Elevator system and information providing method

Abstract

To present an improvement plan for an operation, taking the feeling of an elevator user into consideration.SOLUTION: An elevator system of an embodiment includes: an image analysis unit that analyzes an image of a camera installed in a landing or a car of an elevator and determines at least an emotion of an individual elevator user shown in the image; an information storage unit that stores a determination result of the image analysis unit and amounts of various features indicating corresponding states of the elevator, for each elevator user in a storage device; a factor determination unit that determines a factor of a specific emotion, based on a combination of the determination result and the amounts of various features stored for each elevator user in the storage device; and an improvement proposal support unit that presents an improvement plan for an operation of the elevator, based on the determination result of the factor determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator system and an information providing method.

Background Art

[0002] Regarding the operation of elevators, attempts have been made to improve from various viewpoints. For example, there are those that propose optimal elevator specifications in view of service performance goals and traffic demand, and those that propose appropriate improvement measures for reducing the operating efficiency of elevators.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, there is no sufficient proposal regarding the improvement of the operation considering the feelings of elevator users, and there is room for consideration.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the invention is to provide an elevator system and an information providing method capable of presenting improvement measures for the operation considering the feelings of elevator users.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The elevator system according to the embodiment includes an image analysis unit that analyzes an image of a camera installed in an elevator landing or car to determine at least the emotions of individual elevator users reflected in the image, an information storage unit that stores, for each elevator user, the determination result of the image analysis unit and various feature amounts indicating the state of the corresponding elevator in a storage device, a factor determination unit that determines factors of a specific emotion based on a combination of the determination result and the various feature amounts stored for each elevator user in the storage device, and an improvement proposal support unit that presents improvement measures for elevator operation based on the determination result of the factor determination unit.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] <Configuration of Elevator System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment.

[0010] The elevator system shown in FIG. 1 is a system for performing group management of elevators, and includes a group management control device 20 for elevator group management, elevator control devices 11a to 11c and carriages 12a to 12c constituting a plurality of elevators, and landing call registration devices 15 and cameras (imaging devices) 16a to 16c installed in the landing (elevator hall) 14 on each floor.

[0011] Here, an example is shown in which three elevators consisting of Elevators A to C are group-managed. For the elevators of Elevators A to C, three elevator control devices 11a to 11c, three carriages 12a to 12c, and three cameras 16a to 16c respectively correspond.

[0012] The elevator control devices 11a to 11c are provided for each of the carriages 12a to 12c of each unit, and perform driving control of the corresponding carriage. Specifically, the elevator control devices 11a to 11c perform control of a motor (hoisting machine), not shown, for moving the carriages 12a to 12c up and down, and opening and closing control of the doors. These elevator control devices 11a to 11c are configured using a computer.

[0013] The carriages 12a to 12c move up and down in the hoistway by driving of the motor. Load sensors 13a to 13c for detecting the load in the carriage are installed in the carriages 12a to 12c respectively. The load data detected by the load sensors 13a to 13c is transmitted to the group management control device 20 via the elevator control devices 11a to 11c.

[0014] In addition, cameras (imaging devices) 18a to 18c are respectively installed in the cars 12a to 12c. The cameras 18a to 18c photograph the elevator users inside the car. The images (captured images) obtained by the photographing are transmitted to the user information management device 22 in the group management control device 20 through the elevator control devices 11a to 11c.

[0015] The group management control device 20 is a device for performing group management control over the operation of a plurality of cars 12a to 12c, and is configured using a computer in the same manner as the elevator control devices 11a to 11c. This group management control device 20 is provided with a call storage unit 21, a user information management device 22, and an operation control unit 23. Here, an example in which the user information management device 22 is provided inside the group management control device 20 is shown, but a part or all of the functions of the user information management device 22 may be provided in the server 30.

[0016] The call storage unit 21 stores the landing calls registered by the operation of the landing call registration device 15.

[0017] The user information management device 22 is a device that presents proposals for elevator operation considering the feelings of elevator users. The user information management device 22 is configured to be able to communicate with the information terminal 10A and the server 30.

[0018] The server 30 stores the information generated by the user information management device 22 in a predetermined storage device, or provides part or all of the information stored in the storage device to the information terminal 10A. A part or all of the functions of the user information management device 22 may be provided in the server 30.

[0019] The information terminal 10A uses the applications and various information provided from the user information management device 22 or the server 30 to complete proposals for improving the elevator operation, and provides the completed improvement proposals to the information terminal 10B such as the owner or administrator of the building where the elevator is installed, or a designated server or the like.

[0020] The user information management device 22 is configured using one or more computers, and various functions provided by the user information management device 22 are realized as programs executed by one or more computers. Various functions provided by the user information management device 22 will be described in detail later.

[0021] The operation control unit 23 controls the operation of a plurality of elevators through the elevator control devices 11a to 11c. If there is no instruction from the user information management device 22, the operation control unit 23 performs general group management control, but if instructed by the user information management device 22 to perform a certain control, it preferentially performs the implementation of that control.

