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

Abstract

To provide a technique of promoting free communications of members in a virtual space.SOLUTION: A system for supporting operations in a virtual space includes: a virtual space control unit for displaying, in a virtual space, a name of a member in relation to an avatar which expresses the member; a position acquisition unit for acquiring a position of the avatar in the virtual space; and a display suppression determination unit for determining information which suppresses display into the virtual space. The display suppression determination unit suppresses display of the name when the avatar is arranged in a predetermined region of the virtual space.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 office system that provides a user terminal with a virtual space where both office workers and home workers can interact. Paragraph

[0039] states, "When the user X's own avatar (X) enters the personal space 404 of another person's avatar (Y), the display unit 228 of the user terminal 300 (X) displays the status panel 422." Paragraph

[0074] also states, "In addition to the above, the status information may include job title, department, hobbies, self-introduction, etc. Also, when the user X visually recognizes the avatar (Y) through the avatar (X), the status management unit 124 may provide the user terminal 300 with information based on the relationship between the two, such as the number of conversations between the user X and the user Y in the past month, the total conversation time, the date and time of the previous conversation, and whether or not it is the first time they have met, as status information." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-180204 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Generally, increased communication among employees is expected to lead to more efficient work. When an office is constructed in a virtual space to support work, the office members have fewer opportunities to meet face to face, which may result in a lack of interaction between members. Therefore, a mechanism that promotes free communication by utilizing the advantage of a virtual space that does not require actual face-to-face meetings is expected. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not promote communication in a virtual space.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technique that promotes free communication among members 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, one embodiment of the present invention provides a virtual space business support system comprising a virtual space control unit that associates the name of a member with an avatar representing the member and displays the name in the virtual space, a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the avatar in the virtual space, and a display suppression determination unit that determines information to suppress display in the virtual space, wherein the display suppression determination unit suppresses display of the name when the avatar is placed in a specified area within the virtual space.

[0009] The virtual space business support system may include an attribute registration unit that registers attribute information corresponding to items of the member's attributes, the virtual space control unit associates the attribute information of the member with the avatar and displays it, and the display suppression determination unit suppresses the display of the attribute information of a specified item when the avatar is placed in the specified area.

[0010] The attribute registration unit may accept a selection of attribute information to be displayed or not displayed when the avatar is placed in the specified area from among one or more pieces of attribute information, and the display suppression determination unit may determine the attribute information to be suppressed from display when the avatar is placed in the specified area based on the selection accepted by the attribute registration unit.

[0011] The virtual space business support system may include a personal estimated information determination unit that uses the attribute information of multiple members to determine personal estimated information, which is the attribute information that may identify a certain member, and the virtual space control unit may be characterized in that when the avatar is placed in the specified area, the personal estimated information of the member represented by the avatar is hidden and other attribute information is displayed.

[0012] The personal estimated information determination unit may be characterized in that it identifies, for each item, the number of members who have common attribute information, and determines the attribute information of the items in which the number of members is a predetermined number or less as the personal estimated information.

[0013] The display suppression determination unit may determine which attribute information of the other members to suppress from being displayed based on a relationship between the attribute information of the member who accepted the virtual space display instruction and the attribute information of the other members whose avatars are placed in the virtual space, and the virtual space control unit may display the attribute information based on the determination of the display suppression determination unit to the member who accepted the virtual space display instruction.

[0014] The display suppression determination unit may be characterized in that it determines a relationship level for each of the other members by evaluating the relationship between the member who accepted the display instruction for the virtual space and each of the other members, and determines the attribute information to be suppressed from displaying for each of the other members using disclosure information that associates the relationship level with the items of attribute information to be disclosed.

[0015] The attribute registration unit may receive a request to register a subject to be handled in the area, and the display suppression determination unit may determine that the attribute information having a low correlation with the subject is the attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed.

[0016] The display suppression determination unit may determine a pseudonym to be displayed in place of the name when the avatar is placed in a specified area within the virtual space, and the virtual space control unit may display the pseudonym in association with the avatar.

[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 causes the computer to execute a virtual space control procedure that associates the name of a member with an avatar representing the member and displays the name in the virtual space, a position acquisition procedure that acquires the position of the avatar in the virtual space, and a display suppression decision procedure that determines information to suppress display in the virtual space, wherein the display suppression decision procedure suppresses display of the name when the avatar is placed in a specified area in the virtual space.

