Information processing system and information processing method

Abstract

To easily recall a situation of that time even when information memorized by a user is insufficient, and consequently to improve accuracy of positional information being registered.SOLUTION: An information processing system holds positional information indicating a candidate position of a target and time when the target exists at the candidate position, and context information indicating an occurred context, context occurrence time and a target associated with the context; acquires the candidate position of the designated target and time from the positional information; acquires the context corresponding to the designated time and the target from the context information; displays the acquired candidate position and the acquired context; and receives selection of a position of the registration target from the displayed candidate position to register.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] With the increase in the number of personally owned mobile devices, location information services using the device's positioning data have become widely used in recent years. In particular, location information services have become indispensable tools for determining users' daily behavior, such as navigation on the go and information sharing and search linked to geographic data.

[0003] These services are sometimes used for business purposes in the field, and in such cases, the accuracy of the positioning data is important in determining the quality of the service. For this reason, there is a demand for systems that can accurately measure positions and register information at any location, both indoors and outdoors. In recent years, methods have been proposed for correcting positioning data based on sensor data such as GPS (Global Positioning System), beacons, and acceleration sensors, as well as information input by users.

[0004] As background technology in this technical field, there is JP 2008-242408 A (Patent Document 1), which states that "the server pre-stores spot data indicating the position information and names of a plurality of spots, receives from the terminal device position data indicating a position input by the user on the electronic map, extracts spot data corresponding to the position information indicating a position within a predetermined distance range from the position indicated by the received position data, transmits this as a predetermined number of candidate spot data to the terminal device, receives from the terminal device the candidate spot data selected by the user as selection data, and corrects the position data to the position information of the spot data based on the spot data corresponding to the received selection data and transmits this to the terminal device" (see abstract). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-242408 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] It is difficult to eliminate the risk of final positioning errors simply by increasing the number of information sources for automatic positioning. If the purpose is business use, a more robust system is required because positioning errors can have a significant impact on subsequent work. The technology described in Patent Document 1 aims to reduce the risk of positioning errors by entrusting the user with the final decision when registering location information.

[0007] It should be noted here that there is a risk that users, like positioning systems, will make mistakes. The information remembered by users is not absolute, and there is a strong possibility that the information may be inaccurate due to memory errors, a misaligned sense of location, forgetting, etc. The technology described in Patent Document 1 is unable to register accurate location information if the user has forgotten the geographical situation at the time.

[0008] Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to make it easier for a user to recall the situation at the time even if the information the user remembers is insufficient, thereby improving the accuracy of registered location information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention employs the following configuration: An information processing system includes a processor, a memory, and a display device, the memory holds location information indicating a candidate location of an object and a time when the object was at the candidate location, a context which is a predetermined event that has occurred, and context information indicating the time when the context occurred and an object involved in the context, the processor accepts designation of a time and an object whose location is to be determined, acquires a candidate location of the designated object at the designated time from the location information, acquires a context corresponding to the designated time and object from the context information as an associated context, displays the acquired candidate location and the associated context on the display device, accepts selection of a location of an object to be registered from the displayed candidate locations, and stores the designated time and object and the location of the object to be registered in association with each other in the memory. Effect of the Invention

[0010] One aspect of the present invention makes it easier for a user to recall the situation at the time even if the user's memory of the information is insufficient, thereby improving the accuracy of registered location information.

[0011] Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1A] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a positioning assistance system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 1B] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer constituting the positioning assistance system in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 2] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a context information detection unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of data stored in an observation DB in the first embodiment; FIG. [Figure 4]4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a candidate position estimation unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a route correction process and a route-based evaluation value calculation process in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user interaction unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7A] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) realized by a candidate position display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7B] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a candidate position display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8A] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a candidate route display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8B] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a candidate route display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8C] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a candidate route display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9A] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a related context display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9B] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a related context display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9C] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by a related context display unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an interactive registration process of position information by a candidate position estimation unit and a user interactive unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an interactive registration process of position information by a candidate position estimation unit and a user interactive unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user interaction unit in the third embodiment. [Figure 13A]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by an information addition field display unit in the third embodiment. [Figure 13B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by an information addition field display unit in the third embodiment. [Figure 13C] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a GUI realized by an information addition field display unit in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description and drawings are examples for explaining the present invention, and appropriate omissions and simplifications have been made for clarity of explanation. It should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example for realizing the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0014] In the following explanation, various information may be explained using expressions such as "table" and "list", but the various information may be expressed in other data structures. To indicate independence of data structure, "XX table", "XX list", etc. may be referred to as "XX information". When explaining identification information, expressions such as "identification information", "identifier", "name", "ID", "number", etc. are used, but these are interchangeable.

[0015] In the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same components are given the same names and symbols, and repeated explanations thereof may be omitted. EXAMPLES

[0016] A positioning assistance system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1A is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the positioning assistance system.

[0017] The positioning assistance system 100 includes, for example, functional units, a data collection unit 1, a target designation information receiving unit 3, an observation information extracting unit 4, a candidate position estimating unit 5, and a user dialogue unit 6. The positioning assistance system 100 also holds, for example, an observation DB (DataBase) 2 and a record DB 7, each of which stores information.

[0018] The data collection unit 1 collects location information of a tracking target object or person such as a worker or a robot (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to simply as "target") and context information on a context indicating a characteristic event related to the target. The event corresponding to the context is, for example, predetermined.

[0019] The data collection unit 1 includes, for example, a position estimation unit 11, a context information detection unit 12, a target ID estimation unit 13, and a matching unit 14, all of which are functional units.

[0020] The positioning sensor unit 10 collects data from sensors connected by wire or wirelessly to the positioning assistance system 100. The sensor data includes, for example, position data obtained from a global positioning system (GPS), a wireless local area network (LAN) device, a beacon, etc., image data captured by a camera installed in a facility, and acceleration data and angular velocity data measured by a built-in sensor of a terminal (e.g., a smartphone, etc.) attached to or carried by a target.

[0021] The position estimation unit 11 estimates position information using various data collected by the positioning sensor unit 10. The position estimation unit 11 estimates the position of an object by combining multiple sensor data, thereby compensating for situations in which each type of data is difficult to observe, and enabling highly accurate position estimation that is not affected by the environment.

