Information processing system, and information processing method

Abstract

To determine highly accurately a cause event of a smell in a toilet space.SOLUTION: An information processing system (100) includes: a smell measurement device (30) provided with a plurality of smell sensor elements with measure-able smell substances being different from one another; an estimation unit (12) for inputting a measurement signal outputted from the smell measurement device (30) and outputting an estimation result obtained by estimating a cause event of a change in a smell in a toilet space; and a determination unit (13) for determining, on the basis of a plurality of results of the estimation, the cause event of the change in the smell in the toilet space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, devices have been developed to identify the cause of odors in a specific space. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an odor identification device that uses coke odors and tar odors, which are odors collected from assumed odor sources in a steel plant, as reference odors and identifies the source and cause of unknown odors in a steel plant or the like. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2006-017467 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The smell in a toilet space is important for users to realize the cleanliness of the toilet space and to use the toilet space comfortably. The smell in a toilet space can change constantly due to the frequency of use, the frequency of cleaning, the smell of the air flowing in from outside the toilet space, and the air flow in the toilet space. The smell in a toilet space is caused by the change in the relative and / or absolute strength of various known smells.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and the like that can accurately determine the cause of a change in odor in a toilet space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an odor measuring device that measures an odor in a toilet space and outputs a measurement signal; an estimation unit that inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including an explanatory variable including the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period and an objective variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputs an estimation result that estimates the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space; and a judgment unit that determines the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output from the estimation unit, wherein the odor measuring device comprises a multiple odor sensor elements that differ from each other in measurable odor substances, and the measurement signal is output from each of the multiple odor sensor elements.

[0007] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an estimation step of inputting a measurement signal output from an odor measuring device that measures the odor in a toilet space into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including an explanatory variable including a measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period from the odor measuring device, and an objective variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputting an estimation result that estimates the event causing the change in odor in the toilet space; and a determination step of determining the event causing the change in odor in the toilet space based on multiple estimation results output from the estimation unit during a target period. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system and an information processing method that accurately determine the cause of a change in odor in a toilet space. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of an information processing system including an odor measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view showing an example of the configuration of an odor sensor element. [Figure 4] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow in which an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention determines an odor in a toilet space. [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, unless otherwise specified in this specification, "A to B" representing a numerical range means "A or more and B or less."

[0011] In this specification, the term "toilet space" refers to a space in which one or more toilet bowls are installed, and is also called a toilet, toilet room, lavatory, or washroom. The toilet space may be a space in which only one toilet bowl is installed (e.g., a private room), or a space in which multiple toilet bowls are installed.

[0012] [Embodiment 1] (Information processing system 100) First, an overview of an information processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] 1, the information processing system 100 includes an odor measuring device 30 capable of outputting a detection signal based on an odor substance corresponding to an odor in the toilet space, and a determination device 10 capable of determining a cause of a change in odor in the toilet space based on the detection signal. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 may include the odor measuring device 30 and the determination device 10 connected via a wide area communication network 40.

[0014] The information processing system 100 is useful as a method for determining the cause of the change in odor in a toilet space. For example, the manager of the toilet space can dispatch a cleaner at an appropriate time based on the determined cause. In addition, the information processing system 100 can convert the state of multiple toilet spaces into digital data to support efficient management of the toilet spaces.

[0015] The number of odor measuring devices 30 included in the information processing system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited, and may be one or more, three or more, five or more, or ten or more. The odor measuring devices 30 may be installed in toilet spaces provided in different locations, or some or all of them may be installed in toilet spaces provided in the same location. In one embodiment, the odor measuring device 30 may be installed so that the height of the air intake facing the floor surface is 50 cm or less from the floor. Since odors usually rise from the floor, the above configuration allows for more accurate detection of odors.

[0016] The wide area communication network 40 is not particularly limited, and may be the Internet, a telephone line network, a mobile communication network, a CATV communication network, a satellite communication network, or the like. More specifically, it may be Bluetooth (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Thread, ZigBee (registered trademark), a cellular low power wide area (LPWA) (e.g., narrow band (NB)-IoT, LTE-M), a non-cellular LPWA (e.g., Sigfox (registered trademark), LoRaWAN), or the like. The wide area communication network 40 may further be connected to a cloud server that stores the detection signal output by the odor measuring device 30 and the determination result output by the determination device 10. When the wide area communication network 40 is connected to a cloud server, the determination device 10 may be realized as the cloud server.

