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

Abstract

To enable a competitor to receive messages from a supporter whom the competitor does not know at a competition event.SOLUTION: An information processing method executed by a computer acquires first message information relating to a first message addressed to a character corresponding to a certain athlete during a competitive event execution period, and transmits the first message information or second message information generated on the basis of the first message information to the first terminal device used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message addressed to the certain athlete.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology for displaying a competitive event involving multiple athletes in the real world as a virtual competitive event using virtual objects on a terminal device of a supporter who is cheering on the athletes (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-017046 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a competitive event, athletes request that they be cheered on in order to boost their motivation while competing, and supporters request that they enjoy watching the event while sending cheering messages to athletes they do not know. Thus, although athletes and supporters are potentially in a mutually beneficial relationship, the above-mentioned conventional technology is unable to connect athletes and supporters so that this mutually beneficial relationship can be realized. In other words, since only one-way information transmission is made to supporters, there is a problem in that athletes cannot receive messages of support, etc., from supporters they do not know.

[0005] The present invention has an object to enable athletes to receive messages from supporters they have not met during a competition event. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, an information processing method according to the present invention comprises: 1. A computer-implemented information processing method, comprising: During the implementation period of the competitive event, first message information is obtained that is related to a first message for a character corresponding to a certain athlete; The first message information, or second message information generated based on the first message information, is sent to a first terminal device used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message to the certain athlete. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to enable unacquainted athletes to receive messages from supporters at a competitive event. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of athlete management data. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of character management data. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of supporter management data. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of race data. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an athlete terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a supporter terminal. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the advance registration process. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 shows a character selection screen. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for race management processing. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for a race screen update process. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of a fatigue level table. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a race screen. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a message display screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] (Outline of Information Processing System) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system 1. As shown in FIG. The information processing system 1 includes a server 10 (information processing device), a plurality of athlete terminals 20 (first terminal devices), a plurality of sensor devices 40 (second sensors), a plurality of earphones 50, and a plurality of supporter terminals 30 (second terminal devices). The athlete terminals 20 and the supporter terminals 30 are connected to the server 10 via a network N so as to be able to communicate data with each other. The network N is, for example, the Internet, but is not limited to this. Each athlete terminal 20 is connected to one sensor device 40 and one earphone 50 so as to be able to communicate data with each other via short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0011] The users of the information processing system 1 are a plurality of athletes who participate in a marathon competition (hereinafter also referred to as a "race") as a competitive event, and a plurality of supporters who support the athletes. Each athlete uses one athlete terminal 20, one sensor device 40, and one earphone 50. Each supporter uses one supporter terminal 30. Thus, the information processing system 1 has the same number of athlete terminals 20, sensor devices 40, and earphones 50 as the number of athletes who have registered as users in the service provided by the information processing system 1, and also has the same number of supporter terminals 30 as the number of supporters who have registered as users. The information processing system 1 provides supporters with information related to the status of the race by displaying a race screen 80 (event screen) (see FIG. 14) showing the status of the race using characters 60 (see FIG. 10 and FIG. 14) (here, avatars or idols having appearance information) corresponding to the athletes on the supporter terminal 30. The supporters can indirectly support the athletes by cheering on the characters 60. The supporter terminal 30 accepts input of a first message 91 (see FIG. 15) such as a message of support for the character 60, and transmits it to the server 10. The server 10 outputs the audio of a second message 92 (see FIG. 15), which is a converted version of the first message 91 intended for the athlete, from the earphones 50 (more specifically, the server 10 causes the athlete terminal 20 to output (transmit) the audio data of the second message 92 to the earphones 50, thereby causing the earphones 50 to output the audio of the second message 92). This allows the athlete to receive messages from supporters during the race.

[0012] (Configuration of Information Processing System) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG. The server 10 includes a CPU 11 (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 12 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, etc. The various units of the server 10 are connected via a bus or the like. The server 10 may further include an operation unit, a display unit, etc. that are used by an administrator of the server 10.

[0013] The CPU 11 is a processor that reads and executes a program 131 stored in the storage unit 13 and performs various arithmetic processing to control the operation of each unit of the server 10. Note that the server 10 may have multiple processors (e.g., multiple CPUs), and in this embodiment The multiple processors may execute the multiple processes executed by the CPU 11 in the other state. In this case, the multiple processors correspond to processing units. In this case, the multiple processors may be involved in a common process, or the multiple processors may independently execute different processes in parallel.

[0014] The RAM 12 provides a working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data.