[0022] The position estimation unit 11 uses, for example, a method of estimating a position based on the reception strength or transmission / reception speed of radio waves, a method of detecting an object from a camera image and acquiring the coordinates of the detected object, a method of identifying a position by comparing a camera image with an environmental image measured in advance, and PDR (Pedestrian Dead Reckoning) that integrates acceleration and angular velocity data and converts them into relative coordinates, etc. For example, the correspondence between the type of sensor and the method of position estimation is determined in advance.

[0023] In addition, since there are positioning methods and sensors, such as PDR, whose positioning accuracy is unstable depending on the environment, the position estimation unit 11 may calculate a confidence value for the position information from the variation in the estimated position and accumulate the position information obtained from multiple types of positioning methods and sensor data in the observation DB2 without integrating it.

[0024] For example, a function is defined in advance that outputs a certainty value regarding location information when an index (e.g., variance, etc.) indicating the variation in estimated location of the same target at the same time (which may be a time period within a predetermined time difference) is input, and the larger the variation in the estimated location, the smaller the certainty value becomes. Also, a coefficient (e.g., a coefficient for an image is larger than a coefficient for an acceleration sensor and a PDR) is determined in advance for each positioning method (sensor type and algorithm), and the certainty may be calculated by multiplying the value output from the function by the coefficient.

[0025] The context information detection unit 12 detects a context from the sensor data acquired by the positioning sensor unit 10. The movement, stillness, and transformation of an object, changes in the environment around the object, and the object passing through or accompanying a landmark or another object are all examples of context.

[0026] Humans are more likely to remember and recall context information based on subjective experiences than objective location information of an object. Therefore, by detecting a context indicating the events experienced or actions taken by the user at the time and presenting it when registering information, the user can easily recall the situation at the time. For example, the correspondence between the sensor type and the context detection method is determined in advance.

[0027] Furthermore, if the target is an agent (a person, a robot, or the like capable of autonomous behavior), the context related to the target may include the agent's actions such as work, service usage, and conversation. Details of a method for detecting context information will be described later with reference to FIG. 2.

[0028] The target ID estimation unit 13 estimates which target ID is linked to the estimated location information and the detected context information. The target ID is information that uniquely identifies the target, and when the target ID is linked to a terminal attached to or carried by the target, the target ID estimation unit 13 links the target ID to information obtained from a sensor built into the terminal (for example, a built-in sensor of the terminal such as a radio wave or acceleration sensor).

[0029] On the other hand, for information obtained from an external sensor that measures the environment, such as a camera installed in a facility, the target ID estimation unit 13 identifies targets included in the image by, for example, a method such as image analysis, and links the target ID of the identified target. Note that, for example, the correspondence between the type of sensor that measured the data from which the location information or context information was generated and the method of linking the target ID is determined in advance.

[0030] The collation unit 14 associates the information output by the position estimation unit 11, the context information detection unit 12, and the target ID estimation unit 13, and accumulates the information in the observation DB 2.

[0031] The observation DB2 stores location information and context information collected by the data collection unit 1. Since some location information is obtained from sensors with unstable measurement accuracy, location information obtained by multiple positioning methods for the same object may be stored in the observation DB2. The observation DB2 may also store certainty information of the location information. Details of the data stored in the observation DB2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

[0032] The target designation information receiving unit 3 receives information designating a target and a time for which location information is to be registered in the record DB 7, for example, by input from a user. The observation information extracting unit 4 extracts data relating to the target and the time designated by the target designation information receiving unit 3 from the observation DB 2. The observation information extracting unit 4 may extract not only the designated time but also a time series of the location information of the designated target in a time window of a predetermined length including the designated time (for example, starting from the designated time). In addition, although details will be described later, the observation information extracting unit 4 may also extract data other than the designated target (records relating to targets other than the designated target and records for which the target is not specified) from the observation DB 2 at the designated time or in a time window of a predetermined length including the designated time.

[0033] The candidate position estimation unit 5 estimates candidate positions of the specified target around the specified time from the information extracted by the observation information extraction unit 4. The user dialogue unit 6 interactively determines the location information to be registered with the user. Details of the candidate position estimation unit 5 and the user dialogue unit 6 will be described later with reference to Figs. 4 and 6, respectively. In particular, the processing by the user dialogue unit 6 plays an important role in preventing errors in registering location information due to user forgetfulness. The record DB 7 holds the location information of the target determined by the user dialogue unit 6.

[0034] 1B is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer constituting the positioning assistance system 100. The positioning assistance system 100 is composed of a computer 1000 having, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001, a memory 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, an input device 1004, a display device 1005, and a communication device 1006.

[0035] The CPU 1001 includes a processor and executes programs stored in the memory 1002. The memory 1002 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a non-volatile storage element, and a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a volatile storage element. The ROM stores immutable programs (e.g., a Basic Input / Output System (BIOS)). The RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage element such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores programs executed by the CPU 1001 and data used when the programs are executed.

[0036] The auxiliary storage device 1003 is a large-capacity non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) or a flash memory (SSD (Solid State Drive)), and stores programs executed by the CPU 1001 and data used when the programs are executed. That is, the programs are read from the auxiliary storage device 1003, loaded into the memory 1002, and executed by the CPU 1001.

[0037] The input device 1004 is a device such as a keyboard or a mouse that receives input from an operator. The display device 1005 is a device such as a display device or a printer that outputs the results of program execution in a format that can be viewed by the operator.

[0038] The communication device 1006 is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices in accordance with a predetermined protocol, and includes a serial interface such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

[0039] A part or all of the programs executed by the CPU 1001 may be provided to the computer 1000 from a removable medium (such as a CD-ROM or a flash memory) which is a non-transitory storage medium, or from an external computer equipped with a non-transitory storage device via a network, and may be stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device 1003 which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, the computer 1000 may have an interface for reading data from the removable medium.

[0040] The positioning assistance system 100 is a computer system configured on a single physical computer 1000, or on multiple logically or physically configured computers 1000, and may operate in separate threads on the same computer 1000, or may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources.

[0041] The CPU 1001 includes, for example, each functional unit of the positioning assistance system 100. For example, the CPU 1001 functions as a data collection unit 1 by operating according to a data collection program loaded into the memory 1002, and functions as a target designation information receiving unit 3 by operating according to a target designation information receiving program loaded into the memory 1002. The relationships between programs and functional units are similar for the other functional units of the positioning assistance system 100.