[0022] When a new landing call is registered, the operation control unit 23 selects a car to which the landing call is assigned from among the cars 12a to 12c and causes the corresponding landing 14 to respond (directs the car toward the landing 14 on the floor where the landing call is registered).

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the landing 14. However, this example is just an example and is not limited to this example.

[0024] At each floor landing (elevator hall) 14, there is installed a landing call registration device 15 for registering a landing call. In the example of FIG. 2, a landing call registration device 15 installed at an arbitrary floor for convenience is shown, but actually, at least one landing call registration device 15 is installed on each floor. The landing call registration device 15 is connected to the group management control device 20 via a transmission cable (not shown). The landing call registration device 15 is provided with direction buttons (also referred to as "landing call buttons") for the elevator user to specify the destination direction (upward / downward).

[0025] Here, a "landing call" is a call signal registered by operating a direction button at the landing, and includes information on the registered floor and the destination direction. In contrast, a "car call" is a call signal registered by operating a destination floor button inside the car, and includes information on the car and the destination floor.

[0026] In addition, cameras 16a to 16c are installed for each elevator car in the landing (elevator hall) 14 on each floor. The cameras 16a to 16c are installed near the landing doors 17a to 17c respectively, and photograph a range including the faces of a plurality of elevator users waiting in front of the arrival openings of the cabs 12a to 12c. The images obtained by the photographing are transmitted to the user information management device 22 in the group management control device 20.

[0027] <Functional configuration of the user information management device 22> The user information management device 22 in the group management control device 20 shown in FIG. 1 has, as various functions, an image analysis unit 22a, an information collection unit 22b, a situation determination unit 22c, an information storage unit 22d, a factor determination unit 22e, and an improvement proposal support unit 22f. Hereinafter, these functions will be sequentially described.

[0028] · Image analysis unit 22a The image analysis unit 22a separately collects the images respectively photographed by the cameras 16a to 16c installed for each elevator car in the landing on each floor, and separately collects the images respectively photographed by the cameras 18a to 18c for each cab. By analyzing each of the collected images, the individual elevator users reflected in the images are detected, and the process of determining at least the emotions of the individual elevator users is periodically repeated.

[0029] Specifically, the image analysis unit 22a analyzes an image of the face or the whole body of an elevator user to determine the type of emotion of the elevator user (for example, the type of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, or the distinction between positive emotions and negative emotions), determines the degree (emotion value) for each type of emotion, and further determines the estimated age of the elevator user. In addition, the gender may be determined.

[0030] In addition, after determining the emotion of an elevator user from the image of the camera at a certain landing, the image analysis unit 22a can subsequently track and grasp the change in emotion from the image of the camera in the corresponding car from when the elevator user boards the car until getting off. If there is a change in emotion, the change in emotion may be reflected in the information stored in the storage device described later.

[0031] AI (Artificial Intelligence) may be applied to the image analysis performed by the image analysis unit 22a. In that case, by having the AI learn the relationship between various facial features and the type / degree of emotion, estimated age, etc., it becomes possible to accurately determine the type / degree of emotion, estimated age, gender, etc. from an arbitrary facial feature.

[0032] · Information collection unit 22b The information collection unit 22b collects various types of information indicating the operating status of the elevator (position of each car, running state, load weight, presence or absence of a landing call, floor where the landing call was made, information indicating the assigned car that responded to the landing call, etc.).

[0033] · Situation determination unit 22c The situation determination unit 22c determines whether the elevator (assigned car) has responded to a call from any of the landings. If so, it determines various characteristic quantities indicating the state of the assigned car (for example, the distance from the elevator user detected by the image analysis unit 22a to the assigned car, the waiting time of the elevator user for the assigned car (the waiting time from when the elevator user appears at the landing until the assigned car arrives at that landing), and the load weight of the assigned car). It can be said that each of these various characteristic quantities is information (candidate) that can be a factor for "anger".

[0034] · Information storage unit 22d The information storage unit 22d stores, for each elevator user, the combination of the determination result of the situation determination unit 22c and the determination result of the image analysis unit 22a corresponding thereto in the storage device.

[0035] Specifically, the information storage unit 22d stores, for each elevator user, a combination of the various feature amounts described above (for example, the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car, the waiting time of the assigned car for the elevator user, and the load capacity of the assigned car), the information indicating the type and degree of the emotion of the elevator user, and the information indicating the estimated age (hereinafter referred to as "user information") in a predetermined storage device. The storage device in this case may be inside the group management control device 20 or outside the group management control device 20 (for example, in the server 30). In this example, it is assumed that the storage device is in the server 30.

[0036] That is, the information storage unit 22d uploads and stores, in the storage device of the server 30, the combination of the user information and the various feature amounts for each elevator user. At least a part of the information stored in the storage device of the server 30 can be downloaded and used by the user information management device 22 or the information terminal 10A.

