, it is easier for the user to develop an attachment to the robot 10.

[0085] Furthermore, the log DB233 contains historical records of the personality parameter 76, which represents the personality of robot 10. CPU 21 performs the following processing: if the personality parameter 76 changes under given conditions during a certain period, it causes the display unit 24 to display acquired information 42 indicating the personality change during that period. Thus, it is easy to grasp changes in the personality of robot 10 that are not easily observed in its appearance.

[0086] The personality parameter 76 contains multiple personality values ​​representing the degree of each of several distinct personality traits. The CPU 21 performs the following processing: if any of the personality values ​​increases by more than a baseline value during a certain period, it determines that a given condition has been met, and causes the display unit 24 to display acquired information 42 showing the change in the personality trait corresponding to the personality value that increased by more than the baseline value during a certain period. This allows the user to recognize that the robot 10's personality has improved. Therefore, it is easier for the user to develop an attachment to the robot 10.

[0087] Furthermore, the robot management system 1 according to this embodiment includes a robot 10 and a display control device 200 having a CPU 21 that performs the above-described processing. Additionally, the robot management system 1 according to this embodiment includes a server 60 and a display control device 200 having a CPU 21 that performs the above-described processing. Therefore, it is possible to easily grasp changes in the robot 10's emotions or personality that are difficult to perceive through its appearance.

[0088] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiments, a method is illustrated in which the homepage screen 30 and the interaction record screen 40 are displayed by the smartphone 20 performing various processes according to the management application 231, but it is not limited to this. For example, it is also possible to use a server set outside the smartphone 20 ( Figure 1The server 60 (as shown) sends data to the smartphone 20 to control the display unit 24 of the smartphone 20 for displaying the home screen 30 and / or the interactive record screen 40. In this case, the server computer executes an information processing method that generates data for causing the CPU 21 (another computer) to perform the following processing: "Based on the log DB 233 related to the history of the robot 10's state, determine whether the robot 10's virtual emotion or virtual personality has changed in a certain period to meet given conditions; if it is determined that the robot 10's emotion or personality has changed in a certain period to meet given conditions, cause the display unit 24 to display acquisition information 42 indicating that a change has occurred in a certain period." Alternatively, the server computer may execute the "processing based on the log DB 233 related to the history of the robot 10's state to determine whether the robot 10's virtual emotion or virtual personality has changed in a certain period to meet given conditions." In this case, the aforementioned data is "data used to cause the CPU 21 (another computer) to perform the following processing: when it is determined that the robot 10's emotion or personality has changed in accordance with given conditions, the display unit 24 is made to display acquisition information 42 indicating that a change has occurred during a certain period." This data may also include data specifying the content and construction of the interactive recording screen 40, such as image data, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) data, etc. Furthermore, this data may also include control information for controlling the operation of the display unit 24. Additionally, this data may be a program for displaying the interactive recording screen 40 on the display unit 24. In the above embodiment, at least a portion of the processing performed by the CPU 21 may be executed by the server's computer. In this case, the server's computer may be equivalent to "more than one processing unit." Furthermore, the CPU 21 of the display control device 200 and the server's computer may constitute "more than one processing unit."

[0089] In addition, Figure 13 , Figure 15 as well as Figure 16 The example illustrates how the object period of timeline information 441 (the time period from the hour to the next hour) is inconsistent with the recording period of log 133, but it is not limited to this. The recording period of log 133 can also be consistent with the object period of timeline information 441.

[0090] Furthermore, the content of log 133 is not limited to... Figure 4The content shown may also include other elements representing the state of robot 10. For example, elements such as fatigue level, sleep, and physical condition can be listed as elements of the state of robot 10.

[0091] Furthermore, while an example of displaying the home screen 30 and the interaction record screen 40 on the display unit 24 of the smartphone 20 has been given, this method is not limited to this. For example, if the robot 10 has a display unit, the home screen 30 and the interaction record screen 40 can also be displayed on that display unit. In this case, the control related to the display of the home screen 30 and the interaction record screen 40 can be executed either by the CPU 11 of the robot 10 or remotely by the processing unit of an external device such as the CPU 21 of the smartphone 20.

