Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To notify a user of an appropriate time to talk to another user.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user and a second user whom the first user is attempting to contact; a concentration calculation unit that calculates a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biometric information of the second user; a threshold calculation unit that calculates a threshold based on the relationship information; and an output control unit that outputs first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold and outputs second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Methods of collaborative work using avatars in a virtual space are being researched. Patent Document 1 describes a space sharing support system in which employees who work in an actual office and employees who work from home without going to the office each work as their own avatar in an office in a virtual space, and each avatar displays a status such as scheduled, present, absent, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-71314 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a user is performing a task in a virtual space and intends to talk to another user, it is required to notify the user of an appropriate timing to talk to the other user.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that notify an appropriate timing to speak. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device of the present disclosure includes a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user and a second user who the first user is attempting to contact, a concentration calculation unit that calculates a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biometric information of the second user, a threshold calculation unit that calculates a threshold based on the relationship information, and an output control unit that outputs first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputs second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold.

[0007] The information processing method of the present disclosure includes the steps of acquiring relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user and a second user whom the first user is attempting to contact, calculating a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biometric information of the second user, calculating a threshold based on the relationship information, and outputting first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold.

[0008] The program of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the steps of acquiring relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user and a second user whom the first user is attempting to contact, calculating a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biometric information of the second user, calculating a threshold based on the relationship information, and outputting first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that notify an appropriate timing to speak. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an information terminal according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an output result of the output control unit according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the information processing device according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments, and when there are multiple embodiments, the present disclosure also includes combinations of the embodiments.

[0012] (First embodiment) The information processing system will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0013] (Information Processing System) As shown in Fig. 1, an information processing system 100 according to this embodiment includes an information terminal 10 and an information processing device 30. The information processing system 100 provides a virtual space V to a user 5 using the information terminal 10 and the information processing device 30. The information terminal 10 is an information terminal used by the user 5, and is an HMD (Head Mount Display) in this embodiment. The information terminal 10 provides the virtual space V to the user by displaying an image generated by the information processing device 30.

[0014] The information processing device 30 is a server that generates an image of the virtual space V and manages the information terminals 10 used by different users 5. The information processing device 30 manages the images of the virtual space V by each information terminal 10 by performing information communication with each information terminal 10. However, the information terminal 10 is not limited to one that provides the virtual space V, and may be, for example, a flat information terminal that displays an image. In the example of FIG. 1, the number of information terminals 10 to which the information processing device 30 is connected and performs information communication may be arbitrary. In other words, the number of information terminals 10 connected to the information processing device 30 is determined according to the number of users 5 that access the virtual space V.

[0015] (Virtual space) The virtual space V is not a real space (real space) where the user 5 actually exists, but a space where the user 5 does not exist. The virtual space V is a virtual space that does not actually exist, that is, VR (Vertial Reality), but may be a space that reproduces a real place away from the place where the user 5 exists, that is, MR (Mixed Reality). The information terminal 10 provides the virtual space V according to the movement (line of sight) of the user 5 in the real space. That is, based on an image of the virtual space V generated by the information processing device 30, the information terminal 10 displays an image (subjective image) of the virtual space V seen from the avatar U of the user 5 of the information terminal 10, assuming that the avatar U exists in the virtual space V. Therefore, the user 5 can recognize that he or she exists in the virtual space V. However, the information terminal 10 is not limited to displaying a subjective image, and may display an image of the virtual space V from an arbitrary field of view (for example, an overhead image of the virtual space V).

[0016] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the virtual space V is assumed to be a workplace in the virtual space where multiple avatars U attend work. The avatars U can move freely within the virtual space V, and can converse with each other. The information processing device 30 notifies the user 5 of an appropriate timing for speaking to another user 5 (when the avatar U operated by the user 5 attempts to contact an avatar U operated by another user in the virtual space).

[0017] In addition, in the following explanation, when describing the relationships between multiple users 5, a user 5 who is attempting to make contact with an avatar U operated by another user by operating his or her own avatar U will be referred to as the first user 5A, and a user who operates the avatar U with which the first user 5A is attempting to make contact will be referred to as the second user 5B.