[0018] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another aspect of the present invention is a method for supporting work in a virtual space using an in-virtual space work support system, and includes a virtual space control step of associating the name of a member with an avatar representing the member and displaying the name in the virtual space, a position acquisition step of acquiring the position of the avatar in the virtual space, and a display suppression decision step of determining information to suppress display in the virtual space, wherein the display suppression decision step suppresses display of the name when the avatar is placed in a specified area within the virtual space. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for promoting free communication among members in a virtual space.

[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 the present embodiment. Fig. 1(A) is a diagram (part 1) for explaining one area in the virtual space, Fig. 1(B) is a diagram (part 2) for explaining one area in the virtual space, and Fig. 1(C) is a diagram (part 3) for explaining one area in the virtual space. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block of a virtual space task support system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of member information. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a virtual space management device. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a display control process performed by the virtual space management device. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of a virtual space task support system according to a first modified example. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an individual estimated information determination process in the virtual space management device. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a display control process in a second modified example. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of relationship level information. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a display control process in a third modified example. 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 an outline of a virtual space business support service of this embodiment. Fig. 1(A) is a diagram (part 1) for explaining one area in virtual space 300, Fig. 1(B) is a diagram (part 2) for explaining one area in virtual space 300, and Fig. 1(C) is a diagram (part 3) for explaining one area in virtual space 300.

[0023] The intra-virtual space work support service is realized by an intra-virtual space work support system of this embodiment. The intra-virtual space work support system constructs a virtual space 300 that functions as a so-called virtual office. The virtual space 300 is used by a plurality of members to participate and exchange information among the members. In the virtual space 300, avatars 301 representing each of the members are placed. Each avatar 301 is operated by the member. Also, a profile 302 is associated with each avatar 301 and displayed.

[0024] In this embodiment, no input operation is required to display the profile 302, and the profile 302 is displayed together with the avatar 301 when the avatar 301 is displayed, but the profile 302 may be displayed only when an input operation such as selecting an avatar is received.

[0025] FIG. 1(A) shows an overview of an area 300A in a virtual space 300. The area 300A is an image of an office where the members usually work, and is an area where the members' profiles 302 are displayed without any restrictions. In the area 300A shown in FIG. 1(A), an avatar 301A and an avatar 301B are arranged, and profiles 302A to 302B are associated with and displayed for each of the avatars 301A to 301B. The profile 302 includes attribute information of the members. The attribute information is information on the members with respect to items such as name, affiliation, occupation, position, and special skills. In the profiles 302A to 302B of the avatars 301A to 301B shown in FIG. 1, the attribute information of each member is displayed for each of the items "name," "position," "affiliation," "occupation," and "special skills."

[0026] When communicating using virtual space 300, members generally recognize the subject of communication by visually checking other members' avatars 301 and profiles 302. In order to promote free communication between members, the virtual space business system of this embodiment hides at least a part of the profile 302 of the avatar 301 that may be placed in a predetermined area.

[0027] FIG. 1(B) shows an overview of area 300B of virtual space 300. Area 300B is an anonymous type area in which some of the member information is concealed. In profiles 302A-302C of avatars 301A-301C displayed in area 300B, attribute information in the fields of "name" and "job title" is hidden, compared to profiles 302A-302B shown in FIG. 1(A). In other words, members of avatars 301 placed in area 300B can communicate with each other without being aware of the names or job titles of other avatars 301.

[0028] FIG. 1(C) shows an overview of area 300C of virtual space 300. Area 300C is an anonymous type area in which member information is more concealed than in area 300B. Profiles 302A-302D of avatars 301A-301D displayed in area 300C hide attribute information in the fields of "name," "position," "affiliation," and "job type," compared to profiles 302A-302B shown in FIG. 1(A). That is, members of avatars 301 arranged in area 300C can communicate with each other without being aware of the names, position, affiliation, and job types of other avatars 301.

[0029] Note that the items of attribute information displayed in the area of ​​virtual space 300 are not limited to the example shown in Fig. 1. Also, for example, when avatar 301 is placed in an anonymous type area, all items included in profile 302 of avatar 301 placed in that area may be hidden.

[0030] In other words, the communication may be any interaction between multiple members. For example, the communication in this embodiment includes conversation by inputting characters in the virtual space 300 using a chat function, voice calls, business progress reports using a report form, participation in online conferences and online seminars, etc. As an example, when the avatar 301 is placed near another avatar 301 or when another avatar 301 is designated, a predetermined input operation is performed to communicate with the other avatar 301 using the chat function.