[0042] Some or all of the functions of the functional units of the positioning assistance system 100 may be realized by hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0043] The auxiliary storage device 1003 holds the observation DB 2 and the record DB 7. Note that a part or all of the information stored in the auxiliary storage device 1003 may be stored in the memory 1002, or may be stored in an external DB connected to the positioning assistance system 100.

[0044] 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the context information detection unit 12. The context information detection unit 12 detects the occurrence of a context at the current time by monitoring a data change indicated by sequence data from a predetermined sensor in a time window of a predetermined length ending at the current time, among the sensor data input from the positioning sensor unit 10.

[0045] The context information detection unit 12 includes, for example, a target movement determination unit 120, a target transformation detection unit 121, an environmental change detection unit 122, an environmental solidarity detection unit 123, and a target behavior detection unit 124, which are all functional units that detect the occurrence of a context.

[0046] The object movement determination unit 120 determines the movement state of the object at each time included in the time window based on the sensor data, for example, by monitoring the transition of the object's position in the time window. Note that the movement state of the object is either moving or stopped.

[0047] For example, when the object movement determination unit 120 determines that the position of the object changes continuously at a speed equal to or greater than a certain speed within the time window based on data measured by a specified sensor indicating position or data measured by a specified sensor indicating speed or acceleration, it detects the movement of the object at the current time as a context.

[0048] Furthermore, for example, when the object movement determination unit 120 determines that the average movement speed of the object within the time window is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold based on data measured by a predetermined sensor indicating position or data measured by a predetermined sensor indicating speed or acceleration, or when it determines that the total movement amount of the object within the time window is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it detects the movement of the object at the current time as a context.

[0049] In addition, for certain sensor data with unstable positioning accuracy, such as a gyro sensor installed in a smartphone, the target movement determination unit 120 may perform additional processing to reduce the influence of noise by excluding the sensor data from the detection target for movement determination when the speed, acceleration, or jerk is equal to or above a threshold, or by applying a Kalman filter to the series data in the time window.

[0050] The object transformation detection unit 121 detects the transformation of the object at the current time as a context, for example, by monitoring the change in the appearance of the object in a time window. Specifically, for example, the object transformation detection unit 121 detects the transformation of the object at the current time by comparing the amount of change in pixel units in the camera image area in which the object is photographed. Also, for example, in a case where the appearance of the object before and after the transformation can be predicted in advance, an object detector that detects the object before and after the transformation may be prepared in advance, and the object transformation detection unit 121 may detect the transformation of the object at the current time by applying the object detector to the image data.

[0051] The environmental change detection unit 122 detects the environmental change at the current time as a context, for example, by monitoring the change in the environment other than the target in the time window. Specifically, for example, the environmental change detection unit 122 detects the environmental change at the current time (within a predetermined distance from the target) by comparing the amount of change in pixel unit in the camera image area where the target is photographed.

[0052] In addition, for example, in cases where the appearance of the environment before and after a change can be predicted in advance, an object detector that detects the environment before and after the change may be prepared in advance, and the environmental change detection unit 122 may detect changes in the environment at the current time by applying the object detector to the camera image.

[0053] In addition, since the environment may change depending on the behavior of the agent, the environmental change detection unit 122 may, for example, detect a predetermined behavior of the agent output by applying image data to a predetermined behavior recognition model as a change in the environment at the current time, and detect the change in the environment as a context.

[0054] The environmental solidarity detection unit 123 detects, as a context, a change in at least one of an object and an environmental object (an object different from the object) that occurs in a time window when the object and the environmental object are involved (hereinafter, referred to as environmental solidarity). Objects, landmarks, agents, etc. in the environment are all examples of environmental objects.

[0055] In addition, the results of actions that link objects and environmental objects, such as an object passing by an object, an environmental object following an object, an object following an object, an environmental object acting on an object, or an object acting on an environmental object, are all examples of environmental solidarity.

[0056] The environmental connection detection unit 123 detects environmental connections using video analysis of camera images, for example, by comparing position information of the target and environmental objects to detect passing by or following an object.

[0057] When the target behavior detection unit 124 determines that the target, which is an agent, has performed a predetermined characteristic behavior in a time window, the target behavior detection unit 124 detects the characteristic behavior as a context. The target performing a predetermined task, the target using a predetermined service related to the task, and the target's behavior such as conversation are all examples of the target's characteristic behavior.

[0058] The target behavior detection unit 124, for example, detects that the target has performed a task by using time series analysis of camera images and a posture estimation sensor, detects that the target has used a service by searching sensor data indicating the usage history of the service, and detects conversations by the target by transcribing and analyzing audio data.

[0059] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of data stored in the observation DB 2. The observation DB 2 includes a position information table T21 including target position information, and a context information table T22 including context information.

[0060] The position information table T21 includes, for example, a position information ID, a position measurement time, position information such as coordinates, an object ID, a position measurement method, and a confidence value related to the position information.

[0061] The location information ID is an ID for identifying a record in the location information table T21. The positioning time indicates the time when the sensor data from which the location was calculated was measured. The location information indicates the location estimated by the location estimation unit 11, and indicates, for example, coordinate values ​​directly obtained from a sensor such as a GPS, or coordinate values ​​obtained by applying PDR to an acceleration sensor, etc.

[0062] The target ID is given to the location information by the target ID estimation unit 13. The positioning method indicates the type of sensor. Note that, when the sensor value does not indicate the location itself, such as when coordinates are obtained by applying PDR to an acceleration sensor, an algorithm name such as PDR may also be stored as the positioning method.

[0063] The certainty value for the location information is an index showing the possibility that the target ID was at the location at the time of positioning, and is calculated by the method described above. Note that if it is difficult to calculate an accurate certainty, such as when the source of the location information does not have rich information, certainty values ​​may not be assigned to some or all of the records in the location information table T21.

[0064] The context information table T22 includes, for example, a context ID, a context occurrence time, a context occurrence position, a context type, a target ID related to the context, and a certainty value related to the context occurrence.

