System for supporting operations in virtual space, program, and method for supporting operations in virtual space

Abstract

To provide a technique of promoting grasping of human resources in a virtual space.SOLUTION: A system for supporting operations in a virtual space includes: a virtual space control unit for causing a member terminal device of a display requesting member as a member who requests display to display a virtual space including a display target avatar which expresses a display target avatar as a member to display and appeal information from the display target member to another member; and an appeal information determination unit for determining the appeal information by using information received from the member terminal device of the display target member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a virtual space task support system, a program, and a virtual space task support method. [Background technology]

[0002] Technology is developing that allows avatars that represent users to be placed in virtual space and communicate with each other. The avatars act within the virtual space as the incarnation of the user. It is expected that virtual spaces will be used in business, such as having employees come to work in the virtual space and managing them.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a virtual space management system that manages the status of each user who operates an avatar in a virtual space from a client terminal. Paragraph

[0079] of the document states that "the information providing unit 24 refers to the interest information filter T1 (described later in FIG. 9) set for the logged-in user (S33), and displays information (user status information) set as being of interest to the user about other users around the other avatars (S34)." Paragraph

[0087] also states that "For other avatars on the same floor, for example, "1. Business status" and "5. Calendar status" are displayed. For other avatars in the same group, for example, "1. Business status", "3. Online status", "4. Floor status", and "6. Communication status" are displayed. For other avatars in the same subgroup, for example, "1. Business status", "2. User status (status of the user before the client terminal)", "3. Online status", "4. Floor status", "5. Calendar status", and "6. Communication status" are displayed. For the avatars of other users specified by the user, for example, "1. Business status," "5. Calendar status," and "6. Communication status" are displayed." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-181260 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When an office is constructed in a virtual space to support business operations, the office members may have fewer opportunities to meet face-to-face, which may result in a lack of interaction between the members. On the other hand, a technology is desired for grasping human resources in a virtual space in situations where human resources are recruited from among members to perform business operations and appropriate tasks are assigned. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not assume grasping human resources in a virtual space.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technique for facilitating understanding of human resources in a virtual space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present application includes a number of means for solving the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, a virtual space work support system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a virtual space control unit that causes a member terminal device of a display requesting member, who is a member making a display request, to display a virtual space including a display target avatar representing a display target member, who is a member to be displayed, and appeal information of the display target member to appeal to other members; and an appeal information determination unit that determines the appeal information using information received from the member terminal device of the display target member; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0009] The virtual space business support system may be characterized in that it includes a display setting unit that sets whether or not the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed can be displayed when the member is the display requesting member from the member terminal device, and sets whether or not the appeal information can be displayed to the member to be displayed when the member is the display target member.

[0010] The virtual space business support system may include an attribute registration unit that registers attribute information for each member, and when the virtual space control unit receives a virtual space display request from the display requesting member, it determines the avatar to be displayed, and the appeal information determination unit determines the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed based on the relationship between the attribute information of the display requesting member and the attribute information of the member to be displayed.

[0011] The appeal information determination unit may be characterized in that it determines attribute information of the member to be displayed that is related to the attribute information of a specified item among the attribute information of the member requesting display, as the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed.

[0012] The virtual space control unit may be characterized in that it causes the member terminal device of the display requesting member to display the appeal information of the display requesting member, which is displayed on the member terminal device of the display target member.

[0013] The display setting unit may set a setting to allow the display of the appeal information to the display requesting member with a specified role, and the virtual space control unit may display the permitted appeal information to the display requesting member with the specified role in accordance with the setting, and suppress the display of the appeal information to the display requesting member who does not have the specified role.

[0014] The appeal information determination unit may determine input appeal information input to a member terminal device as the appeal information, the attribute registration unit registers interest information indicating the member's interests as the attribute information, and the virtual space control unit may display the appeal information related to the interest information of the member requesting display.

[0015] The virtual space business support system may include a search unit that searches for the appeal information in response to a search request from the display requesting member and outputs the display target members corresponding to the search results, and a search target notification unit that displays the display requesting member who performed the search on the member terminal device of the display target member output as the search result, and the search target notification unit may be characterized in that it suppresses the display of the display requesting member to the display target members in accordance with the settings of the display requesting member.

[0016] The virtual space control unit may be characterized in that, in response to a communication request from the member terminal device of the display requesting member, it mediates communication within the virtual space with the member terminal device of the display target member.