[0017] Furthermore, the determination device 10 may transmit the determination result of the causative event of the odor change in the toilet space to a manager terminal 50 owned by the manager of the toilet space. In this specification, the manager of the toilet space may be, for example, the owner of the building in which the toilet space is located, or a manager entrusted with the management of the toilet space. This allows the manager of the toilet space to obtain information on the causative event of the odor change in the toilet space, and to take appropriate measures for the toilet space, such as dispatching a cleaning staff. Examples of the manager terminal 50 include a laptop computer, a smartphone, and a tablet terminal. Furthermore, the determination device 10 may display the determination result on a web page or the like accessible by the manager terminal.

[0018] In the information processing system 100, the odor measuring device 30 includes a plurality of sensor elements each capable of measuring different odor substances. The measurement signal is output from each of the plurality of odor sensor elements. The sensor elements are described below. After that, the odor measuring device 30 to which the odor sensor element 31 is applied, and the information processing system 100 including the odor measuring device 30 and the determination device 10 are described in detail.

[0019] (Odor measuring device 30) The outline and effects of an odor measuring device 30 to which an odor sensor element 31 is applied will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100 including an odor measuring device 30 to which an odor sensor element 31 is applied. The odor measuring device 30 includes an odor sensor element 31 that detects odor substances, a power source 32 (power supply), a clock 33 (timer), a control unit 34, and a communication unit 35. As described above, the odor measuring device 30 may be connected to a wide area communication network 40.

[0020] The power supply 32 is a power supply for supplying power to the odor sensor element 31. The power supply 32 may be a constant voltage power supply, a constant current power supply, or an AC power supply. When the power supply 32 is a constant voltage power supply, it supplies a current (e.g., a direct current of 1 μA to 10 mA) to the odor sensor element 31 via a lead wire. The voltage value supplied by the power supply 32 is, for example, 0.01 V to 10 V, and more specifically, 2.5 V or 5.0 V.

[0021] The clock 33 measures the time. The clock 33 transmits the measured time to the control unit 34. The clock 33 may be a clock in which the time is set by the user, or may be a radio-controlled clock.

[0022] The control unit 34 comprehensively controls each part of the odor measuring device 30. In addition, the control unit 34 outputs the odor detected by the odor sensor element 31 as a measurement signal. The control unit 34 may output the odor measurement signal according to the time measured by the clock 33.

[0023] The communication unit 35 transmits the measurement signal output by the control unit 34. The communication unit 35 transmits the measurement signal to the wide area communication network 40, and the transmitted measurement signal is acquired by the determination device 10.

[0024] The odor measuring device 30 may further include a housing, although this is not a required component. The housing is a container capable of containing air containing an odor substance. When the odor measuring device 30 includes a housing, the odor sensor element 31 is disposed within the housing.

[0025] The odor measuring device 30 outputs a measurement signal that indicates the change over time in the electrical conductivity of the odor sensor element 31 before and after an odor substance is adsorbed to the odor sensor element 31. This makes it possible to detect and identify various odor substances. stomach.

[0026] <Odor sensor element 31> 3 is a top view showing an example of the configuration of an odor sensor element 31. The odor sensor element 31 includes an odorant receiving layer 315 containing the above-mentioned resin composition, a first metal wiring 313A, and a second metal wiring 313B. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B, they may be referred to as metal wiring 313.

[0027] The first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B are metal wirings that function as electrodes for measuring changes in the electrical conductivity of the odorant receiving layer 315 (i.e., the resin composition). That is, the first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B are spaced apart from each other, and the odorant receiving layer 315 is in contact with at least a portion of the first metal wiring and at least a portion of the second metal wiring. In one example, the first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B are metal wirings that are not in direct contact with each other, and may be metal wirings that are approximately parallel to each other, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0028] 3, metal wiring 313 including first metal wiring 313A and second metal wiring 313B may be disposed on substrate 311. Substrate 311 may be a substrate such as glass epoxy that is generally used for electronic circuits. Metal wiring 313 may be a metal wiring such as copper or gold. The thickness of each of first metal wiring 313A and second metal wiring 313B as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate may be, for example, 10 μm to 2 mm.

[0029] The odorant receiving layer 315 may be in contact with at least a portion of the first metal wiring 313A and at least a portion of the second metal wiring 313B. The odorant receiving layer 315 may be arranged to fill the area between the first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, for example.

[0030] When the electrical conductivity of the odorant receiving layer 315 (ie, the electrical conductivity of the odor sensor element 31) is low, it is desirable that the distance between the first metal wiring 313A and the second metal wiring 313B be a predetermined distance (eg, 500 μm) or less.