[0031] The avatar 301 moves between the areas in response to an input operation by a member. For example, when the virtual space task support system receives an input operation for moving the avatar 301 beyond the boundary between the area in which the avatar 301 is placed and another area, the system displays the avatar 301 in the other area. Alternatively, when the virtual space task support system receives an input operation for specifying the area in which the avatar 301 is to be displayed, the system displays the avatar 301 in that area.

[0032] Hereinafter, an example will be described in which, when the member terminal device 20 requests a display instruction for the virtual space 300, the virtual space 300 in the area in which the member's avatar 301 is placed is displayed on the member terminal device 20. In the member terminal device 20, other avatars 301 and a profile 302 placed in the same area as the avatar 301 of the member are displayed. Note that the member terminal device 20 may display areas other than the area in which the avatar 301 of the member is placed. Although Fig. 1 shows areas 300A, 300B, and 300C displayed independently, each area may be displayed on a single screen according to its respective placement position.

[0033] 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the virtual space work support system 1. In the virtual space work support system 1, a virtual space management device 10 and a plurality of member terminal devices 20 are communicably 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).

[0034] 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.

[0035] The processing unit 110 includes a virtual space control unit 111, a position acquisition unit 112, a display suppression determination unit 113, and an attribute registration unit 114. The virtual space control unit 111 controls a virtual space 300 into which each member terminal device 20 can virtually enter. The virtual space control unit 111 associates a profile 302 including attribute information of the member with an avatar 301 representing the member, and displays the profile 302 in the virtual space 300. The position acquisition unit 112 acquires the position of the avatar 301 in the virtual space 300.

[0036] When the avatar 301 is placed in a predetermined area within the virtual space 300, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines information to be suppressed from being displayed in the virtual space 300. The display suppression determination unit 113 suppresses the display of part or all of the attribute information of the member represented by the avatar 301. More specifically, when the avatar 301 is placed in an anonymous type area, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines attribute information of an item previously associated with the area as the attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed. Furthermore, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines attribute information previously selected by a member as the attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed.

[0037] Furthermore, when the avatar 301 is placed in an anonymous type area, the display suppression determining unit 113 determines a pseudonym to be given to the avatar 301. The determined pseudonym is displayed in the profile 302 in place of the member's name.

[0038] The attribute registration unit 114 registers attribute information corresponding to the member attribute items in the member information 121 described below. The attribute registration unit 114 accepts a selection of attribute information to be displayed or not displayed from one or more pieces of attribute information, and registers the selection in the member information 121 described below.

[0039] The storage unit 120 stores member information 121 and area information 122. The member information 121 is information in which attribute information of each member is associated with the member. The area information 122 is information in which attribute items to be suppressed from being displayed are associated with each area included in the virtual space 300.

[0040] The member terminal device 20 is an information processing device such as a PC or a smartphone, and is operated by a 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 another information processing device connected to be able to communicate with the member terminal device 20 via the network N.

[0041] The processing unit 210 uses software preinstalled in the member terminal device 20 to participate in the virtual space 300 managed by the virtual space management device 10. The processing unit 210 may also participate in the virtual space 300 by a browser program.

[0042] 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 attribute information for an item to the virtual space management device 10. The registration request unit 211 may receive an input operation for a subject to be handled in an area, and transmit a registration request to the virtual space management device 10. Furthermore, when the registration request unit 211 receives an input operation for an item of attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed, it transmits the input operation to the virtual space management device 10. The operation detection unit 212 detects an input operation by a member.

[0043] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of member information 121. In member information 121, member attribute information is associated with each item of a member ID. As shown in FIG. 3, member information 121 includes items such as the member's name, affiliation, job type, position, special skill, etc. The member information 121 may also include information for identifying the avatar 301, and items that the member wishes to hide based on a registration request received from the member terminal device 20.

[0044] The attribute information for each item is registered in the member information 121 by the attribute registration unit 114 based on a request from the registration request unit 211 of the member management device. When a designation of an attribute information item to be suppressed from being displayed is accepted from the member terminal device 20, the attribute registration unit 114 registers the designated item in the member information 121.

[0045] 4 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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).

[0050] 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.

[0051] 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.