[0017] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a processing unit of a computer to execute a business support method in a virtual space, and is characterized in that it causes the computer to execute a virtual space control procedure that causes a member terminal device owned by the display requesting member, who is the member making the display request, to display a virtual space including a display target avatar representing the display target member, who is the member to be displayed, and appeal information for other members, and an appeal information determination procedure that determines the appeal information using information received from the member terminal device owned by the display target member.

[0018] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a virtual space work support method according to another aspect of the present invention is a virtual space work support method using a virtual space work support system, and is characterized in that it includes a virtual space control procedure for causing a member terminal device owned by a display requesting member, who is a member making a display request, to display a virtual space including a display target avatar representing a display target member, who is a member to be displayed, and appeal information for other members, and an appeal information determination procedure for determining the appeal information using information received from a member terminal device owned by the display target member. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, a technique for facilitating understanding of human resources in a virtual space can be provided.

[0020] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overview of a virtual space business support service according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of attribute information. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a virtual space management device 10. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a first appeal display process. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a second appeal display process. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual space display screen (part 1). [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual space display screen (part 2). [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a search process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block of an intra-virtual space task support system 1. The intra-virtual space task support system 1 creates a virtual space that functions as a so-called virtual office. The virtual space is used by multiple members to participate and exchange information among the members.

[0023] In the virtual space, avatars representing each member are placed. Hereinafter, a member who requests the display of the virtual space will be referred to as a display requesting member, an avatar placed in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device owned by the display requesting member will be referred to as a display target avatar, and a member represented by the display target avatar will be referred to as a display target member. For example, when you are participating in the virtual space, you are the member viewing the virtual space and requesting the display of the virtual space, and therefore you are a display requesting member. Members that you can see in the virtual space are display target members.

[0024] In the virtual space work support system 1, a virtual space management device 10 and a plurality of member terminal devices 20 are communicatively connected via a network N. The virtual space management device 10 is an information processing device managed by a business operator or the like that provides the virtual space work support system 1, and is, for example, a server computer or a PC (Personal Computer).

[0025] The virtual space management device 10 includes a processing unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150. The processing unit 110 performs overall control of the entire virtual space management device 10. The storage unit 120 stores information required for processing by the processing unit 110. The input unit 130 accepts information input to the virtual space management device 10 from an input device connected via an input IF 14 described later. The output unit 140 outputs information stored in the virtual space management device 10 from an output device connected via an output IF 15 described later. The communication unit 150 controls transmission and reception of information to and from another information processing device connected to be able to communicate via a network N.

[0026] The processing unit 110 includes a virtual space control unit 111, an appeal information determination unit 112, a display setting unit 113, an attribute registration unit 114, a search unit 115, and a search target notification unit 116. The virtual space control unit 111 controls a virtual space into which each member terminal device 20 can virtually enter. When the virtual space control unit 111 receives a display request for a virtual space from the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member, it determines a display target avatar. The virtual space control unit 111 causes the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member to display the virtual space in which the determined display target avatar is arranged. The virtual space control unit 111 causes the appeal information to be associated with the display target avatar and displayed in the virtual space.

[0027] The appeal information is information that the display target member wants to appeal to other members. The appeal information includes, for example, advertisements, claims, information that the member wants to convey to other members, and the like.

[0028] Furthermore, in response to a communication request from the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member, the virtual space control unit 111 mediates communication within the virtual space with the member terminal device 20 of the display target member. For example, when the member terminal device 20 accepts an input operation for selecting a display target avatar of the communication partner, the virtual space control unit 111 mediates chat communication between the display requesting member and the display target member.

[0029] The appeal information determination unit 112 uses information received from the member terminal device 20 of the display target member to determine the appeal information to be displayed on the member terminal device 20 of the display target member. For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the appeal information generated using the input appeal input by each member as the appeal information to be displayed on the member terminal device 20. In addition, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the appeal information generated using the attribute information of the display target member as the appeal information to be displayed on the member terminal device 20. In this case, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the appeal information of the display target avatar based on the relationship between the attribute information of the display requesting member and the attribute information of the display target member.

