Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

To solve the problems in which, although outputting a name of a feature is likely to be useful for a user in an area where the user has land knowledge in performing a voice guidance of a name of the feature within a predetermined range in order to make the user aware of the current position, it is less useful to output the name of the feature in an area where the user has no land knowledge, which may increase the burden on the user, and although, in areas where the user has no land knowledge, the user may want to know the name of the feature and its feature type located within a predetermined range, and it may be desirable to output the name of the feature and the feature type, the user may feel annoyed if the name of the feature and its feature type are also output in areas where the user has land knowledge.SOLUTION: When outputting a name of a feature from a sound output unit, a way of outputting the name of the feature is made different depending on whether at least either a user's current position or a position of the feature is located within an area that the user is accustomed to moving around.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of information processing devices that output feature information regarding features within a predetermined range to a user. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, if the voice output from a navigation device is at a constant speed and volume, the user may end up not hearing important information. In response to this, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for varying the way voice is output, such as by appropriately changing the voice speed and volume based on the type and content of text information to be subjected to voice synthesis. This makes it easier for the user to obtain information, for example, when route guidance information or traffic information is read out, by pronouncing distances or place names (proper names) slowly and loudly. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-98695 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, in order to allow a user to determine his / her current location, when providing voice guidance of the names of features (such as the name of a ramen shop) within a specified range of the user that can easily serve as a basis for determining the current location, outputting the names of features is likely to be useful in determining the current location within an area where the user has a land map (hereinafter referred to as a "land map area"), but outside the land map area where the user does not have a land map, outputting the names of features is less useful in determining the current location, and instead poses a problem in that it increases the burden on the user in terms of listening.

[0005] On the other hand, when a user is outside the cadastral area, the user may have a desire to know the names and feature types of features within a specified range of the user, and it may be preferable to output the name and feature type of the feature by voice. However, within the cadastral area, there is a problem that the user may find it annoying to output the feature type in addition to the name.

[0006] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and the like that can solve any of these problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention described in claim 1 is an information processing device that outputs at least a portion of feature information regarding features within a specified range of the user's current location from a sound output unit to a user, and is characterized in that it comprises a judgment unit that judges whether at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within an area to which the user is accustomed, and a control unit that, when outputting the name of the feature included in the feature information from the sound output unit, outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether the judgment unit has judged that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed.

[0008] The invention described in claim 9 is an information processing method by an information processing device that causes a user to output at least a portion of feature information related to features within a predetermined range of the user's current location from a sound output unit, and is characterized in that it includes a determination step of determining whether or not at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within an area to which the user is accustomed, and a control step of, when outputting the name of the feature included in the feature information from the sound output unit, changing the manner in which the name of the feature is output depending on whether or not the determination unit has determined that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed.

[0009] The invention described in claim 10 is characterized in that a computer included in an information processing device that outputs at least a portion of feature information regarding features within a specified range of the user's current location from a sound output unit to a user functions as a judgment unit that judges whether or not at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within an area to which the user is accustomed to traveling, and a control unit that, when outputting the name of the feature included in the feature information from the sound output unit, outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether or not the judgment unit has judged that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed to traveling. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a smartphone 400 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a feature table 430 in this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a cadastral area table 440 in this embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a voice output process by the smartphone 400 in the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a feature identification process performed by the smartphone 400 in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a sound output process by the smartphone 400 in the first modification. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a sound output process by the smartphone 400 in the second modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing device 100 includes a determination unit 101 and a control unit 102, and causes a sound output unit to output to a user at least a portion of feature information relating to features within a predetermined range of the user's current position.

[0013] The determination unit 101 determines whether or not at least one of the current position and the position of a feature is located within an area where the user is accustomed to traveling.

[0014] When the control unit 102 causes the sound output unit to output the name of the feature included in the feature information, the control unit 102 outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether the determination unit 101 has determined that at least one of the current position and the position of the feature is located within an area where the user is accustomed to traveling. Note that the manner of outputting the name of the feature includes a mode in which the name of the feature is not output.

[0015] According to the information processing device 100, the manner in which the name of the feature is output differs depending on whether at least one of the user's current location and the location of the feature is within an area the user is accustomed to traveling to, so that the name of the feature can be output in a manner suitable for the user, thereby improving user satisfaction. EXAMPLES

[0016] The present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0017] [1. Configuration of Smartphone 400] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user's smartphone 400.