[0052] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a display control process by the virtual space management device 10. Before starting this process, the operation detection unit 212 of the member terminal device 20 transmits a display request for the virtual space 300 to the virtual space management device 10 based on an input operation by a member.

[0053] First, the virtual space control unit 111 receives a display request for the virtual space 300 (step S11).

[0054] Next, the virtual space control unit 111 extracts the avatar 301 arranged in the display area (step S12). Specifically, the position acquisition unit 112 identifies the member who operated the member terminal device 20 that transmitted the display request in step S11, and acquires the position in the virtual space 300 of the avatar 301 representing the member. The virtual space control unit 111 determines the area of ​​the virtual space 300 in which the avatar 301 is arranged as the display area. The virtual space control unit 111 extracts one or more avatars 301 arranged in the determined display area.

[0055] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines whether or not the avatar 301, whose position has been acquired in step S12, is present in an anonymous type area (step S13).

[0056] When the display suppression determination unit 113 determines that the avatar 301 is present in an anonymous type area ("YES" in step S13), it refers to the area information 122 and determines the items to be suppressed from display (step S14). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines, in the area information 122, the attribute items associated with the area in which the avatar 301 representing the member who sent the display request is located, as the items to be suppressed from display.

[0057] Explaining this using the example shown in Fig. 1(B), when the position acquisition unit 112 determines that the avatar 301A of the member who sent the display request is present in the anonymous type area 300B, the display suppression determination unit 113 refers to the area information 122. In the area information 122, the items "name" and "position" are associated with the area 300B as items whose display will be suppressed. The display suppression determination unit 113 determines the items "name" and "position" as items whose display will be suppressed.

[0058] Returning to Fig. 5 for the explanation, the display suppression determination unit 113 then determines the preselected attribute information as the item to be suppressed from display (step S15). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 extracts the members represented by each of the one or more avatars 301 extracted in step S12, and by referring to the member information 121, determines whether or not each member has specified an item of attribute information to be suppressed from display. If there is an item of attribute information specified by a member, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines that item as the item to be suppressed from display.

[0059] Next, the virtual space control unit 111 displays the virtual space 300 in which the display of the attribute information of the determined items is suppressed (step S16). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 notifies the virtual space control unit 111 to suppress the display of the attribute information of the items determined in steps S14 and S15 in each profile 302. The virtual space control unit 111 displays in the virtual space 300 the avatar 301 extracted in step S12 and the profile 302 in which the display of the attribute information notified by the display suppression determination unit 113 is suppressed. Thereafter, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0060] On the other hand, if the virtual space control unit 111 determines that the avatar 301 does not exist in an anonymous type area ("NO" in step S13), it causes the member terminal device 20 to display the virtual space 300 without concealing the member's information. That is, the profile 302 of the virtual space 300 displayed on the member terminal device 20 does not suppress the display of attribute information. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0061] In this embodiment, when the avatar 301 is placed in an anonymous type area, the display suppression determination unit may determine a pseudonym to be displayed instead of the name. For example, the display suppression determination unit determines a pseudonym to be used only for that occasion. The virtual space control unit 111 associates the pseudonym with the avatar 301 and displays it in the profile 302 instead of the member's name.

[0062] As described above, according to this embodiment, at least a part of the profile 302 is hidden when displaying a predetermined area of ​​the virtual space 300. By hiding each other's profiles 302, it is possible to encourage free communication.

[0063] <First Modification> Next, a first modification of this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the above embodiment.

[0064] 6 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the virtual space task support system 1 in the first modified example. The processing unit 110 of the virtual space management device 10 in the first modified example includes a virtual space control unit 111, a position acquisition unit 112, a display suppression determination unit 113, an attribute registration unit 114, and an individual estimated information determination unit 115.

[0065] The individual estimated information determination unit 115 uses the attribute information of the members to determine individual estimated information that is attribute information that may identify a certain member. For example, the individual estimated information determination unit 115 identifies the number of members having common attribute information for each attribute information item, and determines the attribute information for an item in which the number of members is a predetermined number or less as individual estimated information. Note that when displaying the virtual space 300, the virtual space control unit 111 hides the individual estimated information if the avatar 301 is placed in an anonymous type area.

[0066] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an individual estimated information determination process in the virtual space managing device 10. The process of this flowchart is executed in the virtual space managing device 10, for example, periodically.