[0015] The storage unit 13 is a non-transitory recording medium readable by the CPU 11 as a computer, and stores a program 131 and various data. The storage unit 13 includes a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The program 131 is stored in the storage unit 13 in the form of a computer-readable program code. The storage unit 13 stores athlete management data 132, character management data 133, supporter management data 134, race data 135, a fatigue level table 136, and the like. The contents of the fatigue level table 136 will be described later.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the athlete management data 132. The athlete management data 132 includes information on a plurality of athletes who use the information processing system 1. Each row of the athlete management data 132 corresponds to the athlete information Ia relating to one athlete. The "athlete ID" in the athlete information Ia is a unique code assigned to each athlete. "Athlete name" is the name of the athlete. The "athlete name" is entered by the athlete on the athlete terminal 20 and is registered in advance by being transmitted to the server 10. The "athlete name" may be the athlete's name (real name) or a nickname. "Corresponding character ID" is the ID of the character 60 corresponding to that player. "Age", "Sex", "Height", "Weight" and "Vo2max" are the athlete's age, sex, height, weight and Vo2max (maximum oxygen intake), respectively. This information is entered by the athlete on the athlete's terminal 20 and transmitted to the server 10, whereby it is registered in advance. "Average ranking in last 5 races" is the average ranking in the last 5 races that an athlete has participated in. "Best 10km time" is the athlete's best time in a previous 10km race. The "average ranking in the last five races" and the "best 10km time" constitute the history information Ib relating to the athlete's behavior history. The history information Ib is not limited to these, and may include any other behavior history, such as the distance traveled in the last three months.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the character management data 133. As shown in FIG. The character management data 133 includes information on a plurality of characters 60 corresponding to a plurality of players. Each line of the character management data 133 corresponds to character information Ic relating to one character 60. The “character ID” in the character information Ic is a unique code assigned to each character 60 . "Character name" is the name of the character that is entered and registered in advance by the athlete. "Character name" may be different from "athlete name" in athlete management data 132. "Character type", "age", and "gender" are the type, age, and gender of the character 60 that are input and registered in advance by the athlete. In this embodiment, the "character type" is the type of animal, but is not limited to this. The "running ability level" indicates the level of the athlete's running ability derived by the CPU 11 of the server 10 based on the history information Ib of the corresponding athlete information Ia. In deriving the "running ability level", other indices such as "Vo2max", "age", and "gender" may be further taken into consideration. In this embodiment, the "running ability level" is given five levels from "1" to "5", but is not limited to this. The "running ability level" corresponds to "information related to the character's rank." The "running ability level" is derived so that the lower the "average ranking in the last five competitions" and / or the shorter the "best 10km time" is, the higher the value. For example, if the "gender" is "male" and the "best 10km time" is less than 30 minutes, the "running ability level" may be set to "5." The "number of favorites" indicates the number of supporters who have registered that character 60 as a favorite.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of the supporter management data 134. As shown in FIG. The supporter management data 134 includes information on a plurality of supporters who use the information processing system 1. Each row of the supporter management data 134 corresponds to one supporter. Among the data in each row, the "Supporter ID" is a unique code assigned to each supporter. "Total points" is the accumulated value of points given to a supporter depending on the race results of the character 60 that the supporter is supporting. "Favorite character 1", "Favorite character 2", ... represent the character IDs of the characters 60 that the supporter has registered as favorites to support. Each supporter can also register one or three or more characters 60 as favorites.

[0019] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of the race data 135. As shown in FIG. Each row of the race data 135 corresponds to status information Id that indicates the status of the athlete at a certain point during the race. The status information Id is repeatedly transmitted from the athlete terminal 20 to the server 10 at predetermined times during the race (for example, at predetermined intervals or after a predetermined distance has been traveled) and registered in the race data 135. The "race ID" in the status information ID is a unique ID assigned to the race in which the athlete is participating. "Athlete ID" is the athlete ID of the athlete corresponding to that status information Id. "Time" indicates the date and time when the state information ID was generated. "Location" indicates the location (here, latitude and longitude) of the athlete terminal 20 at the time the status information Id was generated. The "Location" data is acquired by the location information acquisition unit 28 of the athlete terminal 20 (see FIG. 7). The "Location" data corresponds to the location information Ie. "Distance" indicates the distance traveled by the athlete from the start of the race to the point in time when the status information Id was recorded. The "distance" data is derived based on the progress of the positioning results obtained by the position information acquisition unit 28. "Speed" indicates the speed of the athlete at the time the status information Id was recorded. Pace may be used instead of speed. "Heart rate" indicates the athlete's heart rate at the time the condition information Id was recorded. "Heart rate" data is derived based on the athlete's pulse wave detected by the pulse wave sensor 27 (see FIG. 7) of the athlete terminal 20. The "heart rate" value corresponds to the biometric value If based on the athlete's biometric data. The "form index" includes a motion index value Ig that indicates the athlete's motion state, such as "stride," "vertical oscillation," and "ground contact time." The motion index value Ig is derived based on the detection results of acceleration and the like by the sensor device 40. In FIG. 6, the status information Id of one competitor in one race is listed, but in actual race data 135, the status information Id of a plurality of competitors in each of a plurality of races is registered.

[0020] 2, the communication unit 14 performs communication operations in accordance with a predetermined communication standard. Through this communication operation, the communication unit 14 transmits and receives data between the athlete terminal 20 and the supporter terminal 30 via the network N.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of athlete terminal 20. As shown in FIG. The athlete terminal 20 is a device carried and used by the athlete during the race. In form, the athlete terminal 20 is a smart watch worn on the wrist. Note that the athlete terminal 20 may be a wearable or portable device such as a smartphone or activity meter. The athlete terminal 20 includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a storage unit 23, a display unit 24, an operation unit 25, a sound output unit 26, a pulse wave sensor 27 (first sensor), a position information acquisition unit 28, a communication unit 29, and the like. Each unit of the athlete terminal 20 is connected via a bus or the like.