[0031] The odorant receiving layer may contain a resin composition. The resin composition may contain a resin and may further contain one or more types selected from a surfactant and a filler (e.g., a conductive carbon material). In this specification, the term "odorant receiving layer" refers to a layer that adsorbs an odorant to be identified. The odorant receiving layer 315 is formed from the above-mentioned resin composition. The odorant receiving layer 315 may be provided as a part of the odor sensor element 31. The odorant receiving layer 315 has an electrical resistance value that changes depending on the adsorption of an odorant. In other words, the odor sensor element 31 is an odor detection device that includes such an odorant receiving layer 315, and the odor measurement method of the odor sensor element 31 may be a chemiresistor type. In addition, the odor sensor element 31 is not limited to the above-mentioned chemiresistor type odor sensor element, and may include one or more types of odor sensor elements used in known gas sensors, ammonia sensors, odor sensors, VOC sensors (volatile organic compound sensors), etc. The detection results by the sensor elements used in these known sensors may be used as reference values ​​when analyzing odors.

[0032] The information processing system 100 may include a known sensor different from the odor sensor element 31. There is no particular limitation on the known sensor, and any sensor that can be used as a known sensor may be used. Examples of known sensors include a gas sensor, a thermometer / hygrometer, a volatile organic compound (VOC) sensor, an alcohol sensor, an optical sensor, a human presence sensor, and a door opening / closing sensor. By using a known sensor in combination with the odor measuring device 30, it may be possible to more accurately determine the cause of the odor in the toilet space. Note that in the information processing system 100, the odor measuring device 30 may be configured to include the odor sensor element 31 and a sensor element that is the same as these known sensors.

[0033] For example, a gas sensor is suitable for detecting odors caused by gas leaks. An optical sensor is suitable for detecting odors caused by smoke. If the vomit contains alcohol, an alcohol sensor can detect the vomit more accurately. A thermometer and hygrometer can be used to correct values ​​detected by an odor sensor, VOC sensor, gas sensor, etc., and to estimate the lifespan of a sensor probe based on the environment in which the sensor is installed. Note that if the results of the odor sensor and other sensors differ, the results of the odor sensor may be given priority.

[0034] When the odor sensor element 31 is a chemiresistor type containing a resin composition, the change in electrical conductivity over time differs between when odor substance A is adsorbed and when odor substance B, which is different from odor substance A, is adsorbed, so that it is possible to detect and distinguish various odor substances. In the odor measurement device 30 described later, a plurality of odor sensor elements 31 are arranged, each of which includes a substrate 311 on which a configuration for detecting an odor substance (metal wiring 313 and an odor substance receiving layer 315) is provided. Each substrate 311 is provided with a plurality of sets including an odor substance receiving layer 315 with different measurable odor substances. Each of the plurality of odor sensor elements 31 may be provided with a constant voltage power supply and a voltmeter. In the odor measurement device 30, one configuration for detecting an odor substance (metal wiring 313 and an odor substance receiving layer 315) may be provided on each substrate 311. Alternatively, in the odor measurement device 30, a plurality of sets of configurations for detecting an odor substance (metal wiring 313 and an odor substance receiving layer 315) may be provided on one substrate 311. In the latter case, a constant voltage power supply and a voltmeter are connected to each of the sets provided on the substrate 311.

[0035] The resin compositions contained in the odorant receiving layers 315 of the multiple odor sensor elements 31 included in the odor measurement device 30 may be the same or different. When the odorant receiving layers 315 included in the multiple odor sensor elements 31 have the same composition, the multiple odorant receiving layers 315 can detect the same odorant. When the multiple odor sensor elements 30 each include an odorant receiving layer 315 with a different composition, each of the multiple odorant receiving layers 315 responds differently to the odorant. In this way, by providing multiple sets of configurations for detecting odorants, the accuracy of odorant identification in the odor measurement device 30 can be improved.

[0036] The odor measuring device 30 described above can output the change over time in the electrical conductivity of the odor sensor element 31 for each odor substance when various odor substances are adsorbed to the odor sensor element 31. By applying this odor measuring device 30, it is possible to compare the change over time in the electrical conductivity of the odor sensor element 31 when odor substance A is adsorbed to the odor sensor element 31 with the change over time in the electrical conductivity of the odor sensor element 31 when odor substance B is adsorbed to the odor sensor element 31. Based on such a comparison result, it is possible to realize a determination device 10 that can determine the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space, which will be described later, from the odor substance adsorbed to the odor sensor element 31.