[0065] The context ID is an ID for identifying a record in the context information table T22. The context occurrence time indicates the time when the context detected by the context information detection unit 12 occurred. The context occurrence position indicates the position where the context detected by the context information detection unit 12 occurred. Each functional unit included in the context information detection unit 12 extracts or calculates the position of an object from sensor data used when detecting the context, and determines the extracted or calculated position of the object as the context occurrence position.

[0066] The context type indicates the type of context detected by the context information detection unit 12, and specifically includes, for example, the above-mentioned object movement, object transformation, environmental change, environmental solidarity, and object behavior.

[0067] The target IDs involved in the context are, for example, the target ID of a moved target when a target movement occurs, the target ID of a transformed target when a target transformation occurs, the target ID of a target included in an image in which an environmental change is detected, the target ID of the target when an environmental change occurs due to a target's behavior, the target ID of a target related to an environmental object when an environmental solidarity occurs, the target ID of a target that performed a behavior when a target behavior occurred, etc., and are estimated by the target ID estimation unit 13. Note that the target ID estimation unit 13 does not necessarily need to be able to estimate the target IDs involved in the context.

[0068] The certainty value regarding the context occurrence is an index indicating the possibility that a context of the context type in which the target ID is involved occurred at the context occurrence position at the context occurrence time. Each functional unit of the context information detection unit 12 calculates the certainty value regarding the context occurrence by performing, for example, a process similar to the calculation of the certainty value regarding the position information for the context occurrence position. Note that, when it is difficult to calculate an accurate certainty, for example, when the information source for context detection does not have rich information, certainty values ​​may not be assigned to some or all of the records in the context information table T22.

[0069] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the candidate position estimation unit 5. The candidate position estimation unit 5 estimates a candidate position of the target from the observation information extracted by the observation information extraction unit 4, corrects the information based on the route and context information, selects information to be presented to the user, and outputs the information to the user dialogue unit 6. The candidate position estimation unit 5 has a function of receiving feedback from the user dialogue unit 6 and re-estimating the candidate position.

[0070] The candidate position estimation unit 5 includes a candidate position extraction unit 51, a route estimation unit 52, a route-based evaluation value estimation unit 53, a related context estimation unit 54, a context-based evaluation value estimation unit 55, and a presentation information selection unit 56, all of which are functional units.

[0071] The candidate position extraction unit 51 estimates the position information of the specified target at the specified time from the observation information extracted by the observation information extraction unit 4. When the observation information includes position information of the same target at the same time by multiple positioning methods, the candidate position extraction unit 51 extracts, for example, all of the position information by each positioning method and the integrated position information thereof as candidate positions.

[0072] In addition, when the extracted observation information includes position information of another target that is close to the specified target (e.g., within a specified distance) in the same time window, the candidate position extraction unit 51 may include the position information of the other target in the candidate position of the specified target.

[0073] For each extracted candidate location, the route estimation unit 52 estimates a movement route of the specified object within a time window of a predetermined length including the time corresponding to the candidate location. At this time, in order to provide consistency in the route information, the route estimation unit 52 may correct a section included in the route.

[0074] For example, when there is a section where the position information of the target in the time window is missing, or when the position information changes drastically (for example, the position within a predetermined time is not included in a predetermined area (for example, a circle of a predetermined radius)) and it is difficult to estimate it as a continuous route, the route estimation unit 52 performs a complementation process based on a predetermined algorithm using information of a section that is not missing. Also, when there is a lot of noise in the sensor data, such as a large variation in values, or when the certainty value of the positioned surrounding route is low (for example, below a predetermined value), the route estimation unit 52 may correct the route by a Kalman filter or bilinear complementation. Also, an example of correcting the positioning information by PDR with the positioning information by camera images will be described later, and a correction algorithm may be determined in advance for each positioning method in this way.

[0075] The route-based evaluation value estimation unit 53 calculates an evaluation value for each route estimated by the route estimation unit 52. For example, the route-based evaluation value decreases as the amount of correction from the route obtained from the original positioning data increases. In addition, for example, the certainty of the positions included in the route may be further taken into consideration in calculating the route-based evaluation value, and in this case, the lower the certainty, the smaller the route-based evaluation value. Details of the route-based evaluation value calculation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0076] For each extracted candidate position, the related context estimation unit 54 estimates a context related to the specified target within a specified time window as a related context related to the candidate position of the target. Specifically, for example, the related context estimation unit 54 estimates, as a related context, a context indicated by a record including the target ID of the specified target in the context information table T22 included in the extracted observation information, where the context occurrence time is within a specified time window and / or the occurrence position is within a specified distance.

[0077] In addition, the related context estimation unit 54 estimates, as a related context of the specified target, a context whose context occurrence position is within a predetermined distance from the candidate position of the specified target or whose context occurrence time is within a predetermined time difference from the time corresponding to the candidate position, even though the target ID of the specified target in the context information table T22 contained in the extracted observation information is not included.

[0078] The context-based evaluation value estimation unit 55 calculates, for the related context estimated by the related context estimation unit 54, the probability that the specified target is involved in the related context as a context-based evaluation value.

[0079] Specifically, for example, the context-based evaluation value estimation unit 55 calculates the probability that the target is detected in image processing for an image in which the related context is detected as the context-based evaluation value. Also, for example, the context-based evaluation value estimation unit 55 may calculate, from the position information and positioning time of the target before and after the context occurrence (for example, from a predetermined time before to a predetermined time after the context occurrence time), as well as the context occurrence position and the context occurrence time, the probability that the target can reach the context occurrence position from the position before the context occurrence, or the probability that the target can reach the position after the context occurrence from the context occurrence position, as the context-based evaluation value.

[0080] The presentation information selection unit 56 receives outputs from the route estimation unit 52, the route-based evaluation value estimation unit 53, the related context estimation unit 54, and the context-based evaluation value estimation unit 55, selects and prioritizes information to be presented to the user, and displays it, for example, on the display device 1005. The presentation information selection unit 56 prioritizes, for example, candidate positions, routes corresponding to the candidate positions, and related context information based on the route-based evaluation value and the context-based evaluation value, and outputs them.

[0081] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a route correction process and a route-based evaluation value calculation process. In the example of Fig. 5, positioning information by PDR is corrected using positioning information by camera images. In PDR, the relative position from the measurement start point is calculated by integrating the acceleration and angular velocity measured by a sensor mounted on the mobile terminal.