[0022] The CPU 21 is a processor that controls the operation of each part of the athlete terminal 20 by reading and executing the program 231 stored in the storage unit 23 and performing various arithmetic processing. The RAM 22 provides a working memory space for the CPU 21 and stores temporary data. The storage unit 23 stores a program 231 and various data. The storage unit 23 includes a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory.

[0023] The display unit 24 displays various operation screens, information display screens, etc. under the control of the CPU 21. As the display unit 24, for example, a liquid crystal display device that performs display using a dot matrix method can be used, but is not limited to this.

[0024] The operation unit 25 accepts an input operation by a user (athlete) and outputs an input signal corresponding to the input operation to the CPU 21. The operation unit 25 includes a touch panel provided overlaid on the display screen of the display unit 24, and detects contact with a user's finger or the like as an input operation by this touch panel. The operation unit 25 may also include hardware buttons in addition to or instead of the touch panel.

[0025] The sound output unit 26 includes a speaker, and outputs voice or notification sound in accordance with a control signal transmitted from the CPU 21 .

[0026] Pulse wave sensor 27 detects pulse waves as biological data of the athlete. Pulse wave sensor 27 includes a light-emitting element that emits green light, which is easily absorbed by hemoglobin in blood, from the surface of athlete terminal 20 that contacts the wrist when worn, and a light-receiving element that receives light emitted from the light-emitting element and reflected by the athlete's skin. Since a portion of the light irradiated to the skin is absorbed by the blood in the blood vessels, the amount of light reflected from the skin and received by the light-receiving element changes over time according to changes in blood flow rate associated with heart pulsation. Pulse wave sensor 27 detects pulse waves based on this change in the amount of received light, and outputs a waveform according to the detected pulse wave to CPU 21. CPU 21 derives the heart rate (pulse rate) based on the waveform.

[0027] The position information acquisition unit 28 receives and decodes radio waves transmitted from a positioning satellite of a global positioning satellite system (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) such as a global positioning system (GPS) to calculate a current position. The position information acquisition unit 28 calculates the current position under the control of the CPU 21, and outputs the result to the CPU 21. Note that a position information acquisition unit having the same function as the position information acquisition unit 28 may be provided in the sensor device 40.

[0028] The communication unit 29 performs a communication operation according to a predetermined communication standard. Through this communication operation, the communication unit 29 transmits and receives data to and from the server 10 via the network N. The communication unit 29 also transmits and receives data to and from the sensor device 40 and the earphones 50 by short-range wireless communication.

[0029] The sensor device 40 shown in FIG. 1 is a wearable terminal that is attached to the body (for example, the waist) of an athlete. The sensor device 40 has a CPU (not shown), a triaxial acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in three orthogonal axial directions, a triaxial angular velocity sensor that detects angular velocity around three orthogonal axes, and a communication unit. The CPU of the sensor device 40 detects types of body movements of the athlete wearing the sensor device 40 based on the detection results of the triaxial acceleration sensor and the triaxial angular velocity sensor. The motion index value Ig is derived from each motion index, and the derivation result is transmitted to the athlete terminal 20 via the communication unit. The motion index value Ig may be derived by the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20. The motion index value Ig is not limited to the stride, vertical movement, and ground contact time exemplified in Fig. 6, but may also include, for example, a backward inclination angle of the trunk, sinking of the waist, rotation of the pelvis, left-right impact, push-off time, landing impact, push-off acceleration, deceleration amount, etc.

[0030] 1 is worn on the ear of an athlete during a race. The earphone 50 includes a CPU, a speaker, and a communication unit (not shown). When the CPU of the earphone 50 receives audio data from the athlete terminal 20 via the communication unit, it causes the speaker to output voice or an alarm sound based on the audio data.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the supporter terminal 30. As shown in FIG. The supporter terminal 30 in this embodiment is assumed to be a smartphone. However, it is not limited to this, and the supporter terminal 30 may be a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, etc. The supporter terminal 30 comprises a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a storage unit 33, a display unit 34, an operation unit 35, a communication unit 36, etc. Each unit of the supporter terminal 30 is connected via a bus or the like.

[0032] The CPU 31 is a processor that controls the operation of each part of the supporter terminal 30 by reading and executing a program 331 stored in the storage unit 33 and performing various arithmetic processing. The RAM 32 provides a working memory space for the CPU 31 and stores temporary data. The storage unit 33 stores a program 331 and various data. The storage unit 33 includes a non-volatile memory such as an HDD or SSD.

[0033] The display unit 34 displays various information display screens such as a race screen 80 based on a control signal transmitted from the CPU 31. As the display unit 34, for example, a liquid crystal display device can be used.

[0034] The operation unit 35 accepts an input operation by a user (supporter) and outputs an input signal corresponding to the input operation to the CPU 31. The operation unit 35 includes a touch panel provided overlaid on the display screen of the display unit 34, and detects contact with a user's finger or the like as an input operation by this touch panel. The operation unit 35 may also include hardware buttons together with or instead of the touch panel.

[0035] The communication unit 36 ​​performs a communication operation in accordance with a predetermined communication standard. The communication unit 36 ​​transmits and receives data to and from the server 10 via the network N through this communication operation.