[0037] (Judgment device 10) The following describes the overview and effects of the determination device 10. The determination device 10 is a device that determines the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space from the measurement signal output from the above-mentioned odor measurement device 30. The determination device 10 uses a trained model obtained by machine learning, so it can perform highly accurate odor substance determination.

[0038] 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the determination device 10. The determination device 10 includes a control unit 1 that controls each unit of the determination device 10, and a storage unit 2 that stores various data used by the determination device 10, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, the storage unit 2 may be an external device attached to the determination device 10. Furthermore, the determination device 10 may be connected to the wide area communication network 40 as described above.

[0039] <Control unit 1> First, the control unit 1 will be described. The control unit 1 includes a measurement signal acquisition unit 11, an estimation unit 12, a determination unit 13, a communication unit 14, and an output control unit 15. In addition, some of the blocks included in the control unit 1 may be omitted from the control unit 1 by giving the functions of the blocks to another device capable of communicating with the determination device 10. For example, the function of the output control unit 15 may be given to the other device. In this case, the determination device 10 may output the result determined by the determination unit 13 through the other device.

[0040] The measurement signal acquiring unit 11 acquires the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device 30 via the wide area communication network 40. The measurement signal acquiring unit 11 may be configured to acquire the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device 30 in real time, or may be configured to acquire the measurement signal stored on the wide area communication network 40 at regular intervals. The measurement signal acquiring unit 11 preferably acquires the measurement signal every first hour. The measurement signal acquiring unit stores the acquired measurement signal data in the storage unit 2.

[0041] The first time period may be, for example, but is not limited to, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, or more.

[0042] The estimation unit 12 inputs the measurement signal data to the trained model 22 to estimate a causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space. The measurement signal may be the measurement signal data 21 stored in the storage unit 2. It is preferable that the measurement signals input by the estimation unit 12 to the trained model 22 are multiple from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of the estimation. The estimation unit may estimate an event including at least one of the following: contamination of the toilet space by feces, contamination by urine, and contamination by vomit, as a causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space. The estimation unit 12 may estimate the type of the causative event, for example, by class classification. The estimation unit 12 may also estimate the intensity of the causal analysis, and in that case, the intensity estimation may be performed by regression analysis. The estimation unit 12 may output an estimation result every second time. The second time may be shorter, the same, or longer than the first time. It is preferable that the second time is longer than the first time from the viewpoint of improving the accuracy of the estimation result of the estimation unit. The estimation unit 12 stores the output estimation result in the storage unit 2.

[0043] The event may be an event caused by a user of the toilet space other than contamination by feces, urine, and vomit. In this specification, "an event caused by a user of the toilet space" means an event in which the odor in the toilet space changes due to an odor emitted by the user himself. In other words, "an event caused by a user of the toilet space" can be said to be an odor that is not related to the contamination of the toilet space itself. Specifically, examples of the odor include odors of perfume, tobacco, body odor, fabric softener for the user's clothes, detergent for the user's clothes, etc., caused by the user. By being able to estimate an event caused by a user of the toilet space as a causal event, it is possible to detect a change in the odor of the toilet space due to a cause other than the contamination of the toilet space, and therefore a more accurate estimation can be performed.

[0044] The determination unit 13 determines the causal event of the change in the odor in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output from the estimation unit 12. The multiple estimation results may be stored in the storage unit 2 as estimation result data 23. The determination unit 13 estimates the causal event based on the multiple estimation results. The determination unit 13 may determine the causal event by identifying the causal event that is most frequently estimated as the causal event in the estimation results obtained by the most recent N estimations, for example. Since the determination unit 13 determines the causal event based on the multiple estimation results, it becomes possible to accurately determine the causal event. The determination unit 13 may determine the causal event as an event including at least one of contamination of the toilet space by feces, contamination by urine, and contamination by vomit, as the causal event. The determination unit 13 may further output information on the magnitude of the influence of the causal event on the odor in the toilet space and / or information on the elimination of the causal event, as necessary.

[0045] Examples of the information regarding the magnitude of the impact on the odor in the toilet space include the intensity of the odor, the duration of the odor, the type of odor, the unpleasantness of the odor, etc. Examples of the information regarding the elimination of the causative event include dispatching a cleaning service, instructions to cleaning staff, etc.

[0046] The output control unit 15 outputs the determination result by the determination unit 13 to the communication unit 16. When the determination result by the determination unit 13 is transmitted to the administrator terminal 50, the output control unit 15 may specify the administrator terminal 50 to which the determination result is to be transmitted, based on the administrator terminal data 24.