[0018] The smartphone 400 is configured with a control unit 411, a memory unit 412 consisting of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like, a communication unit 413, a display unit 414, a touch panel 415, a microphone 416, a speaker 417, a GPS receiver 418, and a camera 419.

[0019] The control unit 411 is composed of a CPU 411a that controls the entire control unit 411, a ROM 411b in which a control program for controlling the control unit 411 and the like are stored in advance, and a RAM 411c that temporarily stores various data. The control unit 411 or the CPU 411a corresponds to a "computer."

[0020] The control unit 411 executes processing related to a voice output service (including a voice output processing and a feature identification processing described later) that outputs at least a portion of information related to features within a predetermined range of the user's current position in response to an input operation by the user.

[0021] The storage unit 412 stores various programs such as an OS (Operating System) and application programs, as well as data and information used in the various programs. The storage unit 412 also stores a program for a feature information audio output service that outputs feature information related to features within a specified range of the user by audio. The various programs may be obtained, for example, from a server device or the like via a network, or may be read from a recording medium such as a USB memory.

[0022] The storage unit 412 stores map data. The map data includes information necessary for processing by the control unit 411 regarding route searches to a destination and the like.

[0023] The storage unit 412 stores a feature table 430 shown in FIG. 3 and a cadastral area table 440 shown in FIG.

[0024] The feature table 430 shown in Fig. 3 stores information on a plurality of features. A feature is a natural or artificial object or a facility such as a store (for example, objects such as buildings, mountains, trees, statues, and traffic lights, facilities such as convenience stores and community centers, intersections, and roads), and the feature table 430 stores information on a portion of a plurality of features. The feature table 430 stores feature information such as the "feature ID", "location", "name", "type", "regular holiday", "business hours", and "visually impaired flag" of the feature. The "feature ID" is an identifier for identifying the feature. The feature information registered in the feature table 430 is registered by a service provider of the feature information voice output service, etc.

[0025] In the "position" field, the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the feature are registered. If the "type" field is a road, the identification ID of the road registered in the map information (not shown) is registered.

[0026] The name of a local feature is registered in the "name" field. For example, names of local features such as "Rairaiken," "Michelangelo," "Torisuke," "Parlor Hanakoganei," "Tokyo Sekiyu Shin-Ome Store," "Honmachi 1-chome intersection," and "Nakamichi Street" are registered.

[0027] In the "type" field, the type of the feature is registered. For example, types of the feature such as "pork bone ramen shop", "Italian restaurant", "yakitori shop", "pachinko parlor", "gas station", "intersection", and "road" are registered.

[0028] In "Regular holidays", the regular holidays of the feature are registered. For example, regular holidays of the feature such as "Thursday", "Monday-Tuesday", "Wednesday", and "Open (open every day)" are registered. Note that data is not registered for features that do not have regular holidays.

[0029] The business hours of the feature are registered in "Business hours". For example, business hours of the feature such as "11:30~15:00 17:30~22:00", "11:30~15:30 18:00~22:30", "18:00~23:00", "10:00~22:45", "7:00~21:00" are registered. Note that data is not registered for features that do not have business hours.

[0030] The "visually impaired flag" is registered as "ON" or "OFF". The visually impaired flag indicates whether the feature is easy to recognize for visually impaired people who have weaker vision than normal people, and "ON" is registered for features that are easy to recognize, and "OFF" is registered for other features. Features that are easy for visually impaired people to recognize are features that are easy to recognize by, for example, smell or hearing. For example, "pork bone ramen shop", "yakitori shop", and "gas station" are registered as "ON" because visually impaired people can easily recognize what kind of features are located there from the smell of ramen soup, the smell of grilled yakitori, and the smell of gasoline, respectively. Also, for example, "pachinko parlor" is registered as "ON" because visually impaired people can easily recognize that there is a pachinko parlor there from the sound effects output from the pachinko machine. Note that some visually impaired people can recognize light, so the "visually impaired flag" may be set to "ON" for features that emit light.

[0031] The cadastral area table 440 shown in FIG. 4 stores information indicating the cadastral area of ​​the user of the smartphone 400. The cadastral area table 440 has cadastral area information indicating a "cadastral area ID" and a "cadastral area" registered therein. The "cadastral area ID" is an identifier for identifying a cadastral area. The information registered in the cadastral area table 440 is registered, for example, by a service provider of the feature information voice output service based on the user's movement history or by the control unit 411 executing a predetermined program. In addition, an area designated by the user may be registered as a cadastral area.