[0036] (Operation of information processing system) Next, the operation of the information processing system 1 will be described. The information processing system 1 executes a pre-registration process for pre-registering various information related to athletes and supporters before the start of the race. In addition, the information processing system 1 executes a race management process for providing predetermined services related to the race to athletes and supporters when the race is held. Each of these processes will be described in detail below.

[0037] <Pre-registration process> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the advance registration process. The advance registration process includes a process for generating a character 60 based on the athlete's information input by the athlete, and a process for a supporter to search for a desired character 60 and register it as a favorite. In FIG. 9 (as well as FIG. 11 described later), the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 executes a process, the CPU 11 of the server 10 executes a process, and the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 executes a process. In addition, the flow of processing is depicted with solid lines, and data transmitted and received between devices is depicted with dashed lines.

[0038] When the advance registration process is started, the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 displays on the display unit 24 an information input screen (not shown) for inputting various information related to the athlete, such as the athlete's name, age, sex, height, weight, and Vo2max, and transmits the information input by the athlete on the information input screen to the server 10 (step S101). The CPU 11 of the server 10 generates athlete information Ia based on the received information and registers it in the athlete management data 132 (step S102).

[0039] The CPU 11 of the server 10 generates character information Ic for the character 60 corresponding to the athlete based on the athlete information Ia, and registers it in the character management data 133 (step S103). Here, the CPU 11 derives the athlete's running ability based on the history information Ib of the athlete information Ia, etc., and sets the "running ability level" of the character 60. The CPU 11 also generates the character 60 with an appearance and type corresponding to this running ability level. Also, multiple characters 60 corresponding to each running ability level may be set randomly. If a character 60 corresponding to the athlete has been generated in the past, the appearance and type of the character 60 may be updated according to the latest running ability level. The "character name", "character type", "age", and "gender" of the character 60 may be specified by the athlete. The processing of steps S101 to S103 is executed for each of the multiple athletes, so that athlete information Ia of the multiple athletes is registered in athlete management data 132, and character information Ic of the multiple characters 60 is registered in character management data 133.

[0040] On the other hand, when the supporter performs an operation to instruct the start of favorites registration of the character 60, the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 requests the server 10 to transmit the character information Ic (step S104). In response to the request, the CPU 11 of the server 10 transmits the character information Ic of the character management data 133 to the supporter terminal 30 (step S105). The CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 causes the display unit 34 to display the character selection screen 70 based on the received character information Ic (step S106).

[0041] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the character selection screen 70. As shown in FIG. The character selection screen 70 displays a drop-down list 71 for specifying character extraction conditions, and a character display area 72 including information related to the extracted characters 60. By specifying a desired character extraction condition using the drop-down list 71, the characters 60 that satisfy the character extraction condition can be extracted and displayed in the character display area 72. Here, "running ability level = 1" is specified as the character extraction condition. In the character display area 72, the appearance, name, age, sex, average ranking in the last five tournaments, and a favorite button 73 for registering the character 60 as a favorite are displayed. When the favorite button 73 of any character 60 is selected, the favorite button 73 is displayed in color. Note that instead of (or in addition to) the running ability level, the appearance, name, age, sex, average ranking in the last five tournaments, etc. of the character 60 may be specified as the character extraction condition. In this case, the multiple characters 60 may be randomly extracted for each extraction condition.

[0042] Returning to FIG. 9, when an operation to select the favorite button 73 of any of the characters 60 is performed, the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 requests the server 10 to perform a process to register that character 60 as a favorite (step S107). In response to the request, the CPU 11 of the server 10 registers the character 60 for which the favorite button 73 was selected as a "favorite character" in the data row of the corresponding supporter in the supporter management data 134 (step S108). The CPU 11 also registers the character 60 for which the favorite button 73 was selected as a "favorite character" in the athlete terminal of the athlete corresponding to that character 60. 20 to notify that the character 60 has been registered as a favorite (step S109). The processing of steps S104 to S109 is executed for each of the multiple supporters, whereby a “favorite character” is registered for each supporter in the supporter management data 134. When the above processing is completed, the CPU 11, CPU 21, and CPU 31 end the advance registration processing.

[0043] <Race Management> FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for the race management processing. The race management process includes processing for displaying a race screen 80 showing the status of the race and a message display screen 90 (see Figure 15) on the display unit 34 of the supporter terminal 30, and processing for converting a first message 91 from a supporter into a second message 92 and delivering it to the competitor.

[0044] When the race management process is started, the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 displays on the display unit 24 an information input screen (not shown) for inputting participating race information (e.g., the race name, the athlete's bib number, etc.) related to the race to be participated in, and transmits the participating race information input by the athlete on the information input screen to the server 10 (step S201). The CPU 11 of the server 10 determines the athletes who will participate in the race based on the participating race information received from each athlete, and transmits a race start notification to each athlete terminal 20 of the participating athletes and each supporter terminal 30 of the supporter who has registered the character 60 of the participating athlete as a favorite at the timing when the race starts (step S202). If the number of athletes participating in one marathon is more than a predetermined upper limit (e.g., about 20 people), the participating athletes may be divided into multiple race groups according to their running ability levels, and the following process may be executed for each race group. This makes it possible to hold a virtual race in which the athletes compete for ranking in one race group.