[0082] With PDR, information can always be obtained as long as the target is carrying the mobile device. However, the longer the target travels, the more errors accumulate in the prediction, resulting in a greater deviation between the PDR estimated route 531 and the correct route 532, and a decrease in positioning accuracy.

[0083] On the other hand, while positioning using camera images can obtain the absolute coordinates of an object with high accuracy, blind spots will occur if a small number of cameras are installed, costs will become extremely high if a large number of cameras are installed, and images cannot be captured in areas where confidential information is handled. For these reasons, in reality, positioning using camera images is only performed in certain areas.

[0084] Therefore, by correcting the route information obtained by PDR, which is not very accurate but is capable of positioning over a wide area, with route information for that limited area obtained by camera images, which are highly accurate but only capable of positioning in that limited area, it is possible to obtain route information that is wide-area and highly accurate.

[0085] The route estimation unit 52 detects a section of the image estimated route 533 that coincides with the PDR estimated route 531 in terms of time or space. In the example of FIG. 5, the PDR estimated route 531 and the image estimated route 533 both have the same section in the same time period (from "9:10" to "9:12"). Therefore, the route estimation unit 52 corrects the section of the PDR estimated route 531 from "9:10" to "9:12" so that it coincides with the section of the image estimated route 533 from "9:10" to "9:12".

[0086] Furthermore, the route estimation unit 52 calculates the section before "9:10" by, for example, connecting the start point and the corrected position at "9:10" with a straight line, and calculates the section after "9:12" assuming that movement after "9:12" indicated by the PDR estimated route 531 has occurred from the corrected position at "9:12", thereby calculating a corrected PDR estimated route 534. In this way, the route estimation unit 52 resets the accumulated error by appropriately updating the position information.

[0087] At this time, the path-based evaluation value estimation unit 53 calculates, as the path-based evaluation value, for example, the total value of the amount of change in position at each time between the PDR estimated path 531 and the corrected PDR estimated path 534. The path-based evaluation value estimation unit 53 may also calculate, as the path-based evaluation value, the amount of change between the parameters of the PDR when the PDR estimated path 531 is obtained and the parameters for obtaining the corrected PDR estimated path 534 by the PDR.

[0088] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user dialogue unit 6. The user dialogue unit 6 includes, for example, an information display unit 61, a position designation receiving unit 62, a requested information selection unit 63, and an additional information receiving unit 64, all of which are functional units.

[0089] The information display unit 61 displays on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) the information output from the candidate position estimation unit 5. The position designation receiving unit 62 receives an input of position information to be registered or an input requesting re-estimation of a candidate position from the user via the input device 1004, and outputs an instruction to the requested information selection unit 63 to register the position information in the record DB 7 or to re-estimate the candidate position according to the user input result.

[0090] Specifically, for example, if the user determines that the candidate position displayed by the information display unit 61 has correct position information, the user selects the position information to be registered from the candidate position. Also, for example, if the user determines that the candidate position displayed by the information display unit 61 does not have correct position information, the user manually inputs position information or instructs re-estimation of the candidate position.

[0091] Upon receiving an instruction to re-estimate a candidate position, the requested information selection unit 63 determines information (request information) to be input by the user. The information display unit 61 displays the requested information on a GUI. The additional information receiving unit 64 receives input of additional information corresponding to the requested information from the user via the input device 1004, and outputs the input additional information to the candidate position estimation unit 5. The candidate position estimation unit 5 re-estimates the candidate position according to the input additional information.

[0092] The information display unit 61 includes, for example, a map display unit 611, a candidate location display unit 612, a candidate route display unit 613, a related context display unit 614, and a requested information display unit 615, all of which are functional units.

[0093] The map display unit 611 displays a map of the facility where the object has moved. Note that the map data is stored in advance in, for example, the auxiliary storage device 1003. The candidate position display unit 612 displays the candidate positions estimated by the candidate position estimation unit 5. The candidate route display unit 613 displays the routes corresponding to the candidate positions.

[0094] The related context display unit 614 displays the related context estimated by the related context estimation unit 54. The requested information display unit 615 displays requested information. Details of the display contents of the candidate position display unit 612, the candidate route display unit 613, and the related context display unit 614 will be described later with reference to Figs. 7A to 9C.

[0095] The user dialogue unit 6 executes user assistance processing and machine assistance processing. The user assistance processing includes processing executed by the map display unit 611, the candidate location display unit 612, the candidate route display unit 613, the related context display unit 614, and the location specification receiving unit 62. The user assistance processing is processing in which the machine (display unit) visually assists the user by displaying a GUI and using an input screen, with the aim of reducing the user's misremembering, misperception, and forgetting about location information, and of reminding the user of the target situation at that time.

[0096] The machine-assisted processing includes processing by the requested information selection unit 63, the requested information display unit 615, and the additional information receiving unit 64. The machine-assisted processing is a process for automatically selecting requested information to support an estimation with a low rating, with the aim of reducing errors in machine-based position estimation, and assisting the machine (estimation unit) by having the user input additional information corresponding to the requested information.

[0097] In this case, in the process of mutual assistance between the user and the machine, the user can be exposed to information about the subject at that time, and can be prompted to recall the correct situation. The details of the process by the user dialogue unit 6 will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0098] 7A and 7B are diagrams showing examples of screen configurations of a GUI realized by the candidate position display unit 612. In both the display screen F6121 in FIG. 7A and the display screen F6122 in FIG. 7B, an electronic map viewed from above by the map display unit 611 is displayed, and a human-shaped icon indicating a candidate position of a specified target is displayed. In this way, the candidate position display unit 612 displays estimated position information on the electronic map, so that the user can intuitively recognize which position in the actual site the candidate position represents. The human-shaped icon is a button, and the user can select the position information associated with the icon by selecting the icon, and the selected position information is registered in the record DB7 as the position of the target.

[0099] All the human icons on the display screen F6121 are displayed in the same manner (lines of the same thickness). On the other hand, on the display screen F6122, in order to visually differentiate the priority of each candidate, the display is differentiated by the thickness of the line of the human icon (the thicker the line, the higher the priority). The priority may be expressed in other ways, such as the color shading of the icon, the transparency of the icon, the size of the icon, or displaying a priority value together with the icon. Note that, for example, the priority on the display screen F6122 is calculated by, for example, a weighted sum of the route-based evaluation value and the context-based evaluation value using a predetermined weight.