[0018] (Information terminal) FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an information terminal according to the present embodiment. The information terminal 10 can be said to be a computer, and includes an input unit 11, an output unit 12, a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, and a control unit 15, as shown in FIG. 2. The input unit 11 is a mechanism for accepting an operation by a user, and may be, for example, a controller or a microphone provided in an HMD. The output unit 12 is a mechanism for outputting information. In this embodiment, the output unit 12 is an HMD, and includes a display device (display unit) for displaying an image and a speaker (audio output unit) for outputting audio. That is, the output unit 12 provides a virtual space V by outputting information such as images and audio to the user. The storage unit 13 is a memory for storing various information such as the contents of calculations of the control unit 15 and programs, and includes, for example, at least one of a RAM (Random Access Memory), a main storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), and an external storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). The communication unit 14 is a communication module, such as an antenna, that communicates with an external device, here the information processing device 30. The information terminal 10 communicates with the information processing device 30 by wireless communication, but may also use wired communication, and any communication method may be used.

[0019] The control unit 15 is a calculation device, that is, a central processing unit (CPU). The control unit 15 includes an information acquisition unit 151, a user information acquisition unit 152, and a display control unit 153. The control unit 15 realizes the information acquisition unit 151, the user information acquisition unit 152, and the display control unit 153 by reading and executing a program (software) from the storage unit 13, and executes the information acquisition unit 151, the user information acquisition unit 152, and the display control unit 153, and executes the processes. The control unit 15 may execute these processes by one CPU, or may include multiple CPUs and execute the processes by the multiple CPUs. At least a part of the information acquisition unit 151, the user information acquisition unit 152, and the display control unit 153 may be realized by a hardware circuit. In the present embodiment, the control unit 15 is a CPU provided in the information terminal 10 including the output unit 12 (display unit), but may be a device separate from the information terminal 10 including the output unit 12.

[0020] The information acquisition unit 151 acquires operation information of the user 5. The operation information may be any information related to an action performed by the user 5 in the real world. The operation information according to the present embodiment includes at least one of information related to an action performed by the user 5 in the real world to operate the avatar U in the virtual space V and information related to an action performed by the user 5 in the real world for business purposes. In addition, it is preferable that the operation information includes information related to an action performed by the user 5 in the real world for business purposes among the above-mentioned information. The information acquisition unit 151 may acquire the operation information by any method. For example, a sensor that detects the position and orientation of the user 5 in the real space is provided, and the information acquisition unit 151 may acquire the position and orientation of the user 5 detected by the sensor as the operation information. In addition, for example, the information acquisition unit 151 may acquire an operation (operation performed for business purposes) input by the user 5 to the input unit 2 (controller, etc.) as the operation information.

[0021] Furthermore, the information acquiring unit 151 may acquire biometric information of the user 5. The biometric information of the user 5 acquired by the information acquiring unit 151 may be any form of biometric information such as brain waves or pulse rate. The information acquiring unit 151 according to this embodiment acquires the user's brain wave information from an brain wave sensor (not shown) attached to the user 5.

[0022] The user information acquisition unit 152 acquires user information. The user information may be any information related to the user 5, and the user information according to the present embodiment includes at least one of the following: age information of the user 5, information indicating the business position of the user 5, and contact information of the user 5. The contact information here is information indicating a party with whom the user 5 has previously made contact via the information terminal 10. It is preferable that the user information includes all of the above-mentioned age information of the user 5, information indicating the business position of the user 5, and contact information of the user 5. The user information acquisition unit 152 may acquire user information by any method. The user information acquisition unit 152 according to the present embodiment acquires age information of the user 5, information indicating the business position of the user 5, and contact information of the user 5, which are stored in advance in the storage unit 13. The contact information is acquired, in particular, from the past call history of the user 5 and the past sending and receiving history of messages such as emails by the user 5, which are stored in the storage unit 13. Alternatively, the user information acquisition unit 152 may acquire the age information of the user 5 and information indicating the job title of the user 5 directly input by the user 5 via the input unit 11 when the user 5 logs in to the information terminal 10.