[0045] The CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 that has received the race start notification displays a contestant list screen (not shown) on the display unit 34 (step S203). The contestant list screen includes images and information of a plurality of characters 60 corresponding to a plurality of athletes participating in a race (or a race group; the same applies below). This contestant list screen allows supporters to confirm their favorite character 60 that they are cheering for, and a plurality of characters 60 that will be competing opponents. The contestant list screen may also be displayed on the athlete terminals 20 of the participating athletes.

[0046] After receiving the race start notification, the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 determines whether it is time to update the status information Id (step S204). If it is determined that it is time to update the status information Id ("YES" in step S204), the CPU 21 generates status information Id based on the detection results of the pulse wave sensor 27, the position information acquisition unit 28, and the sensor device 40, and transmits the generated status information Id to the server 10 (step S205). In detail, the CPU 21 derives a bioindex value If (heart rate) based on the detection result of the pulse wave by the pulse wave sensor 27, acquires position information Ie from the position information acquisition unit 28, and acquires various motion index values ​​Ig from the sensor device 40.

[0047] When step S202 ends, the CPU 11 of the server 10 executes a race screen update process (step S206). FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for the race screen update process. When the race screen update process is started, the CPU 11 receives the status information Id from the athlete terminal 20 (step S301). Based on the magnitude of the index value, the fatigue level of the athlete is determined by referring to the fatigue level table 136 (step S302).

[0048] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of the fatigue level table 136. As shown in FIG. Here, the ratio of the heart rate to the maximum heart rate registered in advance for each athlete is used as the discrimination index. If the ratio is less than 60%, the athlete is classified as "F1", which indicates the lowest level of fatigue. As the ratio increases, the athlete is classified as "F2" to "F4", which indicates higher levels of fatigue. If the ratio is 90% or more, the athlete is classified as "F5", which indicates the highest level of fatigue. The discrimination index is not limited to the ratio of the heart rate to the maximum heart rate, and a form index, speed, etc. may be used. For example, if the form represented by the form index becomes unstable, the fatigue level may be determined to be high, and if the form is stable, the fatigue level may be determined to be low. The fatigue level may also be determined by a combination of multiple indexes. For example, the fatigue level table may be set so that the fatigue level is F2, F3, F4, or F5 when the value of "vertical movement" becomes equal to or greater than the first, second, third, or fourth vertical movement threshold (and / or when the "ground contact time" becomes equal to or greater than the first, second, third, or fourth ground contact time threshold), respectively.

[0049] When the fatigue level is determined, the CPU 11 determines the facial expression of the character 60 according to the determined fatigue level (step S303). As shown in FIG. 13, in the fatigue level table 136, the facial expression patterns "P1" to "P5" of the character 60 are associated with the fatigue levels "F1" to "F5", respectively. The facial expression pattern closer to "P1" is considered to be closer to normal, and the facial expression closer to "P5" is considered to be more fatigued. In step S303, the CPU 11 refers to the fatigue level table 136 and determines the facial expression pattern corresponding to the determined fatigue level as the facial expression of the character 60.

[0050] After the facial expression is determined, the CPU 11 determines the race situation based on the status information Id of each competitor participating in the race (step S304). More specifically, the CPU 11 determines the ranking of each competitor in the race based on the value of "distance" included in the status information Id of each competitor. Note that the ranking may be determined using position information Ie instead of "distance".

[0051] The CPU 11 transmits race image data to the supporter terminal 30 for displaying the race screen 80 including the identified race situation and the image of the determined facial expression of the character 60 (step S305). The race image data may be the image data of the race screen 80 itself, or may be element data necessary for the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 to display the race screen 80 on the display unit 34. When step S305 ends, the CPU 11 ends the race screen update process.

[0052] Returning to FIG. 11, when the supporter terminal 30 receives the race screen data transmitted by the server 10 in the race screen update process, the supporter terminal 30 displays and updates the race screen 80 based on the race screen data (step S207).

[0053] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a race screen 80. As shown in FIG. The race screen 80 displays a race status display area 81 that displays the status of the race, a condition display area 82 that displays the condition of the character 60 that the supporter is supporting (registered as a favorite), and a switch button 83 for switching the display to a message display screen 90.

[0054] In the race situation display area 81, a plurality of characters 60 are displayed at positions according to the ranking of the racer corresponding to each character 60. In the example shown in FIG. 14, characters 60 with higher rankings are displayed on the right side. Also, characters 60 that are closer to the ranking of the character 60 being cheered on are displayed in order of ranking. The top character 60 is selected and displayed. The race situation display area 81 may be scrollable in the left-right direction. A favorite mark 811 is displayed near a character 60 that is registered as a favorite (supported) by a supporter using the supporter terminal 30 among the multiple characters 60.

[0055] In the condition display area 82, an image of the character 60 registered as a favorite and data indicating the condition of the character 60 are displayed. The data includes the ranking of the character 60, the remaining distance, a preregistered target lap, and various indices specified from the status information Id (here, pace transition, vertical fluctuation, heart rate, speed, etc.). In the condition display area 82, the character 60 is displayed in a larger size than in the race situation display area 81 so that the facial expression of the character 60 can be easily seen. Note that, by selecting a character 60 other than the character 60 being supported in the race situation display area 81, it may be possible to display the condition of the other character 60 in the condition display area 82.