[0100] 8A, 8B, and 8C are diagrams showing examples of screen configurations of a GUI realized by the candidate route display unit 613. On the display screen F6131 in Fig. 8A, the display screen F6132 in Fig. 8B, and the display screen F6133 in Fig. 8C, an electronic map viewed from above by the map display unit 611 is displayed, similar to Fig. 7A etc., and human-shaped icons indicating candidate positions and priorities are displayed. Furthermore, on the display screens F6131 to F6133, routes estimated to have been taken by a specified target if it had passed through the candidate positions are shown by solid and dotted arrows.

[0101] By displaying virtual travel routes corresponding to each candidate location in this way, the user can select a location candidate based on his or her memory at the time, which can prevent erroneous location registration due to a user's misremembering or misperception.

[0102] Furthermore, the candidate route display unit 613 may assist the user in making a selection by visualizing the route-based evaluation value of each route on a GUI. On the display screen F6131, routes with high route-based evaluation values ​​are drawn with solid lines and routes with low route-based evaluation values ​​are drawn with dotted lines based on a predetermined threshold value, making it possible to distinguish between the routes.

[0103] On the display screen F6131, routes with high route-based evaluation values ​​are displayed as confirmed routes, and routes with low route-based evaluation values ​​are displayed as unconfirmed routes, thereby preventing the user from inadvertently selecting a route with a low degree of certainty. On the display screen F6131, routes corresponding to candidate positions corresponding to an icon selected by the user are displayed.

[0104] On display screen F6132, the route-based evaluation value is visualized by continuously changing the appearance of the line of the arrow indicating the route (for example, represented by thickness, color, and / or shading. In the example of FIG. 8B, the thicker the dotted line, the higher the route-based evaluation value). This visualizes the criteria that the user uses to select candidate locations within an undetermined route section, and functions as an aid when the user selects a candidate location and when the user manually fine-tunes the candidate location. On display screen F6132, the route and route-based evaluation value corresponding to the candidate locations indicated by each icon are displayed.

[0105] In the display screen F6133, the distribution of the route-based evaluation value of the route corresponding to the estimated position is visualized. This allows the user to intuitively know in which area on the map the position to be registered will have a high route-based evaluation value, and the distribution functions as an aid when the user manually fine-tunes the candidate position. Note that the candidate route display unit 613 calculates the distribution by, for example, calculating the route-based evaluation value when the candidate position of the specified target at the specified time is shifted.

[0106] 9A, 9B, and 9C are diagrams showing examples of screen configurations of a GUI realized by the related context display unit 614. On the display screen F6141 of FIG. 9A, the display screen F6142 of FIG. 9B, and the display screen F6143 of FIG. 9C, similar to FIG. 7A and the like, an electronic map viewed from above by the map display unit 611 is displayed, and human-shaped icons indicating candidate positions and priorities are displayed. Furthermore, on the display screens F6141 to F6143, similar to FIG. 8A, routes estimated to have been taken by a specified target if it had passed through the candidate positions are displayed by solid and dotted arrows.

[0107] In all of the display screens F6141 to F6143, a context that occurred at a specified time (and a time window of a predetermined length including that time) is displayed with a pin-shaped icon at a position indicating the context occurrence position. Note that the related context corresponding to the selected candidate position or each of the displayed candidate positions on the display screens F6141 to F6143 may be displayed with a pin-shaped icon, or all contexts that occurred at context occurrence positions within a predetermined distance from the selected candidate position or each of the displayed candidate positions may be displayed with a pin-shaped icon.

[0108] The pin-shaped icons are buttons, and when a pin-shaped icon is selected on the display screen F6142, details of the context associated with the icon are displayed as shown on the display screen F6142. As the details of the context, for example, the time of occurrence of the context (the date and "2 minutes ago" display in FIG. 8B), the context type (the event in FIG. 8B), and the confidence level regarding the context are displayed.

[0109] In this way, by displaying context information that is likely to be memorable to the user, the user is prompted to recall the situation at the time from the context information, thereby reducing the occurrence of incorrect location registration due to user misremembering or forgetting.

[0110] Furthermore, in order to allow the user to recall the context more accurately, the related context display unit 614 may estimate the relationship between the candidate location and each context, and may explicitly display it as in the display screen F6143. The related context display unit 614 picks up contexts associated with the specified target ID that occurred within a predetermined distance and within a predetermined time from the selected candidate location, and presents the relationship to the user in a sentence format (for example, as shown in FIG. 9C, the time series of the contexts is displayed in sentences in the order of the occurrence of the picked contexts) as shown in the display screen F6143. The presentation method is not limited to sentences, and other formats such as a table, flow, and graph may be used.

[0111] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an interactive registration process of location information by the candidate location estimation unit 5 and the user interactive unit 6. In FIG.

[0112] In step S7001, the candidate position estimation unit 5 estimates the candidate position of the specified target, a route corresponding to the candidate position, and related context information by the method described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and the like.

[0113] In step S7002, the candidate position display unit 612, the candidate route display unit 613, and the related context display unit 614 display the information estimated in step S7001 on the display device 1005. That is, for example, at least one of display screens F6121 to F6122, at least one of display screens F6131 to F6133, and at least one of display screens F6141 to F6143 are displayed on the display device 1005.

[0114] In step S7003, the position designation receiving unit 62 receives information indicating whether or not the correct position is among the candidate positions presented in step S7002, and, if a correct position is present, information indicating the correct candidate position (selected by the user from the presented candidate positions), via input by the user to the input device 1004. Although not shown in Figs. 7A to 9C, for example, an input area for receiving input of this information is displayed on each display screen.

[0115] If the position specification receiving unit 62 receives input of information indicating that the correct position is among the candidate positions (S7003: YES), in step S7004, the position specification receiving unit 62 registers the position information (combination of the specified target, position, and time) of the candidate position selected by the user in step S7003 in the recording DB7, and terminates the interactive registration process.

[0116] If the position designation receiving unit 62 receives input of information indicating that there is no correct position among the candidate positions (S7003: NO), in step S7005, the position designation receiving unit 62 receives information indicating whether the user manually inputs position information via an input by the user to the input device 1004. Although not shown in Figs. 7A to 9C, for example, an input area for receiving input of the information is displayed on each display screen.