[0023] The display control unit 153 displays an image of the virtual space V on the output unit 12. In this embodiment, the display control unit 153 causes the output unit 12 to display an image of the virtual space V seen from the avatar U (subjective image). In this embodiment, the information terminal 10 transmits operation information to the information processing device 30. The information processing device 30 (a space generation unit 331 described later) calculates the position and orientation of the avatar U in the virtual space V based on the operation information, and generates an image of the virtual space V in which the avatar U exists at that position and orientation. Then, the information processing device 30 specifies the visual field range of the avatar U based on the position and orientation of the avatar U, converts the image of the virtual space V into an image of the virtual space V seen from the avatar U (subjective image) based on the visual field range of the avatar U, and transmits the converted image of the virtual space V (subjective image) to the information terminal 10. The information terminal 10 causes the output unit 12 to display the subjective image acquired from the information processing device 30. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the information terminal 10 may generate a subjective image based on the image of the virtual space V. In this case, the display control unit 153 acquires an image of the virtual space V from the information processing device 30, and specifies the field of view of the avatar U based on the operation information. Then, the display control unit 153 converts the image of the virtual space V into a subjective image based on the field of view of the avatar U, and causes the output unit 12 to display the subjective image.

[0024] (Information processing device) FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an information processing device according to the present embodiment. The information processing device 30 can be said to be a computer (server), and includes a storage unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a control unit 33, as shown in FIG. 3. The storage unit 31 is a memory that stores various information such as the calculation contents and programs of the control unit 33, and includes at least one of a RAM, a main storage device such as a ROM, and an external storage device such as a HDD. The program for the control unit 33 stored in the storage unit 31 may be stored in a recording medium that can be read by the information processing device 30. The communication unit 32 is a communication module that communicates with an external device, and is, for example, an antenna. The information processing device 30 may use either wireless communication or wired communication.

[0025] The control unit 33 is a calculation device, that is, a CPU. The control unit 33 includes a space generation unit 331, a concentration degree calculation unit 332, a relationship information acquisition unit 333, a threshold calculation unit 334, and an output control unit 335. The control unit 33 reads out a program (software) from the storage unit 31 and executes it to realize the space generation unit 331, the concentration degree calculation unit 332, the relationship information acquisition unit 333, the threshold calculation unit 334, and the output control unit 335, and executes the processes. The control unit 33 may execute these processes by one CPU, or may include multiple CPUs and execute the processes by the multiple CPUs. In addition, at least a part of the space generation unit 331, the concentration degree calculation unit 332, the relationship information acquisition unit 333, the threshold calculation unit 334, and the output control unit 335 may be realized by a hardware circuit.

[0026] (Processing of information processing device) The following describes the processing contents of the information processing device 30. However, the processing of the information processing device 30 described below may be performed by the information terminal 10 that displays an image toward the user 5. In other words, the information terminal 10 that displays an image toward the user 5 may act as an information processing device and perform the processing of the information processing device 30 described below.

[0027] (Space generation part) The space generation unit 331 generates an image of the virtual space V. The space generation unit 331 generates an avatar U who has accessed the virtual space V and a workplace in the virtual space where a plurality of avatars U attend work, as an image of the virtual space V. Note that the virtual space V is not limited to a workplace in the virtual space, and may be a space that can be used for any purpose as long as it is a space where avatars U work together.

[0028] (Concentration level calculation section) The concentration calculation unit 332 calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B based on at least one of the operation information of the information terminal 10 by the second user 5B, who is a user that the first user 5A is trying to contact, and the biometric information of the second user 5B. The concentration level of the second user 5B here is an index indicating how busy the second user 5B is with his / her own work. In other words, the concentration level of the second user 5B is also an index indicating how difficult it is for the first user 5A to contact the second user 5B, and it can be said that the higher the concentration level, the higher the concentration level (the difficulty of being contacted by the first user 5A). The concentration calculation unit 332 according to this embodiment acquires the operation information and the biometric information from the information acquisition unit 151 in the information terminal 10, and calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B based on these pieces of information. The method of calculating the concentration level of the second user 5B may be arbitrary, but the concentration level calculation unit 332 in this embodiment takes the average of the concentration level calculated from the operation information and the concentration level calculated from the biometric information, and calculates the average value as the user's concentration level.