[0030] The display setting unit 113 sets whether or not to display appeal information of a display target avatar when the member himself / herself is a display requesting member, based on an input operation to the member terminal device 20. In addition, the display setting unit 113 sets whether or not to display appeal information for a display requesting member when the member himself / herself is a display target member, based on an input operation to the member terminal device 20.

[0031] The attribute registration unit 114 registers attribute information for each member in the storage unit 120. The attribute information is information about the member with respect to a predetermined item. For example, the attribute registration unit 114 registers interest information indicating the interests of the member as attribute information.

[0032] The search unit 115 searches for the appeal information of the display target avatar in response to a search request from the display requesting member, and outputs the display target avatar and appeal information corresponding to the search result. The search target notification unit 116 notifies the member terminal device 20 of the display target member who performed the search to the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member who has been output as the search result, and causes information indicating that the result has been output as the search result to be displayed on the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member.

[0033] The storage unit 120 stores display setting information 121, attribute information 122, and search history information 123. The display setting information 121 includes, for each member, information indicating whether or not the appeal information of the display target avatar can be displayed when the member is the display requesting member, and information indicating whether or not the appeal information can be displayed to the display requesting member when the member is the display target member. Furthermore, the display setting information 121 includes, for each member, information indicating that, when the member is the display target member, display of the appeal information is permitted only to the display requesting member with a predetermined role. The attribute information 122 is information on the member for a predetermined item.

[0034] The search history information 123 is information indicating the history of search processing executed by the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member. The search history information 123 includes the display requesting member who performed the search, the display target members output as the search results, and the appeal information of the display target members as search history.

[0035] The member terminal device 20 is an information processing device such as a PC or a smartphone, and is operated by the display requesting member and the display target member. The member terminal device 20 includes a processing unit 210, a storage unit 220, an input unit 230, an output unit 240, and a communication unit 250. The processing unit 210 controls the entire member terminal device 20. The storage unit 220 stores information required for processing by the processing unit 210. The input unit 230 accepts information input to the member terminal device 20 from an input device connected via an input IF. The output unit 240 outputs information stored in the member terminal device 20 from an output device connected via an output IF. The communication unit 250 controls the transmission and reception of information between the member terminal device 20 and other information processing devices connected to be able to communicate with each other via the network N.

[0036] The processing unit 210 uses software preinstalled in the member terminal device 20 to participate in the virtual space managed by the virtual space management device 10. The processing unit 210 may also participate in the virtual space through a browser program.

[0037] The processing unit 210 includes a registration request unit 211 and an operation detection unit 212. The registration request unit 211 transmits a registration request for the attribute information 122 and the display setting information 121 to the virtual space management device 10. The operation detection unit 212 detects an input operation by a member.

[0038] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of attribute information 122. Attribute information 122 is information registered for each member ID that identifies a member in the following fields: name, affiliation, role, job type, qualifications, special skills, interests, whether search history is displayed, and input appeal information. Note that the fields of attribute information 122 are not limited to this example. Note that role may be a job title, etc. The input appeal information is composed of a character string input by a member. In other words, the input appeal information is appeal information input to member terminal device 20.

[0039] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the virtual space management device 10. The virtual space management device 10 includes a calculation device 11, a memory 12, an external storage device 13, an input IF (Interface) 14, an output IF 15, and a communication IF 16, and each component is connected by a bus.

[0040] The arithmetic unit 11 is a arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and in the virtual space management device 10 which executes processing according to a program recorded in the memory 12 or the external storage device 13, the processing is performed by the arithmetic unit 11 which operates according to a program read onto the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. The processing unit 110 realizes each function by the arithmetic unit 11 executing the program.

[0041] The memory 12 is a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, and functions as a storage area from which programs and data are temporarily read. The external storage device 13 is, for example, a writable and readable storage medium and a storage media drive, such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), or a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory). The function of the storage unit 120 is realized by the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. The function of the storage unit 120 may be realized by a storage device connected via the communication IF 16.

[0042] The input IF 14 is an interface for receiving input operations from an operator, and is connected to input devices such as a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, etc. The output IF 15 is an interface for outputting information to an output device such as an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display built into the virtual space management device 10.

[0043] The communication IF 16 is an interface for connecting the virtual space management device 10 to the network N, and is connected to a communication device such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card. The virtual space management device 10 may have a storage medium drive device (not shown) for inputting and outputting information from portable media such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0044] The processing of each component of virtual space management device 10 may be executed by one piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware. Also, the processing of each component of virtual space management device 10 may be realized by one program or by multiple programs.