[0117] If the position designation receiving unit 62 receives input of information indicating that the user manually inputs position information (S7005: YES), in step S7006, the position designation receiving unit 62 receives the input of position information via an input by the user to the input device 1004. Specifically, for example, the user inputs a position by selecting a specific position on a map displayed in the GUI or by inputting coordinate values ​​via the input device 1004. Note that in step S7006, the position designation receiving unit 62 may further receive user input of not only a position but also an object and a time.

[0118] In step S7007, the position designation receiving unit 62 registers the position information including the position input by the user in step S7006 in the record DB 7, and ends the interactive registration process.

[0119] If the location specification receiving unit 62 receives input of information indicating that the user will not manually input location information (S7005: NO), in step S7008, the request information selection unit 63 generates request information to estimate accurate candidate locations.

[0120] Specifically, for example, the request information selection unit 63 generates, as request information, a question asking whether the context displayed on the display screens F6141 to F6143 has occurred in relation to the specified target, or a question asking whether a context not displayed on the display screens F6141 to F6143, whose context occurrence location is within a predetermined distance from the candidate location (or candidate route), has occurred in relation to the specified target.

[0121] In step S7009, the request information selection unit 63 displays the request information generated in step S7008 on the display device 1005, and accepts input of additional information for the request information via input to the input device 1004 by the user.

[0122] In step S7010, the request information selection unit 63 inputs the additional information acquired in step S7008 to the candidate position estimation unit 5, and the process returns to step S7001 to continue candidate position estimation and user interaction processing.

[0123] For example, if the additional information includes information indicating that a certain context has occurred in relation to the specified target, the candidate position estimation unit 5 generates a route and related context corresponding to the candidate position again, using the occurrence position of the context as a candidate position. Also, for example, if the additional information includes information indicating that a certain context has not occurred in relation to the specified target, the candidate position estimation unit 5 deletes the candidate position corresponding to the context (for example, a candidate position included within a predetermined distance from the occurrence position of the context), and the route and related context corresponding to the candidate position. EXAMPLES

[0124] In the second embodiment, a conditioning process based on an evaluation value of the estimation result is further added to the interactive registration process of location information by the candidate position estimation unit 5 and the user dialogue unit 6. Specifically, if the evaluation value of the estimation result is low, the process does not proceed to step S7004 in which the user registers a candidate position in the user dialogue unit 6, but directly proceeds to step S7008 in which request information is generated. This prevents the user from performing a registration operation based on an uncertain estimation result, making it possible to eliminate user mistakes and unnecessary dialogue during registration.

[0125] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an interactive registration process of location information by the candidate location estimation unit 5 and the user interactive unit 6. In FIG.

[0126] This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the condition branch process in step S7011. In step S7011, the request information selection unit 63 determines whether the evaluation value of the candidate estimated in step S7001 is sufficiently high. Specifically, for example, the request information selection unit 63 determines whether the route-based evaluation value and the context-based evaluation value corresponding to the candidate position output by the candidate position estimation unit 5 exceed a predetermined threshold value.

[0127] If the request information selection unit 63 determines in step S7011 that the evaluation value is sufficiently high, the process proceeds to step S7002. On the other hand, if the request information selection unit 63 determines in step S7011 that the evaluation value is not sufficiently high, the process proceeds to step S7008. EXAMPLES

[0128] In the third embodiment, the degree of freedom of the dialogue between the user and the machine is increased by executing a process of providing additional information to the candidate position estimation unit 5 based on a user's suggestion. As described above, in the first and second embodiments, the request information selection unit 63 selects request information based on the observation information, and the candidate position estimation unit 5 re-estimates the candidate position using the additional information input for the request information. While the method in the first and second embodiments has the effect of reducing the burden of operation and recollection on the user side, there is a possibility that the evaluation value of the candidate information is not sufficiently increased by the information held by the positioning assistance system 100 alone.

[0129] Therefore, in the third embodiment, the user dialogue unit 6 realizes an efficient increase in the evaluation value by accepting an input of new information held by the user.

[0130] 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user dialogue unit 6. In this embodiment, the user dialogue unit 6 further includes a user-suggested information receiving unit 65 which is a functional unit, and the information display unit 61 further includes an information addition column display unit 616 which is a functional unit.

[0131] The information addition field display unit 616 displays an input field on the GUI for the user to add information as desired. For example, information in the form of text or media information can be input into the input field. The information addition field display unit 616 outputs the suggested information input into the input field to the user suggested information receiving unit 65.

[0132] The user proposed information receiving unit 65 outputs the proposed information input from the information adding field display unit 616 to the candidate position estimation unit 5. The candidate position estimation unit 5 utilizes the proposed information for estimating the next candidate. The user proposed information receiving unit 65 converts the proposed information input from the information adding field display unit 616 into any one of the following formats: location information, route information, and / or related context information.

[0133] 13A, 13B, and 13C are diagrams showing examples of screen configurations of a GUI realized by the information addition column display unit 616. In the display screen F641 in Fig. 13A, in addition to the same display as the display screen F6141 in Fig. 9A, a balloon-shaped icon is displayed. When the balloon-shaped icon in the display screen F641 is selected, a process of suggesting addition of information by the user is started, and the display screen transitions to, for example, the display screen F642 in Fig. 13B or the display screen F643 in Fig. 13C.

[0134] Display screen F642 displays box 1301 for interactively adding information by text. In box 1301, text written in a speech bubble of a human icon is suggested information input by a user, and text written in a speech bubble of a robot icon is text indicating a candidate re-estimated by candidate position estimation unit 5 based on the suggested information.

[0135] In the example of Figure 13B, in accordance with the proposed information "I think they were inspecting at that time," the candidate position estimation unit 5 extracts, from the context information table T22, the context occurrence position of a context whose context occurrence time is within a predetermined time from the relevant time and whose context type includes "inspection," and outputs a sentence indicating the context occurrence position, "The people who were inspecting at that time were at (x1, y1) and (x2, y2)."

[0136] Furthermore, in accordance with the proposed information "It is at the valve that was inspected last Monday," the candidate position estimation unit 5 extracts, from the context information table T22, the context occurrence position of the context whose context occurrence time is "last Monday" and whose context type includes "inspection" and "valve," and outputs "The one that satisfies that condition is (x2, y2)," which is a sentence indicating the position between (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) that corresponds to the extracted context occurrence position.