[0032] In the "landmark area", the user's landmark area is registered. For example, the user's landmark areas such as "Nishitokyo City", "Kojimachi 1-4 Chome, Chiyoda Ward", "Hanakoganei, Kodaira City", and "Hachioji City" are registered. For example, the landmark area may be an area based on an administrative district such as a prefecture or a city, ward, town, or village, or an area surrounded by a boundary line drawn by the user on a map. In addition, the control unit 411 or the like may specify and register the user's landmark area based on history information including at least one of the number of visits to a specific area by the user or the time spent in the specific area. For example, if a user visits "Kojimachi 4-chome, Chiyoda-ku" more than a predetermined boundary value (a boundary value related to the number of visits, e.g., "10 times") (even if the total time spent there is short), "Kojimachi 4-chome, Chiyoda-ku" or the area including its surroundings may be identified as a land recognition area; and if the time spent in "Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture" is longer than a predetermined boundary value (a boundary value related to time, e.g., "10 days") (even if the total number of visits is short), "Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture" or the area including its surroundings may be identified as a land recognition area.

[0033] The communication unit 413 has a wireless communication device or the like, and communicates with other information processing devices such as a server device having a communication function to transmit and receive data to and from the other information processing devices. The communication unit 413 also communicates with the earphones 420 wirelessly.

[0034] The earphones 420 are attached to the ears of the user. The earphones 420 output sound under the control of the control unit 411.

[0035] The display unit 414 is configured to include a graphics controller 414a and a buffer memory 414b consisting of a memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM). In this configuration, the graphics controller 414a controls the display unit 414 and the touch panel 415 based on control information sent from the control unit 411. The buffer memory 414b also temporarily stores image data that can be instantly displayed on each of the touch panels 415. Then, an image is displayed on the touch panel 415 based on the image data output from the graphics controller 414a.

[0036] The touch panel 415 displays an image based on the image data received from the display unit 414. The touch panel 415 also detects a touch operation by the operator, and transmits touch operation data indicating the touched position and the like to the control unit 411. The control unit 411 determines which operation has been performed based on the touch operation data, and performs processing according to the content of the operation.

[0037] The microphone 416 converts the user's voice into an electrical signal and outputs it to the control unit 411 .

[0038] The speaker 417 outputs sound under the control of the control unit 411 when the earphones 420 are not connected.

[0039] The GPS receiver 418 receives navigation radio waves from GPS satellites and acquires current location information indicating the current location of the smartphone 400 as GPS positioning data, such as latitude, longitude, altitude data, absolute heading data, and GPS speed data.

[0040] The camera 419 outputs the captured camera image to the control unit 411.

[0041] [2. Audio output processing] Next, the audio output process by the control unit 411 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In this embodiment, if the user is visually impaired, feature information regarding features for which the visually impaired flag is "ON" is output. The audio output process is started, for example, based on the input of a user instruction (a predetermined operation (including an operation by voice) on the smartphone 400).

[0042] First, the control unit 411 acquires information about the visually impaired, which indicates whether the user of the smartphone 400 is visually impaired or not (step S101). The visually impaired information is acquired by acquiring information that is pre-stored in the storage unit 412 based on an input operation by the user, or by inquiring of the user in the process of step S101, for example.

[0043] Next, the control unit 411 acquires the current position information of the user calculated by the GPS receiving unit 418 (step S102).

[0044] Next, the control unit 411 refers to the cadastral region table 440 and acquires cadastral region information indicating the cadastral region of the user (step S103). Note that, if multiple cadastral regions are registered in the cadastral region table 440, all cadastral regions are acquired.

[0045] Next, the control unit 411 performs a feature identification process, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 6 (step S104).

[0046] Next, the control unit 411 judges whether or not a feature has been identified in the process of step S104 (step S105). If the control unit 411 judges that a feature has not been identified in the process of step S104 (step S105: NO), the control unit 411 outputs an error message indicating that there is no guideable feature within the user's predetermined range from the speaker 417 or the earphone 420 (step S106), and ends the audio output process.