[0067] First, the individual estimated information determination unit 115 extracts the number of members having a common attribute for each item of the member information 121 (step S21).

[0068] Next, the individual estimated information determination unit 115 determines attribute information corresponding to the individual estimated information according to the number of people (step S22). Specifically, the individual estimated information determination unit 115 determines, for each item, one or more pieces of attribute information for which the number of people extracted in step S21 is equal to or less than a predetermined number, as the individual estimated information. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the process of this flowchart.

[0069] When performing the display control process shown in FIG. 5, the virtual space management device 10 hides the individual estimated information of the member represented by the avatar 301 placed in the anonymous type area, and displays other attribute information. In other words, a member having attribute information that corresponds to a small number of people is more likely to be identified from the attribute information than a member having attribute information that corresponds to a large number of people. In this modification, attribute information that has a small number of members who share the same attribute information is controlled not to be displayed in the profile 302. This makes it possible to prevent an individual from being identified based on the profile 302, and promotes free communication in the virtual space 300.

[0070] <Second Modification> Next, a second modified example of this embodiment will be described. Below, the differences from the above-mentioned embodiment and modified example will be described. In this modified example, attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed in profile 302 is determined based on the relationship between the member who has issued the display instruction for virtual space 300 and other members arranged in the display area.

[0071] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a display control process in the second modified example. The processes executed in steps S31 to S33 are similar to the processes executed in steps S11 to S13 in Fig. 5, and therefore will not be described.

[0072] In step S33, when it is determined that the avatar 301 exists in an anonymous type area (step S33: YES), the display suppression determination unit 113 extracts other avatars 301 to be placed in the same area (step S34). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 extracts the other avatars 301 from among the avatars 301 extracted in step S33, excluding the avatar 301 of the member who transmitted the display request in step S31.

[0073] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines one of the members of the other avatars 301 as a target member (step S35). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines one of the members of the avatars 301 among the other avatars 301 extracted in step S34 as a target member for processing.

[0074] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines the relationship level between the two for each item (step S36). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines the relationship level, which is an evaluation of the relationship between the member having the member terminal device 20 that transmitted the display request and the member to be processed, for each item.

[0075] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of relationship level information 123. Relationship level information 123 is information in which each item of attribute information is associated with a relationship level of two pieces of attribute information. Relationship level information 123 includes a relationship level ID, an item, attribute information 1, attribute information 2, and a relationship level. The relationship level ID is identification information for specifying the relationship level. The item is an item of the member's attribute. Attribute information 1 and attribute information 2 each indicate attribute information of the member. The relationship level is information evaluating the relationship between attribute information 1 and attribute information 2.

[0076] In the example shown in FIG. 9, in the "Affiliation" field, when "Attribute Information 1" is "Affiliation A" and "Attribute Information 2" is "Affiliation B", the "Relationship Level" is "1". In addition, in the "Affiliation" field, when "Attribute Information 1" is "Affiliation A" and "Attribute Information 2" is "Affiliation C", the "Relationship Level" is "2". For example, the higher the relationship level value, the closer the relationship. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the relationship between "Affiliation A" and "Affiliation B" is closer than the relationship between "Affiliation A" and "Affiliation C".

[0077] Returning to Fig. 8 for explanation, as a result of the process in step S36, the relationship level between the two members is determined for each item.

[0078] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines the items to be suppressed from display using the relationship level (step S37). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 refers to the disclosure information in which the relationship level and the items of attribute information to be disclosed are associated. As an example, the disclosure information includes a combination of items and relationship levels, such as "affiliation: level 2, industry: level 2, job title: level 3, special skill: level 4". In this example, when the "affiliation" item is "level 2" or higher, it means that the attribute information of the "affiliation" item is hidden. Similarly, when the "industry" item is "level 2" or higher, the display of the attribute information of the "industry" item is suppressed, when the "job title" item is "level 3", the display of the attribute information of the "job title" item is suppressed, and when the "special skill" item is "level 4" or higher, the display of the attribute information of the "special skill" item is suppressed. That is, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines the items to be suppressed from display using the relationship level for each item determined in step S36.

[0079] The processes executed in steps S38 and S39 are similar to those executed in steps S15 and S16 in Fig. 5, and therefore will not be described here. That is, in the member terminal device 20 that made the display request, a profile 302 is displayed according to the relationship between the member who owns that member terminal device 20 and the members represented by other avatars 301 arranged in the display area.