[0137] Display screen F643 displays a box 1302 for interactively adding information using text and media information. In box 1301, the text and media written in the speech bubble of the human icon are suggested information input by the user, and the text written in the speech bubble of the robot icon is text indicating a candidate re-estimated by candidate position estimation unit 5 based on the suggested information.

[0138] In the example of Figure 13C, in accordance with the proposal information including the sentence "This is where the robot arm is located" and an image of a robot arm (media information), the candidate position estimation unit 5 performs a search using the image and the word "robot arm" as search keys, and outputs the sentence "This robot arm is located at (x3, y3)," which indicates the installation location of the robot arm.

[0139] For example, the positioning assistance system 100 holds a DB in which images of various facilities, facility names, and installation locations are stored, and searches are performed on the DB. For example, the dialogues in Fig. 13B and Fig. 13C are realized by a dialogue type AI (Artificial Intelligence).

[0140] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications are included. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. It is also possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0141] In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

[0142] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0143] 1 Data collection unit, 2 Observation DB, 3 Target designation information receiving unit, 4 Observation information extraction unit, 5 Candidate position estimation unit, 6 User dialogue unit, 7 Record DB, 51 Candidate position extraction unit, 52 Route estimation unit, 53 Route-based evaluation value estimation unit, 54 Related context estimation unit, 55 Context-based evaluation value estimation unit, 56 Presentation information selection unit, 61 Information display unit, 62 Position designation reception unit, 63 Request information selection unit, 64 Additional information reception unit, 65 User-proposed information reception unit, 100 Positioning assistance system, 1000 Computer, 1001 CPU, 1002 Memory, 1003 Auxiliary storage device, 1004 Input device, 1005 Display device, 1006 Communication device

Claims

1. An information processing system, A processor, a memory, and a display device, The memory includes: Position information indicating a candidate position of an object and a time when the object was at the candidate position; retaining context information indicating a context, which is a predetermined event that has occurred, a time when the context occurred, and an object involved in the context; The processor, Accepting designation of a time and an object for which a position is to be determined; A candidate location of the specified object at the specified time is obtained from the location information; Obtaining a context corresponding to the specified time and object from the context information as a related context; Displaying the acquired candidate locations and the associated context on the display device; Accepting a selection of a location to be registered from the displayed candidate locations; The information processing system stores the specified time and object, and the position of the registered object in association with each other in the memory.

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, An information processing system, wherein the specified event includes at least one of a movement of an object, a transformation of the object, an environmental change related to the object, a change occurring in at least one of the object and the object that occurs involving the object and an object other than the object, and an action by the object.

3. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, calculating a candidate route along which the specified object has moved within a time window of a predetermined length including the specified time by referring to the location information; Calculating an evaluation value of the candidate route based on positions included in the calculated candidate route; Calculating an evaluation value of the related context based on a position where the related context occurred and a candidate position of the specified target; Calculating a priority of the acquired candidate location based on an evaluation value of the candidate route and an evaluation value of the related context; The information processing system displays information indicating the priority on the display device.

4. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, The location information indicates a location measurement method used to measure the candidate location of the target, The processor, generating a first candidate route based on candidate positions determined by a first predetermined positioning technique in a time window of a predetermined length including the specified time with reference to the position information; generating a second candidate route based on candidate positions determined by a second positioning technique in a time window of a predetermined length including the specified time with reference to the position information; Calculating the candidate route by correcting the first candidate route based on the second candidate route; An information processing system that calculates an evaluation value of the candidate route based on a correction amount of the first candidate route in calculation of the candidate route.

5. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, The memory holds an image in which a context indicated by the context information is detected; The context information indicates a location where the context occurred, The processor, calculating a first probability that the specified object will be detected in an image corresponding to the associated context; calculating a second probability that the specified target can reach the occurrence position of the related context based on a time and a position at which the related context occurred, which is indicated by the context information, and a candidate position and a time of the specified target, which are indicated by the position information, a predetermined time before and a predetermined time after the occurrence of the related context; calculating an evaluation value of the related context based on at least one of the first probability and the second probability; The information processing system displays information indicating the evaluation value of the related context on the display device.

6. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, Further comprising an input device, The context information indicates a location where the context occurred, The processor, displaying, on the display device, request information requesting input of information indicating whether the related context occurred in relation to the specified object, and information indicating whether a context indicated by the context information that occurred within a predetermined distance from the acquired candidate position occurred in relation to the specified object; accepting an input of additional information corresponding to the request information via the input device; updating the candidate locations based on the additional information; The information processing system displays the updated candidate positions on the display device.

7. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6, calculating a candidate route along which the specified object has moved within a time window of a predetermined length including the specified time by referring to the location information; Calculating an evaluation value of the candidate route based on positions included in the calculated candidate route; Calculating an evaluation value of the related context based on a position where the related context occurred and a candidate position of the specified target; When it is determined that the evaluation value of the candidate route and the evaluation value of the related context are high based on a predetermined condition, the acquired candidate location and the related context are displayed on the display device; When it is determined that the evaluation value of the candidate route and the evaluation value of the related context are not high based on a predetermined condition, the information processing system displays the request information on the display device.

8. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6, The processor, accepting, via the input device, input of suggested information that is information indicating a context different from additional information corresponding to the request information; Identifying a location where a context indicated by the proposal information occurs from the context information; The information processing system displays information indicating the specified position as a new candidate position on the display device.

9. An information processing method by an information processing system, comprising: the information processing system includes a processor, a memory, and a display device; The memory includes: Position information indicating a candidate position of an object and a time when the object was at the candidate position; retaining context information indicating a context, which is a predetermined event that has occurred, a time when the context occurred, and an object involved in the context; The information processing method includes: The processor accepts a designation of a time and an object for which a position is to be determined; The processor obtains a candidate location of the specified object at the specified time from the location information; The processor acquires a context corresponding to the specified time and object from the context information as an associated context; The processor displays the obtained candidate locations and the associated context on the display device; the processor accepts a selection of a location to be registered from the displayed candidate locations; An information processing method, wherein the processor associates the specified time and object with the position of the registration object and stores them in the memory.

Images