[0056] Returning to Fig. 11, the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30 determines whether or not a first message 91 for supporting the character 60 has been input by the supporter (step S208). The first message 91 is received on the message display screen 90. The message display screen 90 is displayed on the display unit 34 when an operation is performed to select the switch button 83 on the race screen 80 of Fig. 14.

[0057] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the message display screen 90. As shown in FIG. On the message display screen 90, first messages 91 from all supporters who are supporting the support target character 60 are displayed in chronological order. Each first message 91 is displayed in a speech bubble emerging from the supporter icon 93 of the supporter who sent the message. In addition, on the message display screen 90, a text box 94, a send button 95, and a back button 96 for returning to the race screen 80 are displayed. A supporter can send the entered first message 91 by selecting the send button 95 with the first message 91 entered in the text box 94. The sent first message 91 is displayed in the speech bubble.

[0058] Returning to FIG. 11, when it is determined that the first message 91 has been input by the supporter (the send button 95 has been selected) ("YES" in step S208), the CPU 31 transmits first message information related to the input first message 91 to the server 10 (step S209). Here, the first message 91 refers to the content of the message itself, and the first message information is data including text data of the wording of the first message 91. The first message information may include additional data such as data for identifying the supporter who input the first message 91 and data of the input time of the first message 91. When step S209 is completed, or when it is determined that the first message 91 has not been input ("NO" in step S208), the CPU 31 determines whether the race has ended (step S210). When it is determined that the race has not ended ("NO" in step S210), the CPU 31 returns the process to step S207 and updates the race screen 80. By repeating steps S207 to S210, the race screen 80 reflecting the race situation in real time is displayed. That is, the contents of the race screen 80 are updated to reflect the real-time race situation based on the latest race screen data successively transmitted from the server 10. For example, the race situation display area 81 in FIG. 14 reflects and displays the real-time ranking of the character 60 corresponding to the athlete. Also, the facial expression of the character 60 in the condition display area 82 is changed in real time to one of five levels, "P1" to "P5," according to the athlete's fatigue level.

[0059] When step S206 is completed, the CPU 11 of the server 10 judges whether or not the first message information has been received (step S211). If it is judged that the first message information has been received ("YES" in step S211), the CPU 11 converts the first message 91 included in the first message information into a second message 92 for the athlete to generate the second message information and transmits it to the athlete terminal 20 (step S212). The second message 92 refers to the content of the message itself, and the second message information is data including text data of the wording of the second message 92. The second message information may include the above-mentioned additional data. The second message information may be the first message information including the name of the corresponding character 60 (or the name of the athlete). Here, the CPU 11 transmits the second message information only to the athlete terminal 20 used by the athlete corresponding to the character 60 that is the support target by the second message 92 (the character 60 registered as a favorite by the supporter who input the first message 91) among the multiple athlete terminals 20 used by multiple athlete participating in the race. This allows a message to be selectively delivered to the athlete corresponding to the character 60 being cheered on.

[0060] In this embodiment, the second message 92 is a message obtained by converting the name of the character 60 included in the first message 91 into the name of a previously registered athlete, as shown in Fig. 15. In the example shown in Fig. 15, the first message 91, "Go Nekota (name of the character 60)" is converted into the second message 92, "Go Yotchan (name of the athlete)." The first message 91, which does not include the name of the character 60, is converted into the second message 92 without any changes. If name conversion is not necessary, the first message 91 may be sent to the athlete terminal 20 as is, regardless of whether it includes a name or not.

[0061] 11, when step S212 is completed or when it is determined that the first message information has not been received ("NO" in step S211), the CPU 11 of the server 10 determines whether the race has ended (step S213). When it is determined that the race has not ended ("NO" in step S213), the CPU 11 returns the process to step S206 and executes the race screen update process.

[0062] When step S205 is completed or when it is determined that it is not time to update the status information Id (step S204: NO), the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 determines whether or not the second message information has been received (step S214). When it is determined that the second message information has been received (step S214: YES), the CPU 21 generates audio data of the second message (or the first message including the name of the corresponding character 60 (or the name of the athlete)) included in the second message information (or the first message including the name of the corresponding character 60 (or the name of the athlete)), and outputs (transmits) it to the earphones 50 (step S215). The operation of outputting the audio data of the second message to the earphones 50 corresponds to the operation of outputting the second message to the athlete. As a result, the second message is output from the earphones 50, and the athlete can hear the second message during the race. It is to be noted that the CPU 21 may output the second message from the sound output unit 26 instead of the earphone 50. When step S215 is completed, or when it is determined that the second message information has not been received ("NO" in step S214), the CPU 21 determines whether or not the race has ended (step S216). When it is determined that the race has not ended ("NO" in step S216), the CPU 21 returns the process to step S204.

[0063] When it is determined that the race has ended ("YES" in step S213), the CPU 11 of the server 10 tallies up the race results and awards points to supporters according to a predetermined rule. (Step S217). That is, CPU 11 determines points (points) to be awarded to the supporter according to the race result, and adds them to the "accumulated points" in supporter management data 134. CPU 11 transmits information related to the awarded points to supporter terminal 30. Furthermore, upon receiving the information related to the points, CPU 31 of supporter terminal 30 causes display unit 34 to display an awarded points screen (not shown) showing the point award result (Step S218). The rules for awarding points can be determined as appropriate. For example, if the supported character 60 wins a high prize, points may be awarded according to the ranking, or if the athlete corresponding to the character 60 improves his / her personal record. The use of the points awarded to the supporter is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, exchangeable for a predetermined item that can be used in the service provided by the information processing system 1 or for a product in the real world.