[0047] The communication unit 14 transmits the determination result output by the output control unit 15 to the administrator terminal 50 via the wide area communication network 40 based on the administrator terminal data 24. The communication unit 14 may transmit the determination result directly to the administrator terminal 50, or may transmit the determination result to a web page or the like on the wide area communication network 40 that is accessible by the administrator terminal 50.

[0048] <Storage section 2> Next, a description will be given of the storage unit 2. The storage unit 2 may store measured signal data 21, a trained model 22, estimation result data 23, and administrator terminal data 24.

[0049] The measurement signal data 21 is data of a measurement signal output from the odor measuring device 30 and acquired by the measurement signal acquiring unit 11. The measurement signal data 21 may be labeled with information such as the measurement time, the measurement location, the identification number of the odor measuring device 30, and the type of measurement signal pattern.

[0050] The trained model 22 is trained by machine learning using training data. The training data includes the following explanatory variables and objective variables. The explanatory variables include the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device 30 during the sample period. The objective variable includes event information indicating an event that has actually been identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during a sample period. The sample period may be longer, shorter, or the same as the first time period described above. The trained model 22 may be generated using a known machine learning algorithm. Examples of machine learning algorithms that can be used to generate the trained model 22 include the k-nearest neighbor method, logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, and neural network.

[0051] In one embodiment, when the information processing system 100 includes a sensor other than the odor measuring device 30, the trained model 22 further includes a measurement signal output from the sensor other than the odor measuring device 30 during the sample period as an explanatory variable.

[0052] The estimation result data 23 is the result of estimating the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space output from the estimation unit 12. The estimation result data 23 may be labeled with the same information as the measurement signal data on which the estimation is based.

[0053] The administrator terminal data 24 is data related to a terminal owned by the administrator of the toilet space in which the odor measuring device 30 is installed. The administrator terminal data 24 is data for linking the odor measuring device 30 with the administrator terminal 50 owned by the administrator of the toilet space in which the odor measuring device 30 is installed. The administrator terminal data 24 may be, for example, data linking the device number of the odor measuring device 30 with the terminal number of the administrator terminal 50, or data linking the location of the toilet space in which the odor measuring device 30 is installed with the location of the administrator terminal owned by the administrator of the toilet space.

[0054] (Processing performed by information processing system 100) An overview of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an overview of an information processing method by the information processing system 100.

[0055] In step S1, the odor measuring device 30 measures the odor in the toilet space and outputs a measurement signal. At this time, the odor measuring device 30 may output the odor measurement result to the determination device 10 in real time, or may output the result every first time period described above.

[0056] In the acquisition step S2, the measurement signal acquisition unit 11 acquires the measurement signal output from the odor measurement device 30. The measurement signal acquisition unit 11 may acquire the measurement signal output from the odor measurement device 30 in real time, or may acquire the measurement signal stored on the network every first time. The measurement signal acquisition unit 11 may store the acquired measurement signal in the storage unit 2.

[0057] In the estimation step S3, the estimation unit 12 inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device 30 into the trained model, estimates the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space, and outputs the estimation result. At this time, the trained model 22 is obtained by machine learning using the teacher data. The explanatory variables and the objective variables included in the teacher data are as described above. The estimation unit 12 may store the output estimation result in the memory unit 2.

[0058] In the determination step S4, the determination unit 13 determines the causative event of the change in smell in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output by the estimation unit 12. The information determined by the determination unit 13 is output by the output control unit 15. The output control unit 15 may further output not only the causative event of the change in smell in the toilet space, but also information regarding the magnitude of the impact that the causative event has on the smell in the toilet space and / or information regarding the elimination of the causative event.

[0059] In step S5, the communication unit 14 transmits the determination result output by the output control unit 15.

[0060] Since the odor in the toilet space can constantly change due to various factors, it was difficult to estimate the cause of the odor change. By using the information processing system 100, the determination unit 13 makes a determination based on multiple estimation results instead of a single estimation result, so that the causative event in the toilet space can be accurately determined.

[0061] [Embodiment 2] Hereinafter, an overview of an information processing system 100a according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100a different from that of embodiment 1. Note that descriptions of matters that have already been described will be omitted.

[0062] 6, in the information processing system 100a, the measurement signal output by the odor measuring device 30 is transmitted to the administrator terminal 50. The administrator terminal 50 transmits the acquired measurement signal to the determination device 10 via the wide area communication network 40. In addition, the administrator terminal 50 receives, via the wide area communication network 40, the determination result output from the determination device 10 based on the measurement signal.