[0047] On the other hand, if the control unit 411 determines that the feature has been identified in the process of step S104 (step S105: YES), it then determines whether the current position is within the cadastral region (step S107). Specifically, the control unit 411 determines whether the current position acquired in the process of step S102 is included in the cadastral region acquired in the process of step S103. If multiple cadastral regions are acquired in the process of step S103, it determines whether the current position is included in any of the cadastral regions.

[0048] When the control unit 411 determines that the current position is within the cadastral area (step S107: YES), it outputs the name of the feature identified in the process of step S104 from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 together with the direction and distance of the feature (step S108), and ends the voice output process. The direction and distance of the feature are calculated based on the user's current position and the position information registered in "Position" in the feature table 430. As a result, the control unit 411 outputs a message such as "There is a veranda 15 meters ahead in the direction of the front."

[0049] On the other hand, when the control unit 411 determines that the current position is not within the cadastral area (outside the cadastral area) (step S107: NO), it outputs the type of the feature identified in the process of step S104 from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 together with the direction and distance to the feature (step S109), and ends the voice output process. The direction and distance to the feature are calculated in the same way as in step S108. As a result, the control unit 411 outputs a message such as "There is a pork bone ramen shop 15 meters ahead."

[0050] In addition, in at least one of the processes of step S108 and step S109, the control unit 411 may also output other information registered in the feature table 430 (such as regular holidays and business hours) by voice.

[0051] [3. Feature Identification Processing] Next, the feature specification process performed by the control unit 411 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0052] First, the control unit 411 searches for features that exist within a predetermined distance from the user's current position (step S201). The predetermined distance can be set arbitrarily, but for example, if the purpose is for the user to know the current position, a range that can be seen with the eyes from the user's position may be set. However, if the user is visually impaired, it is preferable to set a narrower range than that for a normal person. The control unit 411 searches for features based on the user's current position and the location information registered in the "position" of the feature table 430. For features whose "type" is road, the control unit 411 acquires the identification ID of the road within a predetermined range from the user's current position based on the map information, and specifies the road whose identification ID is registered in the feature table 430 as the feature.

[0053] Next, the control unit 411 judges whether or not a feature has been found in the process of step S201 (step S202). If the control unit 411 judges that a feature has not been found in the process of step S201 (step S202: NO), the control unit 411 ends the feature identification process. On the other hand, if the control unit 411 judges that a feature has been found in the process of step S201 (step S202: YES), the control unit 411 then judges whether or not the user is visually impaired (step S203). Specifically, the control unit 411 makes the judgment based on the visually impaired information acquired in the process of step S101 of the audio output process (see FIG. 5).

[0054] When the control unit 411 determines that the user is not visually impaired (step S203: NO), it identifies the feature that is closest to the current location among the features found in the process of step S201 (step S206) and ends the feature identification process. Specifically, when only one feature is found in the process of step S201, the control unit 411 identifies that feature, and when multiple features are found in the process of step S201, it identifies the feature that is closest to the current location. This also applies to the case where the process of step S204 is determined to be "NO." Note that when multiple features are found in the process of step S201, the control unit 411 may identify features other than the closest feature randomly or according to a predetermined rule.

[0055] On the other hand, if the control unit 411 determines that the user is visually impaired (step S203: YES), it then determines whether or not the features found in the processing of step S201 include a feature whose visually impaired flag is "ON" (step S204).

[0056] When the control unit 411 determines that the features found in the processing of step S201 include a feature whose low-vision flag is "ON" (step S204: YES), it identifies the feature that is closest to the current location among the features found in the processing of step S201 whose low-vision flag is "ON" (step S205), and ends the feature identification processing. Specifically, when there is only one feature whose low-vision flag is "ON" among the features found in the processing of step S201, the control unit 411 identifies that feature, and when there are multiple features whose low-vision flag is "ON", it identifies the closest feature from the current location. Note that when multiple features whose low-vision flag is "ON" are found in the processing of step S201, the control unit 411 may identify features other than the closest one randomly or according to a predetermined rule.

[0057] As described above, the smartphone 400 in this embodiment outputs at least a portion of feature information related to features within a specified range of the user's current location to the user from the speaker 417 (an example of a "sound output unit") or the earphones 420 (an example of a "sound output unit"). The control unit 411 (an example of a "determination unit" or "control unit") determines whether the user's current location is located within the user's land-recognition area (an example of an "area in which the user is accustomed to traveling"), and when outputting the names of the features included in the feature information from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420, the name of the feature is output in a different manner depending on whether it has been determined that the current location is located within the land-recognition area.