[0029] Any method may be used to calculate the concentration level from the operation information, and in this embodiment, the concentration level calculation section 332 calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B based on input frequency information, which is included in the operation information and indicates the number of times that the second user 5B inputs operation information within a predetermined period of time via the input section 11. Specifically, the concentration level calculation section 332 calculates a higher concentration level as the number of times that the second user 5B inputs operation information within a predetermined period of time increases.

[0030] In addition, the method of calculating the concentration level from the bioinformation may be arbitrary. In this embodiment, the concentration level calculation unit 332 calculates the concentration level based on the brainwave information in the normal state of the second user 5B stored in advance in the storage unit 13 and the brainwave information acquired by the information acquisition unit 151. The normal state here refers to a state in which the second user 5B has a small workload, has a relaxed brain, and can easily be contacted by the first user 5A. The concentration level calculation unit 332 calculates the difference between the brainwave information in the normal state of the second user 5B and the bioinformation (brainwave information) acquired by the information acquisition unit 151, and calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B according to the difference. In other words, the larger the calculated difference, the higher the calculated concentration level.

[0031] (Relationship information acquisition unit) The relationship information acquisition unit 333 acquires relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. The relationship information can be said to be an index indicating the intimacy between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. Any information indicating the relationship between the first user 5A and the second user 5B may be used, and the relationship information according to this embodiment includes at least one of age difference information indicating the age difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, job position difference information indicating the job position difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, and contact frequency information indicating the contact frequency between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. It is preferable that the relationship information includes all of the age difference information, job position difference information, and contact frequency information described above.

[0032] The relationship information acquisition unit 333 may acquire the relationship information in any manner, and the relationship information acquisition unit 333 according to this embodiment acquires the relationship information based on the user information of the first user 5A and the second user 5B. Specifically, the relationship information acquisition unit 333 acquires user information including age information, information indicating a job title in business, and contact information (information indicating a contact person who has been in contact in the past via the information terminal 10) from the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A and the information terminal 10 of the second user 5B. Then, the relationship information acquisition unit 333 acquires relationship information including age difference information, job title difference information, and contact frequency information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B by comparing the user information acquired from the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A with the user information acquired from the information terminal 10 of the second user 5B.

[0033] (Threshold calculation part) The threshold calculation unit 334 calculates a threshold based on the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 333. The threshold here is a threshold for determining whether to permit contact from the first user 5A to the second user 5B. Any method for calculating the threshold may be used, and the threshold calculation unit 334 according to the present embodiment calculates the threshold so that the lower the degree of intimacy in the relationship information, the lower the threshold. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the threshold calculation unit 334 calculates the threshold based on the age difference information, the job position difference information, and the contact frequency information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B among the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 333. For example, the threshold calculation unit 334 may lower the threshold as the age difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B in the age difference information is larger, the threshold may lower the threshold as the job position difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B in the job position difference information is larger, and the threshold may lower the threshold as the contact frequency in the contact frequency information is lower. Also, for example, the threshold calculation unit 334 may set the threshold higher when the first user 5A is older than the second user 5B than the threshold when the first user 5A is younger than the second user 5B (i.e., the threshold when making contact with a younger person may be set higher). Also, for example, the threshold calculation unit 334 may set the threshold higher when the first user 5A is older than the second user 5B than the threshold when the first user 5A is younger than the second user 5B (i.e., the threshold when making contact with a lower-ranked user may be set higher).