[0045] The hardware configuration of the member terminal device 20 is similar to that of the virtual space management device 10, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] The virtual space management device 10 in this embodiment executes a <first appeal display process> for displaying input appeal information input by a member, or a <second appeal display process> for displaying appeal information determined using the attribute information 122. For example, in the storage unit 120 of the virtual space management device 10, it is preregistered which appeal display process each member is to execute when the member is a display requesting member.

[0047] <First appeal display process> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the first appeal display process.

[0048] First, the virtual space control unit 111 receives a display request for the virtual space from a display requesting member (i.e., a viewing member) (step S11). Specifically, the virtual space control unit 111 receives information indicating a display request for the virtual space from a member terminal device 20 registered to perform the first appeal display process. Note that the virtual space control unit 111 executes the following process assuming that the member who owns the member terminal device 20 that sent the display request is the display requesting member.

[0049] Next, the virtual space control unit 111 extracts a display target avatar to be placed in the display area (step S12). Specifically, the virtual space control unit 111 determines the area in which the avatar of the display requesting member is to be placed as the display area. The virtual space control unit 111 extracts one or more display target avatars to be placed in the display area. Note that the avatar of the display requesting member may or may not be placed in the virtual space, but in the example shown below, for convenience, the term "display target avatar" does not include the display requesting avatar.

[0050] Next, if the appeal information display setting of the display requesting member is displayable, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the input appeal information of the display target member as the appeal information (step S13). Specifically, the appeal information determination unit 112 refers to the display setting information 121 and specifies whether the appeal information of the display requesting member that accepted the display request in step S11 can be displayed. If the display is possible, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the attribute information in the input appeal information field of the record of the attribute information 122 of each of the display target members as the appeal information. Note that if the display is not possible, the appeal information determination unit 112 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0051] Next, if the display target member is displayable, the virtual space control unit 111 associates the appeal information with the display target avatar and displays it (step S14). Specifically, the virtual space control unit 111 refers to the display setting information 121 of each of the display target members related to the display target avatars extracted in step S12, and determines whether each of them is displayable. For each of the display target members that are displayable, the virtual space control unit 111 associates the appeal information determined in step S13 with the display target avatar and displays it.

[0052] When the display setting information 121 of the display target member includes information indicating that only a display requesting member with a predetermined role is permitted to display the appeal information, the virtual space control unit 111 determines whether the display requesting member has the role by referring to the record of the display requesting member's attribute information 122. When the display requesting member has the predetermined role, the virtual space control unit 111 displays the appeal information of the display target avatar, and when the display requesting member does not have the predetermined role, the virtual space control unit 111 suppresses the display of the appeal information of the display target avatar.

[0053] Next, if the avatar of the display requesting member is displayed among the display target members, the virtual space control unit 111 extracts the displayed appeal information (step S15). Specifically, the virtual space control unit 111 determines whether or not the display requesting avatar is displayed in each of the member terminal devices 20 related to the display target avatar extracted in step S12. The virtual space control unit 111 extracts the appeal information of the display requesting avatar displayed in each of the member terminal devices 20.

[0054] Next, the virtual space control unit 111 displays the extracted appeal information in the presented appeal display area 312 (step S16). Specifically, the virtual space control unit displays, on the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member, the appeal information of the display requesting member that is displayed on the member terminal device 20 of the display target member. The presented appeal display area 312 will be described later. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0055] FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) showing an example of a virtual space display screen 300. The virtual space display screen 300 includes a virtual space display area 311 and a presented appeal display area 312. The virtual space display area 311 shows a virtual space displayed under the control of the virtual space control unit 111 in response to a display request from a display requesting member. The virtual space display area 311 includes an avatar 301 and appeal information 302. The appeal information 302 is displayed in association with the avatar 301, for example, in the vicinity of the avatar 301, and moves as the avatar 301 moves. Note that the appeal information may be displayed in a manner in which a board on which the appeal information is written is connected to the end of a stick held by the display target avatar, like a placard, for example.