[0058] In this embodiment, when the control unit 411 determines that the current location is located within the cadastral area, it outputs feature information including the name of the feature, and when it determines that the current location is not located within the cadastral area, it outputs the type of feature (an example of "feature information not including the name of the feature").

[0059] Therefore, according to smartphone 400, when the user is within the cadastral area, the name of the feature is output, allowing the user to ascertain the current location from the name of the feature, while when the user is outside the cadastral area, the type of feature is output, allowing the user to ascertain the current location from the type of feature that is output, and also reducing the listening burden caused by the output of unfamiliar names of features.

[0060] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 411 uses the user's current position as a reference to output the direction of the feature for which feature information is to be output and the distance to the feature together with the feature information. This makes it easy for the user to grasp the current position from the direction of the feature from the current position and the distance to the feature. Note that the control unit 411 may also output at least one of the direction of the feature for which feature information is to be output and the distance to the feature, using the user's current position as a reference.

[0061] [4. Modifications] Next, modified examples of this embodiment will be described. Note that the modified examples described below can be combined as appropriate.

[0062] [4.1. Variation 1] Modification 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a voice output process by the smartphone 400 in Modification 1. Note that the same processes as those in the above embodiment described with reference to Fig. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0063] In the audio output process of the first modified example, the process from step S101 to step S106 is similar to that of the above embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0064] When the control unit 411 determines in the process of step S105 that the feature has been identified (step S105: YES), it then sets the output importance to "3" (step S121). The output importance is information used in determining the output form when outputting information about the feature. In the first modification, when outputting feature information, if the output importance is "3", the feature information is read out at a reading speed of "a", and if the output importance is "1", the feature information is read out at a reading speed of "b (>a)". In other words, if the output importance is "3", the feature information is read out at a reading speed of "a", which is slower than the reading speed "b" when the output importance is "1".

[0065] Next, the control unit 411 judges whether or not the current position is within the cadastral region (step S122), similarly to step S107 in Fig. 5. If the control unit 411 judges that the current position is within the cadastral region (step S122: YES), the control unit 411 proceeds to processing of step S124. On the other hand, if the control unit 411 judges that the current position is not within the cadastral region (outside the cadastral region) (step S122: NO), the control unit 411 sets the output importance to "1" (step S121) and proceeds to processing of step S124.

[0066] Next, the control unit 411 outputs the name of the feature together with the direction and distance of the feature by voice at a speed according to the output importance (step S124), and ends the voice output process.

[0067] That is, when the control unit 411 judges "YES" in the process of step S122 and proceeds to step S124, it causes the name of the feature identified in the process of step S104 to be output from the speaker 417 or the earphone 420 so as to be read out at a reading speed of "a" corresponding to an output importance of "3" together with the direction and distance of the feature. As a result, the control unit 411 causes a message such as "Rai-Rai-Ken is 15 meters ahead in the direction of the front" to be output so as to be read out at a reading speed of "a".

[0068] Furthermore, when the process proceeds to step S124 after executing the process of step S123, the control unit 411 causes the type of the feature identified in the process of step S104 to be output from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 so as to be read out at a reading speed of "b" corresponding to an output importance of "1" together with the direction and distance of the feature. As a result, the control unit 411 causes a message such as "There is a house 15 meters ahead in the front direction" to be output so as to be read out at a reading speed of "b".

[0069] As described above, when the control unit 411 of the smartphone 400 in the first modification determines that the current position is located within the user's land-discovery region, it outputs the name of the feature included in the feature information, and when it determines that the current position is not located within the user's land-discovery region, it outputs the feature information including the name of the feature with an output importance (one example of "importance") of "1" which is lower than the output importance of "3" when the current position is located within the user's land-discovery region. For example, in the first modification, the control unit 411 slows down the reading speed when outputting the feature information as the output importance increases, so that when the current position is located within the user's land-discovery region, the name of the feature is output at a slower reading speed than when the current position is located outside the user's land-discovery region.

[0070] [4.2. Variation 2] Modification 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a voice output process by the smartphone 400 in Modification 2. Note that the same processes as those in the above embodiment described with reference to Fig. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0071] In the audio output process of the second modified example, the process from step S101 to step S108 is similar to that of the above embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0072] If the control unit 411 determines in the process of step S107 that the current position is not within the cadastral area (step S107: NO), it outputs the name and type of the feature identified in the process of step S104 from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 together with the direction and distance to the feature (step S109-2), and ends the audio output process. The direction and distance to the feature are calculated in the same way as in step S108. As a result, the control unit 411 outputs a message such as, for example, "15 meters ahead in the direction ahead, there is a pork bone ramen restaurant called Rairaiken."