[0034] More specifically, the threshold calculation unit 334 may calculate the threshold by multiplying a basic threshold (basic threshold) indicated by a predetermined number by three coefficients determined by the age difference information, the job position difference information, and the contact frequency information. To explain in detail, the threshold calculation unit 334 sets the coefficient determined by the age difference information to a smaller value as the age difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B increases, and conversely, sets the coefficient determined by the age difference information to a larger value when the age difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B decreases. Similarly, the threshold calculation unit 334 sets the coefficient determined by the job position difference information to a smaller value as the job position difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B increases, and conversely, sets the coefficient determined by the job position difference information to a larger value when the job position difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B decreases. Similarly, the threshold calculation unit 334 sets a larger coefficient determined by the contact frequency information as the contact frequency between the first user 5A and the second user 5B increases, and conversely, sets a smaller coefficient determined by the contact frequency information as the contact frequency between the first user 5A and the second user 5B decreases.Then, the threshold calculation unit 334 calculates the threshold by multiplying the basic threshold by three coefficients determined based on the age difference information, job position difference information, and contact frequency information.

[0035] (Output control section) The output control unit 335 controls the display mode of the avatar U in the virtual space V. In other words, the output control unit 335 outputs information (signals) for controlling the display mode of the avatar U in the virtual space V to the information terminal 10. The information terminal 10 changes the image of the virtual space V to be displayed upon receiving the information for controlling the display mode from the output control unit 335. The output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs, to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, the first information when the concentration degree of the second user 5B is equal to or greater than a threshold value when the concentration degree of the second user 5B is less than the threshold value, and the second information when the concentration degree of the second user 5B is less than the threshold value. The first information and the second information referred to here may be any information as long as they are different from each other. In this embodiment, the first information is information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation in which it is difficult for the second user 5B to contact the first user 5A. The second information is information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation in which it is possible for the second user 5B to contact the first user 5A. An example of the output results of the first information and the second information output by the output control unit 335 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0036] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of an output result of the output control unit according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, an avatar U operated by a first user 5A is trying to contact an avatar U operated by a second user 5B. When the first user 5A tries to contact a second user 5B in a virtual space V, any method may be used to identify the second user 5B who is to be contacted. In the virtual space V according to this embodiment, when the avatars U approach each other to a predetermined distance, the avatar U who is to be contacted is identified, and the avatars U can contact each other. Accordingly, the output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs information for changing the display mode of the avatar U to the information terminal 10 when the avatars U approach each other to a predetermined distance. Specifically, when the avatars U come close to each other within a predetermined distance, the output control unit 335 outputs to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A either first information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to make contact, or second information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where contact can be made.

[0037] The upper part of FIG. 4 shows a situation where the avatar U operated by the first user 5A is located at a position farther away from the avatar U operated by the second user 5B than a predetermined distance at which contact is possible. In this case, the output control unit 335 outputs information indicating that the avatar U of the second user 5B is not a target for contact (a target that has not been specified for contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A. This information indicating that the avatar U is not a target for contact may be in any form, and the output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs information that the outline of the target avatar U is displayed with a dashed line to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A as information indicating that the target avatar U is not a target for contact. Alternatively, the output control unit 335 may output information that the target avatar U is displayed semi-transparently to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A as information indicating that the target avatar U is not a target for contact.

[0038] The first information output by the output control unit 335 may be in any form. For example, the left diagram in the lower part of FIG. 4 shows an example of the first information (information indicating a situation in which the second user 5B is difficult to contact) output by the output control unit 335 to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A in a situation in which the concentration level of the second user 5B is greater than a threshold calculated based on the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B when the avatar U operated by the first user 5A approaches the avatar U operated by the second user 5B to a predetermined distance that allows contact. In this example, the output control unit 335 outputs information to change the avatar U of the second user 5B to an image with arms folded as the first information (information indicating a situation in which the second user 5B is difficult to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A. Alternatively, the output control unit 335 may output, as the first information, to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, information that a cliff, a wall, or the like is displayed around the avatar U of the second user 5B. Alternatively, the output control unit 335 may output, as the first information, to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, information that a character indicating that it is difficult to make contact is displayed around the avatar U of the second user 5B. Alternatively, the output control unit 335 may output, as the first information, to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, information that when the avatar U operated by the first user 5A tries to approach the avatar U of the second user 5B, the speed of movement of the avatar U operated by the first user 5A is slowed down to make it difficult for the avatar U operated by the first user 5A to approach the avatar U of the second user 5B.