[0056] Avatars 301A, 301B, 301C, and 301D are displayed in virtual space display area 311 shown in FIG. 6. If the display requesting member is described as "member A," avatar 301A is the avatar of "member A." That is, virtual space display area 311 shown in FIG. 6 represents a virtual space from a third-person perspective, and includes avatar 301A, which is the avatar of the display requesting member. However, virtual space display area 311 may represent a virtual space from a first-person perspective, and may not include avatar 301A. Moreover, virtual space display area 311 shown in FIG. 6 includes appeal information 302B, 302C, and 302D. Appeal information of the display requesting member may be displayed in virtual space display area 311.

[0057] The presented appeal display area 312 is an area for displaying the appeal information of the display requesting member, which is displayed on the member terminal device 20 of the display target member, for each display target avatar displayed in the virtual space display area 311. That is, the appeal information of the display requesting member (the viewer) disclosed to each display target member (the person who can be viewed) displayed in the virtual space display area 311 is displayed.

[0058] 6, in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "member B," appeal information "Qualification: Basic Information Technology Engineer" is displayed together with the avatar of "member A." Similarly, in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "member C," appeal information "I have a Munchkin cat" is displayed together with the avatar of "member A," and in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "member D," appeal information "Special skill: Acquired β language" is displayed together with the avatar of "member A." Therefore, the appeal information of the display requesting member displayed for each display target member represented by the display target avatars 301B, 301C, and 301D is different from one another.

[0059] As described above, according to this embodiment, information that a member wishes to appeal to other members can be displayed in the virtual space. In addition, by displaying appeal information to members with a specified role, it is possible to encourage them to obtain an opportunity to be involved in a desired task. In addition, by referring to the virtual space, the member who made the display request can easily grasp the human resources.

[0060] <First Appeal Display Process: Modified Example> In the first appeal display process, input appeal information input by a member is displayed. In a modified example of the first appeal display process, appeal information that is of interest to the display requesting member is displayed. Below, the differences from the above-mentioned embodiment will be described.

[0061] In step S11 of Fig. 4, when the virtual space control unit 111 receives a request to display a virtual space from the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member, the appeal information determination unit 112 refers to a record of the attribute information 122 of the display requesting member. The appeal information determination unit 112 identifies interest information corresponding to the "interest" item of the record. Then, in step S13, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines whether or not the input appeal information included in the attribute information 122 of the display target avatar extracted in step S12 is related to the identified interest information. When it is determined that the input appeal information is related to the interest information, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the input appeal information as the appeal information of the display target avatar.

[0062] The method by which the appeal information determination unit 112 determines the appeal information related to the interest information is not limited. For example, when a term included in the interest information is included in the input appeal information, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines that the input appeal information is related to the interest information. For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 may determine whether the interest information and the input appeal information are related to each other by using related word dictionary information (not shown) that records related words.

[0063] 6, for example, if the interest information of "member C" includes the term "cat," the appeal information determination unit 112 determines whether the character string "I have a munchkin cat," which is the input appeal information of "member A," is related to the interest information of "member C." The appeal information determination unit 112 uses related word dictionary information to determine that the input appeal information of "member A" is related to the interest information of "member C."

[0064] That is, the virtual space management device 10, which has received a virtual space display request from the member terminal device 20 of "member C," causes the member terminal device 20 of "member C" to display a virtual space in which the display target avatar of "member A" displays the appeal information "I have a munchkin cat." As a result, as shown in Fig. 6, the character string "I have a munchkin cat" is displayed to "member C" as the appeal information of "member A" in the presentation appeal display area 312 of the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "member A."

[0065] As described above, according to this modification, appeal information of interest is displayed in the virtual space of the display requesting member. This allows the display requesting member to easily recognize the display target avatar that presents appeal information of interest to the display requesting member. In addition, it becomes possible to easily talk to the display target avatar with reference to the appeal information, which promotes active communication.

[0066] <Second appeal display process> Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the second appeal display process. The processes executed in steps S21 and S22 are similar to the processes executed in steps S11 and S12 in Fig. 4, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. In step S21, the virtual space control unit 111 receives information indicating a virtual space display request from a member terminal device 20 registered as performing the second appeal display process.

[0067] Next, when the appeal information display setting of the display requesting member is displayable, the appeal information determination unit 112 selects first attribute information, which is attribute information of a first item, from the attribute information 122 of the display target member (step S23). Specifically, the appeal information determination unit 112 refers to the display setting information 121 and specifies whether or not the appeal information of the display requesting member whose display request was accepted in step S21 can be displayed. When the display is displayable, the appeal information determination unit 112 selects the first attribute information, which is attribute information of a first item, which is a predetermined item, from the record of the attribute information 122 of the display requesting member.