[0063] The information processing system 100a includes a determination device 10, an odor measurement device 30, and an administrator terminal 50. The information processing system 100a may include a wide area communication network 40 as necessary. As described above, in the information processing system 100a, the determination device 10 and the administrator terminal 50 may be connected via the wide area communication network 40. In addition, in the information processing system 100a, the odor measurement device 30 and the administrator terminal 50 may be connected via a local area network (LAN) connection, LTE communication, or the like, without going through a provider or the like.

[0064] With the above-described configuration, since the measurement signal is transmitted from the administrator terminal 50, it is easy to link the measurement signal with the administrator terminal data 24.

[0065] [Embodiment 3] Hereinafter, an overview of an information processing system 100b according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing system 100b. Note that descriptions of matters that have already been described will be omitted.

[0066] As shown in Fig. 7, in the information processing system 100b, the measurement signal output by the odor measuring device 30 is directly transmitted to the determination device 10a. The determination device 10a determines the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space based on the acquired measurement signal, and outputs the determination result. In other words, it can be said that in the information processing system 100b, the determination device 10a is integrated with the manager terminal 50. In addition, in the information processing system 100b, the determination device 10a and the odor measuring device 30 may be connected by a local area network connection, LTE communication, or the like, without going through a provider or the like.

[0067] (Configuration of information processing system 100b) 8 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100b different from those of the first and second embodiments. The information processing system 100b includes a determination device 10a and an odor measurement device 30. The information processing system 100b may include a wide area communication network 40 as necessary.

[0068] The determination device 10a includes a control unit 1a that controls each unit of the administrator terminal 50, a memory unit 2a that stores various data used by the information processing device, and an output unit 16 that outputs a determination result. The control unit 1a includes a measurement signal acquisition unit 11, an estimation unit 12, a determination unit 13, and an output control unit 15. The memory unit 2a stores measurement signal data 21, a trained model 22, and estimation result data 23.

[0069] <Control unit 1a> The control unit 1 a includes a measurement signal acquisition unit 11 , an estimation unit 12 , a determination unit 13 , and an output control unit 15 .

[0070] The output control unit 15 causes the output unit 16 to output the determination result output by the determination unit 13. The output mode of the output unit 16 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a display output, a print output, or an audio output.

[0071] In the above-described configuration, since the determination device 10a is integrated with the administrator terminal 50, the time lag until the determination result is obtained is reduced.

[0072] [Embodiment 4] An overview of an information processing system 100c according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the information processing system 100c. Note that descriptions of matters that have already been described will be omitted. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b, they will simply be referred to as "odor measuring device 30".

[0073] 9, the information processing system 100c includes odor measuring devices 30a and 30b. The odor measuring devices 30a and 30b may be installed, for example, in the same toilet space. In this case, the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b may be installed in different areas and / or positions in the same toilet space.

[0074] Specifically, for example, the odor measuring device 30a may be installed near a urinal, and the odor measuring device 30b may be installed near a toilet. As another example, the odor measuring device 30a may be installed near the floor of the toilet space, and the odor measuring device 30b may be installed near the ceiling of the toilet space.

[0075] Examples of areas in the toilet space where the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b may be installed include near a urinal, near a toilet, a powder room, a hand washing area, and a cleaning tool storage area, etc. One or more odor measuring devices 30 may be installed in at least any of these areas.

[0076] With this configuration, it is easy to determine where contamination has occurred in the toilet space. If only one of the multiple odor measuring devices 30 installed continues to detect values ​​that are different from the other devices, it is easy to determine that the device in question is broken.

[0077] In the information processing system 100c, the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b transmit the measurement results to the determination device 10 via the wide area communication network 40. The measurement results may also be transmitted to the administrator terminal 50. The wide area communication network 40 is as described in the first embodiment.

[0078] The odor measuring device 30 transmits a detection signal based on an odor substance corresponding to an odor in the toilet space as a measurement result. In one embodiment, the odor measuring device 30 may further transmit data related to the odor measuring device 30 itself in association with the measurement result.

[0079] Examples of data related to the odor measurement devices 30 include ID data of each odor measurement device 30, ID data of the odor sensor element 31 included in each odor measurement device 30, and installation location data of each odor measurement device 30. Examples of the ID data of the odor measurement device 30 include the identification number of the SIM card included in each odor measurement device 30, and the device number assigned to each odor measurement device 30. Examples of the ID data of the sensor element included in the odor measurement device 30 include the identification number assigned to each odor sensor element 31, and data related to the type of each odor sensor element 31. Examples of the installation location data of the odor measurement device 30 include ID data of the area in which each odor measurement device 30 is installed, data on the position where the odor measurement device 30 is installed (e.g., the distance from the floor surface), data on the direction in which the odor measurement device 30 is installed (e.g., the direction of the air intake), and the like.