[0064] After it is determined that the race has ended ("YES" in steps S210, S213, S216), and the processes in steps S217 and S218 are completed, the CPU 11, CPU 21, CPU 31 terminates the race management process.

[0065] (effect) As described above, in the information processing method of this embodiment, the CPU 11 acquires first message information relating to a first message 91 addressed to a character 60 corresponding to a certain athlete during the period of a race (competition event), and transmits the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to the athlete terminal 20 used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the athlete terminal 20 to output a message addressed to the certain athlete. This allows cheering messages sent by supporters to the character 60 during the race to be delivered to the athlete corresponding to the character 60. Thus, the athlete can continuously receive cheering messages from supporters he or she does not know during the race, and use these messages as encouragement for the race. Furthermore, by cheering for a favorite character 60 instead of an athlete he or she does not know, the supporter can take an interest and cheer enthusiastically. Thus, according to the above embodiment, by using the character 60 as an intermediary, a relationship can be built between supporters and athlete who do not know each other, whereby the supporter and the athlete can cheer each other on and be cheered on.

[0066] Furthermore, the CPU 11 acquires first message information from the supporter terminal 30 used by the supporter who is cheering on the character 60. In this way, the CPU 11 can acquire the first message 91 from the supporter who is operating the supporter terminal 30.

[0067] Furthermore, the CPU 11 generates second message information related to a second message 92 obtained by converting the first message 91 addressed to the character 60 to a message addressed to the certain athlete based on the first message information, and transmits the second message information to the athlete terminal 20, thereby causing the athlete terminal 20 to output the second message 92 addressed to the certain athlete. This allows the athlete to receive the second message 92 as if the supporter were directly cheering for the athlete. Therefore, even cheers from supporters the athlete does not know can be a stronger encouragement for the race.

[0068] The second message 92 is a message in which the name of the character 60 included in the first message 91 is converted to the name of a certain athlete that has been registered in advance. This creates a stronger effect as if the supporters were directly cheering on the athlete.

[0069] The CPU 11 also displays a race screen 80 showing the status of the race using the character 60 on the supporter terminal 30, and displays status information showing the status of the certain athlete in the race. The status information Id is obtained from the athlete terminal 20, and the contents of the race screen 80 are updated based on the obtained status information Id so that the race situation is reflected in real time. This allows supporters to grasp the race situation in real time through the race screen 80 on which the characters 60 are arranged, and therefore they can cheer with more interest and enthusiasm.

[0070] Furthermore, the CPU 11 changes the facial expression (appearance) of the character 60 on the race screen 80 based on the status information Id. This allows supporters to understand changes in the actual status of the athlete from the facial expression of the character 60. This allows supporters to provide appropriate support according to the athlete's status.

[0071] The condition information Id includes at least one of a bioindex value If (heart rate) based on the pulse wave detected by the pulse wave sensor 27 worn by the certain athlete, and a motion index value Ig based on the detection result by the sensor device 40 worn by the certain athlete, and the CPU 11 changes the facial expression of the character 60 in multiple stages according to the magnitude of at least one of the bioindex value If and the motion index value Ig. This makes it possible to more accurately reflect changes in the athlete's condition in the facial expression of the character 60.

[0072] Furthermore, the competitive event is an event related to a race competition, the status information Id includes the position information Ie of the athlete terminal 20, and the CPU 11 displays the real-time ranking of the character 60 corresponding to the certain athlete in the race on the race screen 80 based on the position information Ie or the moving distance of the certain athlete derived from the position information Ie. This allows the ranking status of the race to be grasped in real time from the race screen 80.

[0073] Moreover, the server 10 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 11, and the CPU 11 acquires first message information relating to a first message 91 for a character 60 corresponding to a certain athlete during the implementation period of a race (competitive event), and transmits the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to the athlete terminal 20 used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the athlete terminal 20 to output the message for the certain athlete. In this way, a cheering message sent by a supporter to the character 60 during the race can be delivered to the athlete corresponding to the character 60.

[0074] Furthermore, the program 131 according to this embodiment causes the CPU 11 to execute a process of acquiring first message information relating to a first message 91 for a character 60 corresponding to a certain athlete during the implementation period of a race (competitive event), and a process of transmitting the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to the athlete terminal 20 used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the athlete terminal 20 to output a message for the certain athlete. This allows a cheering message sent by a supporter to the character 60 during the race to be delivered to the athlete corresponding to the character 60.

[0075] Moreover, the information processing system 1 according to this embodiment includes an athlete terminal 20 worn or carried by a certain athlete, a supporter terminal 30 that accepts input of first message information related to a first message 91 for a character 60 corresponding to the certain athlete, and a server 10 having a CPU 11. The CPU 11 acquires the first message information during the implementation period of the competitive event, and transmits the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to the athlete terminal 20, thereby causing the athlete terminal 20 to output a message for the certain athlete. In this way, a cheering message sent by a supporter to the character 60 during the race can be delivered to the athlete corresponding to the character 60.