[0068] For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 selects attribute information corresponding to the "occupation" item from among the records of the attribute information 122 of the display requesting member as the first attribute information. In addition, the first item is preset for the display requesting member and may be different for each display requesting member. Note that, if display is not possible, the appeal information determination unit 112 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0069] Next, the appeal information determination unit 112 extracts, for each display target member, second attribute information that is attribute information of the second item from the record of the attribute information 122 of the display target member (step S24). Specifically, the appeal information determination unit 112 extracts, for each display target avatar extracted in step S22, second attribute information that is attribute information of the second item that is a predetermined item. For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 extracts, as the second attribute information, attribute information corresponding to the item "qualifications" for each display target avatar. In addition, the second item is also set in advance for the display requesting member.

[0070] Next, the appeal information determination unit determines the second attribute information related to the first attribute information as the appeal information (step S25). Specifically, the appeal information determination unit 112 determines whether each piece of second attribute information extracted in step S24 is related to the first attribute information selected in step S23. The appeal information determination unit 112 determines each piece of second attribute information related to the first attribute information as the appeal information of each of the display target avatars.

[0071] The method by which the appeal information determination unit 112 determines whether the attribute information is related to each other is not limited. For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 may determine whether the attribute information is related to each other by referring to an attribute correspondence table in which each term included in the first attribute information is associated with a term of the related second attribute information. For example, when the first item is "occupation", the appeal information determination unit 112 selects "system engineer" from the attribute information 122 as the first attribute information of the display request avatar. The appeal information determination unit 112 extracts attribute information corresponding to the second item "qualification" from the records of the attribute information 122 of the display target avatar. The appeal information determination unit 112 determines the attribute information related to "system engineer" from the extracted attribute information as the appeal information.

[0072] In addition, there may be multiple second items. For example, the appeal information determination unit 112 may extract attribute information indicating the second item "qualifications" and also extract attribute information indicating "input appeal information" as the second item. For example, when one of the display target avatars extracted in step S22 has multiple items of attribute information related to the first attribute information, the appeal information determination unit 112 may display each of the attribute information as second attribute information in the appeal information. In addition, the appeal information determination unit 112 may determine one piece of appeal information from the multiple items of appeal information according to a predetermined priority.

[0073] The process executed from step S26 to step S28 is similar to the process executed from step S14 to step S16 in Fig. 4, and therefore the description will be omitted. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the process of this flowchart.

[0074] Fig. 7 is a diagram (part 2) showing one example of virtual space display screen 300. Display target avatar 301B arranged in virtual space display area 311 shown in Fig. 7 displays "Qualification: Applied Information Technology Engineer, Network Specialist" as appealing information 302B, display target avatar 301C displays "Special skill: Acquired α language" as appealing information 302C, and display target avatar 301D displays "Holds engineer certification from Company A and is knowledgeable about System B" as appealing information 302D.

[0075] This is an example of the virtual space display area 311 displayed when the first attribute information is "system engineer". The appeal information determination unit 112 determines that the first item predetermined by the display requesting member is "occupation" and the second item is "qualification", "special skill" and "input appeal information". The appeal information determination unit 112 determines whether or not the attribute information of the items "qualification", "special skill" and / or "input appeal information" of the display target avatars arranged in the virtual space display area 311 is related to "system engineer". The virtual space control unit 111 causes the attribute information related to "system engineer" to be displayed in the virtual space display area 311 as appeal information.

[0076] As in the example shown in FIG. 6, according to the presented appeal display area 312 shown in FIG. 7, the appeal information "Qualification: Basic Information Technology Engineer" is displayed together with the avatar of "Member A" in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "Member B". This indicates that "Member B" has "Qualification" as the second item, and the "Qualification" possessed by "Member A" is displayed as appeal information on the member terminal device 20 of "Member B". Similarly, the appeal information "Special Skill: Acquire β Language" is displayed together with the avatar of "Member D" in the virtual space displayed on the member terminal device 20 of "Member D". This indicates that "Member D" has "Special Skill" as the second item, and the "Special Skill" possessed by "Member A" is displayed as appeal information on the member terminal device 20 of "Member D".