[0073] As described above, when the control unit 411 of the smartphone 400 in the second modification determines that the user's current location is located within the cadastral region, it outputs feature information including the name of the feature but not the type of the feature, and when it determines that the user's current location is not located within the cadastral region, it outputs feature information including the name of the feature and the type of the feature. As a result, if the user's current location is within the cadastral region, a message such as "15 meters ahead, there is a Rai Rai Ken" is read out, and if the user's current location is outside the cadastral region, a message such as "15 meters ahead, there is a pork bone ramen shop called Rai Rai Ken" is read out. Therefore, since the name and type of the feature are output outside the cadastral region, the user's desire to know the name and type of the feature within a specified range of the user can be satisfied, while, since the feature type is not output in addition to the name of the feature within the cadastral region, the user does not feel bothered.

[0074] [4.3. Variation 3] 5 to 8 are executed by the control unit 411 to cause at least a part of the feature information to be output as audio from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420, but at least a part of these processes may be executed by an information processing device such as a server device capable of communicating with the smartphone 400 in place of or in cooperation with the control unit 411, and at least a part of the feature information may be output as audio from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420. Information required for processing by an information processing device such as a server device may be transmitted from the smartphone 400 as needed, or may be held in advance by the information processing device.

[0075] [4.4. Variation 4] In the fourth modification, the control unit 411 (an example of a "route guidance unit") may execute a part of the functions of the voice output process as a part of the functions of the route guidance program. Specifically, when the control unit 411 causes the route guidance program to output the name of the feature included in the feature information on the feature used as a landmark for the route guidance from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420, the control unit 411 causes the name of the feature to be output in a different manner depending on whether or not it is determined that the current position is located within a cadastral area.

[0076] In the case of combining the above-described embodiment with the fourth modification, for example, when the user is guided to turn left at an intersection where a pork bone ramen restaurant "RaiRaiken" is located, if the user's current position is within the user's land-identified area (step S107: YES in FIG. 5), the control unit 411 outputs the name of the feature identified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guide point from the speaker 417 or the earphone 420 together with the direction and distance of the feature (step S108). As a result, for example, voice guidance is given such as "Turn left at RaiRaiken, 50 m ahead in the direction of travel." On the other hand, if the control unit 411 determines that the user's current position is not within the land-identified area (outside the land-identified area) (step S107: NO), the control unit 411 outputs the type of feature identified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guide point together with the direction and distance of the feature from the speaker 417 or the earphone 420 (step S109). As a result, for example, voice guidance is given such as "Turn left at the pork bone ramen restaurant, 50 m ahead in the direction of travel."

[0077] Next, in a case where the above-mentioned modified examples 1 and 4 are combined, for example, when guidance is given to turn left at an intersection where a pork bone ramen shop "Rairaiken" is located, the control unit 411 sets the output importance to "3" (step S121 in FIG. 7), and when the user's current position is within the user's recognized area (step S122: YES), the name of the feature identified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guidance point is output from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 so as to be read out at a reading speed "a" corresponding to the output importance "3" together with the direction and distance of the feature (step S124). As a result, the control unit 411 outputs, for example, a message such as "Rairaiken is 15 meters ahead" at a reading speed "a". On the other hand, when the control unit 411 determines that the user's current location is not within the cadastral area (outside the cadastral area) (step S122: NO), it sets the output importance to "1" (step S123) and causes the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 to output the name of the feature identified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guidance point, together with the direction and distance of the feature, at a reading speed "b>a" corresponding to the output importance of "1". As a result, the control unit 411 causes a message such as "There is a house 15 meters ahead in the front direction" to be output at a reading speed of "b".