[0076] (others) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but may be modified in various ways. For example, at least a part of the processing executed by the CPU 11 of the server 10 in the above embodiment may be executed by the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 or the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30. For example, the processing of converting the first message 91 into the second message 92 to generate the second message information may be executed by the CPU 31 of the supporter terminal 30, and the generated second message information may be transmitted to the server 10. Also, the first message information transmitted from the supporter terminal 30 to the server 10 may be transmitted as is to the athlete terminal 20, and the CPU 21 of the athlete terminal 20 may convert the first message 91 into the second message 92 to generate the second message information. Also, in step S206 of FIG. 11, the server 10 may transmit the status information Id received from the athlete terminal 20 to the supporter terminal 30, and the supporter terminal 30 may execute the race screen update process described above.

[0077] Although a marathon is given as an example of a competitive event, the competitive event is not limited to this. The competitive event may be a race event such as race walking, a middle- or long-distance track race, or a bicycle race, or may be a non-race event such as martial arts, combat sports, a quiz competition, or bowling.

[0078] In addition, as an example of changing the appearance of the character 60 based on the status information Id, a change in facial expression based on the degree of fatigue has been exemplified, but this is not limiting. For example, the running form of the character 60 may be changed according to the speed or form index of the status information Id.

[0079] In the above embodiment, the supporter cheers on a race when a character 60 (athlete) previously registered as a favorite participates in the race, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a race is held, the supporter may decide each time which character 60 to cheer on from among the characters 60 (athletes) participating in the race (register as a favorite).

[0080] In the above embodiment, the character 60 (avatar) having information on appearance is described as an example of the character, but the aspect of the character is not limited to this. The character may be a concept that does not have information on appearance. Therefore, in various screens shown in Figs. 10 and 14, for example, text information of the character's name or a symbol corresponding to the character may be used instead of the image of the character 60. In this case, the first message and the second message for the character may be messages targeting the text information of the character's name or a symbol corresponding to the character.

[0081] In the above description, an example has been disclosed in which the HDD or SSD of the storage unit 13 is used as a computer-readable medium for the program according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this example. As other computer-readable media, information recording media such as flash memory and CD-ROM can be applied. In addition, a carrier wave is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing data of the program according to the present invention via a communication line.

[0082] Furthermore, it goes without saying that the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each component of the information processing system 1 in the above embodiment can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0083] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1. Information Processing Systems 10 Server (information processing device) 11 CPU (processing unit) 20 Competitor terminal (first terminal device) 27 Pulse wave sensor (first sensor) 28 Location information acquisition section 30 Supporter terminal (second terminal device) 34 Display section 40 Sensor device (second sensor) 60 characters 80 Race screen (event screen) 91 First Message 92 Second Message Ia. Athlete Information Ib History information Ic Character Information Id Status Information Ie location information If biometric value Ig motility index value

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented information processing method, comprising: During the implementation period of the competitive event, first message information relating to a first message for a character corresponding to a certain athlete is obtained; transmitting the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to a first terminal device used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message to the certain athlete; Information processing methods.

2. acquiring the first message information from a second terminal device used by a supporter who supports the character; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

3. generating second message information relating to a second message obtained by converting the first message for the character into a second message for the certain player based on the first message information; transmitting the second message information to the first terminal device, thereby causing the first terminal device to output the second message for the certain athlete; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

4. The second message is a message in which the name of the character included in the first message is converted into the name of the certain player that has been registered in advance. The information processing method according to claim 3.

5. displaying, on the second terminal device, an event screen showing a status of the competition event using the character; acquiring status information representing a status of the certain athlete in the competitive event from the first terminal device; updating the content of the event screen so as to reflect the status of the competitive event in real time based on the acquired status information; The information processing method according to claim 2 .

6. the status information includes at least one of a biometric index value based on biometric data detected by a first sensor worn by the certain athlete and a motion index value based on a detection result by a second sensor worn by the certain athlete; changing the appearance of the character in a plurality of stages according to the magnitude of at least one of the vital sign value and the motion index value; The information processing method according to claim 5.

7. The competitive event is an event related to a racing competition, The state information includes location information of the first terminal device, displaying on the event screen a real-time ranking of the character corresponding to the certain athlete in the competitive event based on the position information or a moving distance of the certain athlete derived from the position information; The information processing method according to claim 5.

8. During the implementation period of the competitive event, first message information relating to a first message for a character corresponding to a certain athlete is obtained; transmitting the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to a first terminal device used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message to the certain athlete; An information processing device comprising a processing unit.

9. On the computer, A process of acquiring first message information relating to a first message for a character corresponding to a certain athlete during an implementation period of the competitive event; a process of transmitting the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to a first terminal device used by the certain athlete, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message to the certain athlete; A program that executes the following.

10. A first terminal device that is worn or carried by a certain athlete; a second terminal device that receives input of first message information related to a first message to a character corresponding to the certain player; An information processing device having a processing unit; Equipped with The processing unit includes: Acquire the first message information during a competitive event; transmitting the first message information or second message information generated based on the first message information to the first terminal device, thereby causing the first terminal device to output a message to the certain athlete; Information processing system.

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