[0077] As described above, according to this embodiment, attribute information related to the attribute information of a specific item of the display requesting member is displayed as appeal information of the display target avatar. This allows the display requesting member to refer to the appeal information of the display target member having attributes related to his / her own attributes, and therefore allows the member to efficiently identify the target, for example, when searching for a target to which to allocate work. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to promote understanding of human resources in a virtual space.

[0078] Furthermore, the presentation appeal display area 312 on the virtual space display screen of the display requesting member displays what appeal information is being displayed for his / her avatar in the member terminal devices 20 of the other members. Therefore, it is possible to check whether the appeal information intended by the member is being displayed to other members in the member terminal devices 20 of the other members, improving convenience.

[0079] When the operation detection unit 212 of the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member receives an input operation of a communication request specifying the display target avatar, it transmits the communication request to the virtual space management device 10. In response to the communication request, the virtual space control unit 111 of the virtual space management device 10 mediates communication within the virtual space between the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member and the member terminal device 20 of the display target member. That is, according to this embodiment, the display requesting member who has referred to the appeal information can easily communicate with the display target member within the virtual space, which can promote communication in business.

[0080] In addition, in the above example, which appeal display process each member will execute when they are a display requesting member is registered in advance, and virtual space management device 10 executes either the <first appeal display process> or the <second appeal display process> depending on the registration. However, virtual space management device 10 may execute both the <first appeal display process> and the <second appeal display process>.

[0081] In that case, for example, when appeal information is determined for a certain display target avatar in both the first appeal display process and the second appeal display process, the appeal information determination unit 112 may determine one of the pieces of appeal information based on a predetermined priority. Also, for example, when appeal information is determined for a certain display target avatar in both the first appeal display process and the second appeal display process, the appeal information determination unit 112 may display one of the pieces of appeal information only if it is determined that the determined pieces of appeal information are related to each other. The method of determining whether the pieces of appeal information are related to each other does not matter, and it may be determined, for example, by referring to the above-mentioned attribute correspondence table.

[0082] <Search process> FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the search process.

[0083] First, the search unit 115 receives a search request for members to be displayed from a display requesting member (step S31).

[0084] Next, the search unit 115 displays the search results (step S32). Specifically, the search unit 115 uses the keyword included in the search request to search for appeal information displayed in the virtual space display area 311, and displays the corresponding appeal information and the related display target avatar.

[0085] Next, the search target notification unit 116 accepts an input instruction to permit or not permit the search history to be displayed, and registers it in the search history information 123 (step S33). Specifically, the search target notification unit 116 accepts an input operation of whether or not to permit the display of the search history to the display target members, for each display target avatar included in the search results displayed in step S32, and registers it in the search history information 123. Thereafter, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0086] When an input operation to permit the search history display is received, the search target notification unit 116 transmits information indicating the display requesting member who performed the search to the display target members. That is, the display target members can recognize that they have been displayed as a search result on the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member. On the other hand, when an input operation to prohibit the search history display is received, the search target notification unit 116 does not transmit information indicating the display requesting member who performed the search to the display target members.

[0087] The search history information 123 may include appeal information of the display target member displayed as a search target on the member terminal device 20 of the display requesting member. That is, the display target member displayed as a search target can analyze the attribute information and input appeal information that appeal to other members by recognizing the appeal information displayed as a search result, and increase opportunities for communication.

[0088] As described above, according to this embodiment, the search target is appealing information that the display target members want to appeal. In other words, the display target members displayed in the search results are highly likely to be proactive in communication related to the search keyword. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to promote smoother communication.

[0089] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the virtual space work support system 1 provides a virtual space used for communication among members of a company. However, participants in the virtual space provided by the virtual space work system are not limited to members of the same company. For example, the virtual space of this embodiment can be provided to any participants, such as local government officials, residents, voluntary organizations such as neighborhood associations, and members of group companies.

[0090] Although each embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modified examples are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and the present invention is not limited to having all the configurations described here. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another example. It is also possible to add the configuration of another example to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to a part of the configuration of each embodiment. In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing them as integrated circuits, for example, in part or in whole. In addition, the control lines and information lines in the figure show those that are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all of them. It may be considered that almost all of the configurations are connected to each other.