[0078] Furthermore, in a case where the above-mentioned modified example 2 and modified example 4 are combined, for example, when guidance is given to turn left at an intersection where a pork bone ramen shop "RaiRaiKen" is located, if the user's current position is within the user's land-known area (step S107: YES in FIG. 8), the control unit 411 outputs the name of the feature specified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guide point from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 together with the direction and distance of the feature (step S108). As a result, for example, voice guidance is given such as "Turn left at RaiRaiKen, 50 m ahead in the direction of travel." On the other hand, if the control unit 411 determines that the user's current position is not within the land-known area (outside the land-known area) (step S107: NO), the control unit 411 outputs the name and type of the feature specified by the route guidance program as a landmark of the guide point from the speaker 417 or the earphones 420 together with the direction and distance of the feature (step S109-2). As a result, for example, "Turn left at the pork bone ramen shop "RaiRaiKen", 50 m ahead in the direction of travel. " The voice will guide you.

[0079] [4.4. Variation 5] In the above-described embodiment, the manner in which feature information regarding features within a specified range of the user is output is varied depending on whether the current location of the user (smartphone 400) is within the cadastral area or not; however, the manner in which feature information is output may also be varied depending on whether at least one of the user's current location or the location of the feature in the feature information is within the cadastral area or not. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 100: Information processing device 101: Judgment section 102: Control unit 400: Smartphone 411: Control unit 411a: CPU 411b :ROM 411c:RAM 412: Storage section 413: Communications Department 414: Display unit 414a: Graphics controller 414b: Buffer memory 415: Touch panel 416: Mike 417: Speaker 418: GPS receiver 419: Camera 420: Earphones 430 : Feature table 440: Land Index Table

Claims

1. 1. An information processing device that causes a user to output at least a part of feature information related to features within a predetermined range of a current position of the user from a sound output unit, a determination unit that determines whether or not at least one of the current location and the location of the feature is located within an area in which the user is accustomed to traveling; a control unit that, when causing the sound output unit to output the name of the feature included in the feature information, outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether the determination unit has determined that at least one of the current position and the position of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed; and An information processing device comprising:

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control unit is an information processing device characterized in that when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area familiar to the user, the control unit outputs the feature information including the name of the feature, and when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is not located within the area familiar to the user, the control unit outputs the feature information without the name of the feature.

3. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control unit is an information processing device characterized in that, when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area familiar to travel, it outputs the feature information including the name of the feature, and when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is not located within the area familiar to travel, it outputs the feature information including the name of the feature with a lower importance when outputting the name of the feature than the importance when the current location is located within the area familiar to travel.

4. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The control unit is an information processing device characterized in that, when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within the area familiar to travel, it outputs the feature information including the name of the feature but not the type of the feature, and when the determination unit determines that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is not located within the area familiar to travel, it outputs the feature information including the name of the feature and the type of the feature.

5. 5. The information processing device according to claim 1, The information processing device is characterized in that the control unit outputs, based on the user's current position, at least one of the direction of the feature or the distance to the feature for which the feature information is to be output, together with the feature information.

6. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, The information processing apparatus is characterized in that the control unit slows down a reading speed when outputting the feature information as the importance level increases.

7. 7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The method further includes a specifying means for specifying an area to which the user is accustomed based on history information including at least one of the number of visits of the user to the predetermined area and the time spent by the user in the predetermined area, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines whether or not the current position is located within an area identified by the identifying means to which the user is accustomed.

8. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, A route guidance unit that performs route guidance is further provided, The information processing device is characterized in that, when causing the control unit to output from the sound output unit the name of the feature contained in the feature information regarding the feature used as a landmark when providing route guidance, the control unit outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether the determination unit has determined that at least one of the current location or the location of the feature is located within an area familiar to the user.

9. 1. An information processing method for an information processing device that causes a user to output at least a part of feature information related to features within a predetermined range of a current position of the user from a sound output unit, the method comprising: a determining step of determining whether or not at least one of the current location and the location of the feature is located within an area in which the user is accustomed to traveling; a control step of outputting the name of the feature included in the feature information from the sound output unit in a manner different from that of the current position or the location of the feature depending on whether or not the determination unit has determined that at least one of the current position and the location of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed; 13. An information processing method comprising:

10. a computer included in an information processing device that causes a sound output unit to output to a user at least a portion of feature information relating to features within a predetermined range of a current position of the user; a determination unit that determines whether or not at least one of the current location and the location of the feature is located within an area to which the user is accustomed; a control unit that, when causing the sound output unit to output the name of the feature included in the feature information, outputs the name of the feature in a different manner depending on whether the determination unit has determined that at least one of the current position and the position of the feature is located within the area to which the user is accustomed; An information processing program characterized by causing the information processing program to function as:

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