[0039] Furthermore, even if the output control unit 335 outputs the first information (information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, in the case of an emergency, the first user 5A may be able to ignore the display of the first information and contact the second user 5B.

[0040] As with the first information, the second information output by the output control unit 335 may be in any form. In this embodiment, the right diagram in the lower part of FIG. 4 shows an example of the second information (information indicating that the second user 5B is in a state where contact can be made) that the output control unit 335 outputs to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A in a situation where the concentration level of the second user 5B is smaller than a threshold value calculated based on the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B when the avatar U operated by the first user 5A approaches the avatar U operated by the second user 5B to a predetermined distance where contact can be made. In this example, the output control unit 335 outputs information to change the outline of the avatar U of the second user 5B from a dashed line display (not a contact target) to a solid line display to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A as the second information (information indicating that the second user 5B is in a state where contact can be made). Alternatively, the output control unit 335 may output, as second information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, information to display text indicating that contact is available around the avatar U operated by the second user 5B.

[0041] (Processing flow) Next, a process flow according to this embodiment (a process flow when a first user 5A tries to contact a second user 5B) will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for describing a process flow of an information processing device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the concentration degree calculation unit 332 calculates the concentration degree of the second user 5B based on the operation information and biometric information acquired by each information terminal 10 accessing the virtual space V generated by the information processing device 30 (step S1). The relationship information acquisition unit 333 acquires relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B based on the user information acquired by each information terminal 10. The threshold calculation unit 334 calculates a threshold based on the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 333 (step S2). If the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 is greater than the threshold value calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S3; Yes), the output control unit 335 outputs the first information (information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A (step S4). Also, after step S3, if the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 is less than the threshold value calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S3; No), the output control unit 335 outputs the second information (information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is possible to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A (step S5).

[0042] (effect) As described above, the information processing device 30 according to the present embodiment calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B based on the operation information and the biological information. In addition, the information processing device 30 calculates a threshold based on the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. Then, when the calculated concentration level of the second user 5B is greater than the calculated threshold, the information processing device 30 outputs the first information (information indicating a situation in which the second user 5B is difficult to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A, and when the calculated concentration level of the second user 5B is smaller than the calculated threshold, the information processing device 30 outputs the second information (information indicating a situation in which the second user 5B is able to contact) to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A. According to the present disclosure, when the first user 5A talks to the second user 5B, the first user 5A can be notified of an appropriate timing based on the relationship information (age difference information, job position difference information, contact frequency information) between the first user 5A and the second user 5B.

[0043] Second embodiment Next, the second embodiment will be described. The output control unit 335 according to the first embodiment controls the display mode of the avatar U in the virtual space V based on the comparison result between the concentration degree of the second user 5B calculated as the average value of the concentration degree calculated from the operation information and the concentration degree calculated from the bioinformation and the threshold value. In contrast, the output control unit 335 according to the present embodiment compares each of the two concentration degrees calculated by the concentration degree calculation unit 332, the concentration degree calculated from the operation information and the concentration degree calculated from the bioinformation, with the threshold value, and controls the display mode of the avatar U in the virtual space V based on each comparison result. Specifically, when the concentration degree satisfies a first condition, the output control unit 335 according to the present embodiment outputs information to the first user 5A that the second user 5B is unable to make contact, and when the concentration degree satisfies a second condition, outputs information to the first user 5A that the second user 5B is in a difficult situation to make contact.

[0044] The first condition and the second condition may be any condition as long as they are different from each other. In this embodiment, the first condition refers to a case where the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the biometric information is greater than a threshold value calculated from the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. In this embodiment, the second condition refers to a case where the first condition is not satisfied and the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the operation information is greater than a threshold value calculated from the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B.