[0091] Moreover, the functional configurations of the virtual space management device 10 and the member terminal device 20 are classified according to the main processing contents for ease of understanding. The classification method and names of the components do not limit the present invention. As described above, the configurations of the virtual space management device 10 and the member terminal device 20 can be further classified into more components according to the processing contents. Also, classification can be performed so that one component executes more processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1: Virtual space business support system, 10: Virtual space management device, 11: Calculation device, 12: Memory, 13: External storage device, 14: Input IF, 15: Output IF, 16: Communication IF, 20: Member terminal device, 110-210: Processing device, 111: Virtual space control device, 112: Appeal information determination device, 113: Display setting device, 114: Attribute registration device, 115: Search device, 116: Search target notification device, 120-220: Storage device, 121: Display Setting information, 122: attribute information, 123: search history information, 130-230: input section, 140-240: output section, 150-250: communication section, 211: registration request section, 212: operation detection section, 300: virtual space display screen, 301-301A-301B-301C-301D: avatars, 302A-302B / 302C-302D: appeal information, 311: virtual space display area, 312: presentation appeal display area, N: network

Claims

1. a virtual space control unit that causes a member terminal device of a display requesting member to display a virtual space including a display target avatar representing a display target member who is a member to be displayed and appeal information of the display target member to other members; an appeal information determination unit that determines the appeal information by using information received from a member terminal device of the display target member; A virtual space business support system comprising:

2. 2. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, A business support system within a virtual space, characterized in that it is equipped with a display setting unit that sets whether or not the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed can be displayed when the member terminal device is the member requesting the display, and sets whether or not the appeal information can be displayed to the member requesting the display when the member terminal device is the member to be displayed.

3. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, an attribute registration unit that registers attribute information for each of the members; the virtual space control unit, upon receiving a display request for the virtual space from the display requesting member, determines the avatar to be displayed; A business support system in a virtual space, characterized in that the appeal information determination unit determines the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed based on the relationship between attribute information of the member requesting display and attribute information of the member to be displayed.

4. 4. The virtual space task support system according to claim 3, A business support system in a virtual space, characterized in that the appeal information determination unit determines the attribute information of the member to be displayed that is related to the attribute information of a specified item among the attribute information of the member requesting display as the appeal information of the avatar to be displayed.

5. 4. The virtual space task support system according to claim 3, The virtual space control unit is characterized in that it displays, on the member terminal device of the display requesting member, the appeal information of the display requesting member, which is displayed on the member terminal device of the display target member.

6. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 2, The display setting unit performs a setting to allow the display requesting member of a predetermined role to display the appeal information, The virtual space control unit displays the permitted appeal information to the display requesting member who has the specified role in accordance with the setting, and suppresses the display of the appeal information to the display requesting member who does not have the specified role.A business support system within a virtual space, characterized in that

7. 4. The virtual space task support system according to claim 3, The appeal information determination unit determines input appeal information input to the member terminal device as the appeal information, The attribute registration unit registers interest information indicating an interest of the member as the attribute information, The virtual space control unit displays the appeal information related to the interest information of the member who has requested the display, in accordance with the virtual space work support system.

8. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, a search unit that searches for the appeal information in response to a search request from the display request member and outputs the display target member corresponding to the search result; a search target notification unit that displays the display request member who performed the search on the member terminal device of the display target member output as the search result, The in-virtual space work support system, wherein the search target notification unit suppresses display of the display request member to the display target members in accordance with a setting of the display request member.

9. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, The virtual space control unit is characterized in that it mediates communication within the virtual space with the member terminal device of the member to be displayed in response to a communication request from the member terminal device of the member requesting the display.

10. A program for causing a processing unit of a computer to execute a virtual space task support method, a virtual space control procedure for displaying, on a member terminal device of a display requesting member who is a member making a display request, a virtual space including a display target avatar representing a display target member who is a member to be displayed and appeal information to other members; and an appeal information determination step of determining the appeal information using information received from a member terminal device of the member to be displayed.

11. A method for supporting work in a virtual space by a work support system in a virtual space, comprising: a virtual space control procedure for displaying, on a member terminal device of a display requesting member who is a member making a display request, a virtual space including a display target avatar representing a display target member who is a member to be displayed and appeal information to other members; A method for supporting work in a virtual space, comprising: an appeal information determination step of determining the appeal information using information received from a member terminal device owned by the member to be displayed.

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