[0080] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines whether or not there are other avatars 301 that have not been determined as target members (step S40). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines whether or not there are avatars 301 of members that have not been determined as target members in step S35, among the other avatars 301 extracted in step S34. When the display suppression determination unit 113 determines that there are no other avatars 301 that have not been determined as target members (if "NO" in step S40), it ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0081] If the display suppression determination unit 113 determines that there is another avatar 301 that has not been determined as a target member (YES in step S40), the process proceeds to step S35. That is, one of the members that has not yet been determined as a target member is determined as the target member.

[0082] In step S33, when it is determined that the avatar 301 does not exist in the anonymous type area (if "NO" in step S33), the display suppression determination unit 113 executes the process of step S41. The process performed in step S41 is similar to the process performed in step S17 in FIG. 5, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0083] As described above, according to this modified example, whether or not attribute information is displayed is determined depending on the relationship between members. That is, when the relationship between departments is close, the attribute information of the department is hidden, whereas when the relationship between the departments is shallow, the attribute information of the department is displayed, and so on. In this way, it is possible to flexibly determine attribute information that is suppressed from being displayed depending on the relationship between members. In addition, by determining the relationship level for each item, it is possible to distinguish between items that are likely to identify an individual and items that are not, and to display them, thereby making it possible to perform display that is more in line with the actual situation.

[0084] <Third modified example> Next, a third modified example of the present embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the differences from the above-described embodiment and modified examples will be described. In this modified example, attribute information that is less related to the subject matter handled in the area is determined as attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed.

[0085] Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a display control process in the third modified example. Before starting the process of this flowchart, the attribute registration unit 114 of the virtual space management device 10 accepts a registration request for a subject to be handled in an anonymous type area, and registers the subject in an area not shown in the figure of the storage unit 120. The subject is, for example, "About our company's ** business", "About trends in AI technology", "About the SaaS type operation management system", etc. The processes executed in steps S51 to S53 are similar to the processes executed in steps S11 to S13 in Fig. 5, and therefore will not be described.

[0086] When it is determined that the avatar 301 is present in an anonymous type area ("YES" in step S53), the display suppression determination unit 113 identifies the subject of the area (step S54). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 refers to the storage unit 120 and identifies the subject to be dealt with in the display area determined in step S52. For example, the display suppression determination unit 113 identifies the subject to be dealt with in a seminar to be held in the area in which the avatar 301 is placed.

[0087] Next, the display suppression determination unit 113 determines to hide attribute information that is weakly related to the main topic (step S55). Specifically, the display suppression determination unit 113 extracts attribute information of the avatar 301 extracted in step S52. The display suppression determination unit 113 determines to hide attribute information that is weakly related to the main topic according to a predetermined rule. For example, before the start of this process, main topic related information including the degree of association between each attribute information included in the member information 121 and the main topic candidate is registered in an area not shown in the figure in the storage unit 120. The display suppression determination unit 113 refers to the main topic related information to determine which attribute information of the extracted attribute information is weakly related to the main topic, and determines to hide the weakly related attribute information.

[0088] The processing performed in steps S56 to S58 is similar to the processing performed in steps S15 to S17 in FIG. 5, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0089] As described above, in this modified example, attribute information that is weakly related to the subject is hidden. When the subject to be handled in a certain area is determined in advance, the avatar 301 placed in that area is highly likely to have attribute information that is strongly related to the subject. Therefore, when attribute information that is weakly related to the subject is displayed, it is estimated that an individual is more easily identified than when attribute information that is strongly related to the subject is displayed. In this embodiment, by hiding attribute information that is weakly related to the subject, it is possible to prevent members from being identified and to promote active communication.

[0090] In this modified example, the display suppression determination unit 113 may hide attribute information that is closely related to the main topic and display attribute information that is less related. By displaying attribute information that is less related to the main topic, the interest of members in the area is heightened, and communication between members can be promoted.

[0091] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the virtual space work support system 1 provides a virtual space 300 used for communication among members of a company. However, participants in the virtual space 300 provided by the virtual space work system are not limited to members of the same company. For example, the virtual space 300 of this embodiment can be provided to any participants, such as employees and residents of local governments, voluntary organizations such as neighborhood associations, and members of group companies.

[0092] 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.