[0080] In one embodiment, the data transmitted by the odor measuring device 30 to the determination device 10 may include a detection signal based on an odor substance corresponding to the odor in the toilet space, an identification number of the SIM card possessed by each odor measuring device 30, an identification number of each odor sensor element 31, and location data based on the GPS equipped in each odor measuring device 30.

[0081] In addition to the above-mentioned data, the odor measuring device 30 may further transmit time data, such as the time when the detection signal was transmitted and the time when the detection signal was detected.

[0082] Although the information processing system 100c including the odor measurement device 30 has been described, the information processing system 100c is not limited to this configuration. For example, the information processing system 100c may be configured to include three or more odor measurement devices 30.

[0083] [Embodiment 5] An overview of an information processing system 100d according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an information processing system 100d. Note that descriptions of matters that have already been described will be omitted. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the odor measuring devices 30a to 30f, they will simply be referred to as "odor measuring device 30". Furthermore, in the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the administrator terminals 50a to 50c, they will simply be referred to as "administrator terminal 50". Furthermore, in the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the networks 60a to 60c, they will simply be referred to as "network 60".

[0084] As shown in Fig. 10, an information processing system 100d includes a plurality of odor measuring devices 30 installed at different locations, and an administrator terminal 50 corresponding to each of the odor measuring devices 30 at each location. For example, the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b shown in Fig. 10 are located in the same location as the administrator terminal 50a.

[0085] The location may be, for example, a building, a store, a station, a hospital, a nursing home, a park, a town hall, or other public facility, or may be a home. The locations where the combinations of the odor measuring device 30 and the manager terminal 50 that exist in the information processing system 100d are installed may be in the same building or in different buildings. For example, the odor measuring device 30 may be installed in each of the toilet spaces in a building, a store, a station, etc., and the manager terminal 50 may be installed in each of the buildings, stores, and stations where the toilet spaces exist. In addition, the odor measuring device 30 may be installed in different toilet spaces in the same building, and the manager terminal 50 corresponding to each of the different toilet spaces may be installed.

[0086] In the information processing system 100d, the odor measuring device 30 transmits the measurement result to the determination device 10 via the wide area communication network 40. The wide area communication network 40 is as described in the first embodiment.

[0087] In addition, the odor measuring device 30 and the administrator terminal 50 that are located in the same location may be connected via a network connection 60. The network connection 60 is not particularly limited and may be selected from the connection methods that can be used as the wide area communication network described above, or may be a local area network. In one embodiment, the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b may transmit the measurement results to the administrator terminal 50a corresponding to the odor measuring devices 30a and 30b via the network connection 60a.

[0088] In one embodiment, the odor measuring device 30 may transmit data related to the location where the odor measuring device 30 is installed in association with the measurement result. Examples of the data related to the location include position data based on the GPS provided in each odor measuring device 30, and ID data of the location of the toilet space in which the odor measuring device 30 is installed. The odor measuring device 30 may further transmit the data described in embodiment 4.

[0089] 10, it is possible to compare the changes in odors in spaces at multiple locations and the events that cause the changes in odors, and therefore it is possible to identify the average cleanliness required in the restroom spaces. Furthermore, if the installation conditions of the odor measuring devices 30 in each restroom space are similar, it is possible to easily identify a malfunctioning odor measuring device 30 that is outputting an abnormal value.

[0090] Although the information processing system 100d including the odor measurement device 30 and the administrator terminal 50 has been described, the information processing system 100d is not limited to this configuration. For example, the information processing system 100d may further include the odor measurement device 30 and the administrator terminal 50.

[0091] [Software implementation example] In the determination devices 10 and 10a included in the information processing systems 100, 100a, 100b, 100c, and 100d, the control block (particularly the control unit 1) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

[0092] In the latter case, the determination device 10, 10a includes a computer that executes instructions of a program, which is software that realizes each function. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program. The object of the present invention is achieved by the processor reading the program from the recording medium and executing it in the computer. The processor may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The recording medium may be a "non-transient tangible medium", such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), as well as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like. The device may further include a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program. The program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. Note that one aspect of the present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0093] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0094] 〔summary〕 The information processing system of aspect 1 of the present invention comprises an odor measuring device that measures an odor in a toilet space and outputs a measurement signal; an acquisition unit that acquires the measurement signal; an estimation unit that inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including an explanatory variable including the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period and a target variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputs an estimation result that estimates the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space; and a judgment unit that judges the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output from the estimation unit, wherein the odor measuring device comprises a multiple odor sensor elements that are different from each other in measurable odor substances, and the measurement signal is output from each of the multiple odor sensor elements.