[0045] To explain in detail, when the first user 5A approaches the second user 5B to a predetermined distance where contact is possible, if the concentration level of the second user 5B satisfies the first condition (the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the biometric information is greater than a threshold value), the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is impossible to make contact. At this time, the information that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is impossible to make contact outputted by the output control unit 335 may be in any form as long as it can be distinguished from information that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to make contact, which will be described later. The output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that displays text indicating that contact is impossible around the avatar U operated by the second user 5B.

[0046] Furthermore, when the concentration level of the second user 5B satisfies the second condition (when the first condition is not satisfied and the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the operation information is greater than the threshold value), the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that it is difficult to make contact with the second user 5B. At this time, the information to the effect that it is difficult to make contact with the second user 5B output by the output control unit 335 may be in any form. The output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that the image of the avatar U operated by the second user 5B is to be changed to an image of the user with his / her arms folded.

[0047] Furthermore, if the concentration level of the second user 5B does not satisfy the first condition and the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the operation information is smaller than the threshold value, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that the second user 5B is in a state where contact can be made. At this time, the information to the effect that the second user 5B is in a state where contact can be made output by the output control unit 335 may be in any form. The output control unit 335 according to this embodiment outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that changes the outline of the avatar U operated by the second user 5B from a dashed line display (not a contact target) to an image displayed with a solid line.

[0048] (Processing flow) Next, a process flow according to this embodiment (a process flow when a first user 5A tries to contact a second user 5B) will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing a process flow of an information processing device according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the concentration degree calculation unit 332 calculates each concentration degree (concentration degree based on operation information and biometric information) of the second user 5B based on operation information and biometric information acquired by each information terminal 10 accessing the virtual space V generated by the information processing device 30 (step S11). The relationship information acquisition unit 333 acquires relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B based on the user information acquired by each information terminal 10. The threshold calculation unit 334 calculates a threshold based on the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 333 (step S12). When the concentration level calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 based on the biometric information of the second user 5B is greater than the threshold calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S13; Yes), the output control unit 335 outputs information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to make contact to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A (step S14). Furthermore, after step S12, when the concentration level of the second user 5B based on the biometric information calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 is smaller than the threshold calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S13; No) and the concentration level calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 based on the operation information of the second user 5B is greater than the threshold calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S15; Yes), the output control unit 335 outputs information indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where it is difficult to make contact to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A (step S16). Furthermore, after step S12, if the concentration level of the second user 5B based on the biometric information calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 is smaller than the threshold value calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S13; No), and if the concentration level of the second user 5B based on the operation information of the second user 5B calculated by the concentration level calculation unit 332 is smaller than the threshold value calculated by the threshold calculation unit 334 (step S15; No), the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A indicating that the second user 5B is in a situation where contact can be made (step S17).

[0049] As described above, the information processing device 30 according to this embodiment calculates each concentration level of the second user 5B based on the operation information and the biometric information (concentration level based on the operation information and the biometric information). In addition, the information processing device 30 calculates a threshold based on the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. Then, the information processing device 30 compares each calculated concentration level of the second user 5B with the threshold calculated in the same manner, and when the first condition is satisfied that the concentration level of the second user 5B calculated from the biometric information is greater than the threshold calculated from the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that the second user 5B is not available for contact. In addition, when the first condition is not satisfied and the second condition is satisfied that the concentration degree of the second user 5B calculated from the operation information is greater than the threshold value calculated from the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the first user 5A that the second user 5B is in a difficult-to-contact state. In addition, when the first condition is not satisfied and the concentration degree of the second user 5B calculated from the operation information is smaller than the threshold value calculated from the relationship information between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the information terminal 10 of the user that the second user 5B is in a contactable state. According to the present disclosure, when the first user 5A tries to contact the second user 5B, it is possible to notify the first user 5A of an appropriate timing based on the relationship information (age difference information, job position difference information, contact frequency information) between the first user 5A and the second user 5B.

[0050] In addition, in the present disclosure, when the concentration level based on the biometric information of the second user 5B is compared with the concentration level based on the operation information, the concentration level based on the biometric information is treated as the concentration level more indicative of how busy the second user 5B is (whether or not the second user 5B is available for contact from others), and the concentration level based on the biometric information is first compared with a threshold value. This can reduce the risk of talking to the second user 5B (a user who is not operating the information terminal 10 but is concentrating on thinking) who is concentrating at his / her desk to generate ideas or to think about something and does not want anyone to talk to him / her without knowing the situation.