[0092] Furthermore, the structure of robot 10 is not limited to Figures 1-3 The structure is illustrated. For example, it could be a robot that imitates real-world creatures such as humans, animals, birds, and fish; a robot that imitates non-existent creatures such as dinosaurs; or a robot that imitates fictional creatures.

[0093] Furthermore, while robot 10 is exemplified as an "object" in the above embodiment, it is not limited to this. An "object" can be any object managed by the management application 231. For example, an "object" can also be any object representing a change in parameters of that state. In addition, an "object" can also be a virtual image that acts on behalf of the user in a virtual space such as a metaverse.

[0094] Furthermore, in the above description, flash memory using storage units 13 and 23 was disclosed as an example of a computer-readable medium for the program involved in this disclosure, but it is not limited to this example. Other computer-readable media can be information recording media such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and CD-ROM. Furthermore, carrier waves are also suitable as a medium for providing data of the program involved in this disclosure via a communication line. Moreover, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of the various structural elements of the robot 10 and smartphone 20 in the above embodiments can, of course, be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. Embodiments of this disclosure have been described, but the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, including the scope of the invention as described in the claims and its equivalents.

Claims

1. A computer program product characterized by comprising: the computer program product causing a processing section of a computer to execute processing of: determining whether a change satisfying a given condition has occurred in a virtual emotion of an object or a virtual personality of the object for a certain period, based on history information involved in a history of a state of the object; and in a case where it is determined that the change satisfying the given condition has occurred in the emotion or the personality of the object, causing a display section to display change information indicating that the change has occurred in the certain period.

2. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the certain period is one day, the computer program product causes the processing section of the computer to execute processing of: in a case where a date is changed, determining whether a change satisfying the given condition has occurred in the emotion or the personality of the object for the previous day, based on a portion of the history information corresponding to the previous day.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the history information includes a history of an emotion parameter indicating the emotion of the object, the computer program product causes the processing section of the computer to execute processing of: in a case where the emotion parameter has changed in the certain period in a manner satisfying the given condition, causing the display section to display the change information indicating the change in the emotion in the certain period.

4. The computer program product according to claim 3, wherein the emotion parameter indicates any one of a plurality of emotions different from each other, the computer program product causes the processing section of the computer to execute processing of: in a case where the emotion parameter indicating a given positive emotion of the plurality of emotions has changed in the certain period in a manner indicating an increase in a degree of the emotion, determining that the given condition is satisfied, and causing the display section to display the change information.

5. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the history information includes a history of a personality parameter indicating the personality of the object, the computer program product causes the processing section of the computer to execute processing of: in a case where the personality parameter has changed in the certain period in a manner satisfying the given condition, causing the display section to display the change information indicating the change in the personality in the certain period.

6. The computer program product according to claim 5, wherein the personality parameter includes a plurality of personality values indicating respective degrees of a plurality of personalities different from each other, the computer program product causes the processing section of the computer to execute processing of: in a case where any one of the plurality of personality values has increased by a reference value or more in the certain period, determining that the given condition is satisfied, and causing the display section to display the change information indicating the change in the certain period in the personality corresponding to the personality value that has increased by the reference value or more, of the plurality of personalities.

7. A system characterized by comprising: an object and a display control device, a processing section of the system executing processing of: determining whether a change satisfying a given condition has occurred in a virtual emotion of the object or a virtual personality of the object in a certain period based on history information involved in a history of a state of the object, in a case where it is determined that the change satisfying the given condition has occurred in the emotion or the personality of the object, causing a display section to display change information indicating that the change has occurred in the certain period.

8. A system characterized by comprising: a processing section of the system including a server and a display control device performs processing of: determining whether a change satisfying a given condition has occurred in a virtual emotion of the object or a virtual personality of the object in a certain period based on history information involved in a history of a state of the object, in a case where it is determined that the change satisfying the given condition has occurred in the emotion or the personality of the object, causing a display section to display change information indicating that the change has occurred in the certain period.

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