[0095] In the information processing system of aspect 2 of the present invention, in aspect 1 above, the acquisition unit may acquire the measurement signal every first time, and the estimation unit may output the estimation result from each of the one or more measurement signals acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0096] In the information processing system according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the above aspect 1 or 2, the determination unit may further output information regarding the magnitude of the effect that the causal event has on the change in odor in the toilet space.

[0097] An information processing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is in any one of the first to third aspects, in which the determination unit may further output information relating to the elimination of the causal event.

[0098] The information processing system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is in any one of the first to fourth aspects, and includes two or more of the odor measuring devices.

[0099] An information processing system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects above, may be arranged so that the event includes at least one of contamination of the toilet space by feces, contamination by urine, and contamination by vomit.

[0100] In the information processing system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the event may include an event originating from a user of the toilet space.

[0101] The information processing method of aspect 8 of the present invention includes an acquisition step in which a computer acquires a measurement signal from an odor measuring device that measures the odor in a toilet space; an estimation step in which the computer inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including an explanatory variable including a measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period and an objective variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputs an estimation result that estimates the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space; and a determination step in which the computer determines the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output in the estimation step, wherein the odor measuring device has multiple odor sensor elements that are different from each other in measurable odor substances, and the measurement signal is output from each of the multiple odor sensor elements.

[0102] A ninth aspect of the present invention may be a control program for causing a computer to function as the information processing system of any one of the first to seventh aspects, and may be a control program for causing a computer to function as the acquisition unit, the estimation unit, and the determination unit.

[0103] A tenth aspect of the present invention may be a computer-readable recording medium having the control program according to the ninth aspect recorded thereon.

[0104] In any one of the first to seventh aspects, the information processing system according to the present invention may further include a sensor other than the odor measuring device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10 Judgment device 30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, 30e, 30f Odor measuring device 31 Odor sensor element 40 Wide Area Communication Network 50, 50a, 50b, 50c Administrator terminal 60a, 60b, 60c Network Connection 311 Substrate 313A 1st metal wiring 313B 2nd metal wiring 315 Odor receptor layer W Lead Wire

Claims

1. an odor measuring device that measures odors in a toilet space and outputs a measurement signal; An acquisition unit that acquires the measurement signal; an estimation unit that inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including explanatory variables including the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period, and a target variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputs an estimation result that estimates the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space; a determination unit that determines a cause of the change in odor in the toilet space based on a plurality of estimation results output from the estimation unit; and Equipped with The odor measuring device includes a plurality of odor sensor elements each having a different measurable odor substance; The measurement signal is output from each of the plurality of odor sensor elements. Information processing system.

2. The acquisition unit acquires the measurement signal every first time, The estimation unit outputs the estimation result from each of the one or more measurement signals acquired by the acquisition unit. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. The determination unit further outputs information regarding the magnitude of the effect of the causative event on the change in the odor of the toilet space. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

4. The determination unit further outputs information regarding elimination of the causal event. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. The information processing system according to claim 1 , comprising two or more of the odor measuring devices.

6. The event includes at least one of the following: contamination of the toilet space by feces, contamination by urine, and contamination by vomit; The information processing system according to claim 1 .

7. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein the event includes an event caused by a user of the toilet space.

8. An acquisition step in which a computer acquires a measurement signal from an odor measuring device that measures an odor in a toilet space; an estimation step in which the computer inputs the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device into a trained model obtained by machine learning using teacher data including explanatory variables including the measurement signal output from the odor measuring device during a sample period, and a target variable including event information indicating an event actually identified as the cause of the change in odor in the toilet space corresponding to the measurement signal during the sample period, and outputs an estimation result that estimates the causative event of the change in odor in the toilet space; a determination step in which the computer determines a cause of the change in odor in the toilet space based on the multiple estimation results output in the estimation step; Including, The odor measuring device includes a plurality of odor sensor elements each having a different measurable odor substance; The measurement signal is output from each of the plurality of odor sensor elements. Information processing methods.

9. A control program for causing a computer to function as the information processing system according to claim 1 , the control program causing a computer to function as the acquisition unit, the estimation unit, and the determination unit.

10. A computer-readable recording medium having the control program according to claim 9 recorded thereon.

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