[0051] (effect) As described above, the information processing device 30 of the present disclosure includes a relationship information acquisition unit 333 that acquires relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user 5A and the second user 5B who the first user 5A is trying to contact, a concentration calculation unit 332 that calculates the concentration level of the second user 5B based on at least one of the operation information of the information terminal 10 by the second user 5B and the biological information of the second user 5B, a threshold calculation unit 334 that calculates a threshold based on the relationship information, and an output control unit 335 that outputs the first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold and outputs the second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to notify the first user 5A of an appropriate timing for talking to the second user 5B.

[0052] According to the present disclosure, the relationship information includes at least one of age difference information indicating the age difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, job position difference information indicating the job position difference between the first user 5A and the second user 5B, and contact frequency information indicating the contact frequency between the first user 5A and the second user 5B. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to notify the second user 5B of an appropriate timing for the first user 5A to talk to the second user 5B based on the age difference, job position difference, and contact frequency between the first user 5A and the second user 5B.

[0053] According to the present disclosure, when the concentration level satisfies a first condition, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the first user 5A that the second user 5B is not available for contact, and when the concentration level satisfies a second condition, the output control unit 335 outputs information to the first user 5A that the second user 5B is in a difficult situation for contact. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to notify the first user 5A of an appropriate timing for talking to the second user 5B, and in addition, it is possible to differentiate the content of the information to be output to the first user 5A based on the condition satisfied by the concentration level.

[0054] The information processing method according to the present disclosure includes the steps of: acquiring relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user 5A and a second user 5B whom the first user 5A is attempting to contact; calculating a concentration level of the second user 5B based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user 5B and biometric information of the second user 5B; calculating a threshold based on the relationship information; and outputting first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold. According to the present disclosure, the first user 5A can be notified of an appropriate timing for talking to the second user 5B.

[0055] The program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute the steps of: acquiring relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user 5A and a second user 5B whom the first user 5A is trying to contact; calculating a concentration level of the second user 5B based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user 5B and biometric information of the second user 5B; calculating a threshold based on the relationship information; and outputting first information when the concentration level is equal to or greater than the threshold and outputting second information when the concentration level is less than the threshold. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to notify the first user 5A of an appropriate timing for talking to the second user 5B. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 10 Information terminals 30 Information processing device 5 Users U Avatar V Virtual Space

Claims

1. a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information indicating a relationship between a first user and a second user that the first user is attempting to contact; a concentration level calculation unit that calculates a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biological information of the second user; a threshold calculation unit that calculates a threshold based on the relationship information; an output control unit that outputs first information when the degree of concentration is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and outputs second information when the degree of concentration is smaller than the threshold value; Equipped with Information processing device.

2. The relationship information is Age difference information indicating an age difference between the first user and the second user; Position difference information indicating a difference in position between the first user and the second user; Contact frequency information indicating a frequency of contact between the first user and the second user; At least one of The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The output control unit is When the concentration level satisfies a first condition, outputting information to the first user that the second user is unable to make contact; When the concentration level satisfies a second condition, outputting information to the first user indicating that the second user is in a difficult-to-contact situation.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. obtaining relationship information indicative of a relationship between a first user and a second user that the first user is attempting to contact; calculating a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biological information of the second user; calculating a threshold value based on the relationship information; outputting first information when the degree of concentration is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting second information when the degree of concentration is less than the threshold; Including, Information processing methods.

5. obtaining relationship information indicative of a relationship between a first user and a second user that the first user is attempting to contact; calculating a concentration level of the second user based on at least one of operation information of an information terminal by the second user and biological information of the second user; calculating a threshold value based on the relationship information; outputting first information when the degree of concentration is equal to or greater than the threshold, and outputting second information when the degree of concentration is less than the threshold; to cause a computer to execute program.

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