[0093] 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]

[0094] 1: Virtual space work 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: Position acquisition device, 113: Display suppression determination device, 114: Attribute registration device, 115: Personal estimated information determination device, 120-220: Storage device, 1 21: Member information, 122: Area information, 123: Relationship level information, 130, 230: Input section, 140, 240: Output section, 150, 250: Communication section, 211: Registration request section, 212: Operation detection section, 300: Virtual space, 300A, 300B, 300C: Area, 301, 301A, 301B, 301C, 301D: Avatar, 302, 302A, 302B, 302C, 302D: Profile

Claims

1. a virtual space control unit that associates the names of the members with avatars representing the members and displays the names of the members in the virtual space; a position acquisition unit that acquires a position of the avatar in the virtual space; a display suppression determination unit that determines information to be suppressed from being displayed in the virtual space, The virtual space task support system is characterized in that the display suppression determination unit suppresses the display of the name when the avatar is placed in a predetermined area within the virtual space.

2. 2. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, an attribute registration unit for registering attribute information corresponding to the member attribute items; the virtual space control unit displays the attribute information of the member in association with the avatar; The in-virtual space task support system is characterized in that the display suppression determination unit suppresses display of the attribute information of a specified item when the avatar is placed in the specified area.

3. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 2, the attribute registration unit accepts a selection of attribute information to be displayed or not displayed when the avatar is placed in the predetermined area from among one or more pieces of attribute information; The display suppression determination unit determines the attribute information to be suppressed from display based on the selection accepted by the attribute registration unit when the avatar is placed in the specified area.

4. 4. The virtual space task support system according to claim 2, a personal estimated information determination unit that uses the attribute information of a plurality of the members to determine personal estimated information that may identify a certain member, The virtual space control unit, when the avatar is placed in the specified area, hides the personal estimated information of the member represented by the avatar and displays other attribute information, characterized in that the virtual space business support system.

5. 5. The virtual space task support system according to claim 4, The virtual space business support system is characterized in that the personal estimated information determination unit identifies, for each item, the number of members who have common attribute information, and determines the attribute information of the items in which the number of members is a predetermined number or less as the personal estimated information.

6. 4. The virtual space task support system according to claim 2, the display suppression determination unit determines, based on a relationship between attribute information of the member who has accepted a display instruction for the virtual space and attribute information of the other members whose avatars are to be placed in the virtual space, which attribute information is to be suppressed from among the attribute information of the other members; The virtual space control unit displays the attribute information based on the decision of the display suppression decision unit to the member who has received an instruction to display the virtual space.

7. 7. The virtual space task support system according to claim 6, The display suppression determination unit determines a relationship level for each of the other members based on an evaluation of the relationship between the member who accepted the display instruction for the virtual space and each of the other members, and determines the attribute information to be suppressed from displaying for each of the other members using disclosure information that associates the relationship level with the items of attribute information to be disclosed.A business support system within a virtual space, characterized in that the display suppression determination unit determines the attribute information to be suppressed from displaying for each of the other members based on an evaluation of the relationship level between the member who accepted the display instruction for the virtual space and each of the other members.

8. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 2, The attribute registration unit accepts a request to register a subject to be handled in the area; The virtual space task support system is characterized in that the display suppression determination unit determines the attribute information that is weakly related to the subject as the attribute information to be suppressed from being displayed.

9. 3. The virtual space task support system according to claim 1, the display suppression determination unit determines a pseudonym to be displayed in place of the name when the avatar is placed in a predetermined area within the virtual space; The virtual space control unit displays the pseudonym in association with the avatar.

10. A program for causing a processing unit of a computer to execute a virtual space task support method, a virtual space control step of associating the name of a member with an avatar representing the member and displaying the member in the virtual space; a position acquisition step of acquiring a position of the avatar in the virtual space; a display suppression determination step of determining information to be suppressed from being displayed in the virtual space; The program, wherein in the display suppression determination step, when the avatar is placed in a predetermined area within the virtual space, display of the name is suppressed.

11. A method for supporting work in a virtual space by a work support system in a virtual space, comprising: a virtual space control step of associating the name of a member with an avatar representing the member and displaying the member in the virtual space; a position acquisition step of acquiring a position of the avatar in the virtual space; a display suppression determination step of determining information to be suppressed from being displayed in the virtual space, The method for supporting work in a virtual space, wherein the display suppression determination step suppresses display of the name when the avatar is placed in a predetermined area in the virtual space.

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