[0037] · Factor determination unit 22e Based on the combination of the user information and the various feature amounts stored for each elevator user in the storage device of the server 30, the factor determination unit 22e determines the factor of a specific emotion (for example, the emotion of "anger" among joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, or the "negative" emotion among positive emotions and negative emotions). The emotion of "anger" or the "negative" emotion can be regarded as an expression of dissatisfaction of the elevator user with the operation of the elevator.

[0038] The user of the information terminal 10A can specify a specific emotion among various emotions that is the target of cause determination by operating the information terminal 10A. The user information management device 22 or the server 30 provides the information terminal 10A with an application that realizes a UI (User Interface) capable of displaying the cause determination result on the screen of the information terminal 10A or designating a specific emotion that is the target of cause determination on the screen. Note that the operation of specifying a specific emotion is not necessarily required. The specific emotion that is the target of cause determination may be set in advance on the user information management device 22 side.

[0039] Hereinafter, it will be described assuming that the specific emotion is "anger". When the specific emotion that is the target of cause determination is designated as "anger", the cause determination unit 22e determines the cause of "anger".

[0040] Specifically, the cause determination unit 22e extracts a combination of pieces of user information in which the emotion indicates "anger" from combinations of user information for each elevator user stored in the storage device of the server 30 and various feature amounts, and based on the extracted combination of information, among various feature amounts, determines that the feature amount with the highest correlation with "anger" (for example, any one of "distance from the elevator user to the assigned car", "waiting time of the assigned car for the elevator user", and "loading capacity of the assigned car") corresponds to the cause of "anger". The method of obtaining the correlation will be described later.

[0041] FIG. 3 shows an example in which a combination of pieces of user information in which the emotion indicates "anger" is extracted from combinations of user information for each elevator user and various feature amounts. The information shown in FIG. 3 can be displayed on the screen of the information terminal 10A.

[0042] In the table of FIG. 3, as various items, "number", "date" and "time" indicating the date and time, "estimated age", "emotion", and "emotion value (%)" corresponding to user information, "distance to the assigned car (m)", "waiting time (seconds)", and "loading capacity (%)" corresponding to various feature amounts are shown.

[0043] "Number" represents information for each elevator user. "Date" and "Time" represent the date and time when the elevator user was detected from any of the images of cameras 16a to 16c at the landing. "Estimated age" represents the estimated age of the elevator user. "Emotion" represents the determination result of the emotion of the elevator user (in this example, "angry"). "Emotion value (%)" represents the degree of emotion (in this example, the degree of "anger"). "Emotion value (%)" is expressed as a value within the range of 0 to 100 (%), and the larger the value, the greater the degree of that emotion. "Distance (m) to the assigned car" represents the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car. "Waiting time (seconds)" represents the waiting time from when the elevator user appears at the landing until the assigned car arrives at that landing. "Load capacity (%)" represents the load capacity of the assigned car.

[0044] For example, among "Distance (m) to the assigned car", "Waiting time (seconds)", and "Load capacity (%)", if the feature quantity with the highest correlation with "anger" is "the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car", the factor determination unit 22e determines that "the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car" corresponds to the factor of "anger".

[0045] The factors of "anger" may vary depending on age (generation). For example, for older people with less physical strength like the younger generation, a long "distance to the assigned car" may be a factor of "anger". Also, for the younger generation, a large "load capacity" (that is, many people are on board and it is crowded) may also be a factor of "anger".

[0046] By operating the information terminal 10A, the user of the information terminal 10A can narrow down to a specific age group and obtain the determination result of the cause of "anger" for the specific age group. For example, when specifying "50s" and "60s", the cause determination unit 22e targets elevator users belonging to the "50s" and "60s" (for example, only targeting the information with "estimated age" of "60", "55", "65", and "50" in the table of FIG. 3) and determines the cause of "anger".

[0047] The correlation degree between a specific emotion "anger" and "distance to the assigned car", "waiting time", and "load capacity" in the table of FIG. 3 can be determined using an index called "correlation coefficient".

[0048] FIG. 4 shows an example of the value of the correlation coefficient for each of "distance to the assigned car", "waiting time", and "load capacity" with respect to the emotion value of "anger" (=1). The correlation coefficient indicates any value within the range from -1 to +1. When the value of the correlation coefficient is 0, it means there is no correlation at all between the two. When the value of the correlation coefficient is 1, it means there is a proportional relationship. When the value of the correlation coefficient is -1, it means there is an inverse proportional relationship. The larger the positive value, the greater the correlation degree in the positive direction. The larger the negative value, the greater the correlation degree in the negative direction.

[0049] In the example of FIG. 4, the "distance to the assigned car" has the largest value of the correlation coefficient with the emotion value of "anger" (that is, the longer the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car, the greater the tendency of the degree of "anger"). In this case, it can be determined that the "distance to the assigned car" is the cause of "anger".

[0050] FIG. 5 shows an example of the arithmetic expression of the correlation coefficient.

[0051] In the formula shown in Fig. 5, rxy on the left side of the formula represents the correlation coefficient between x and y. In this case, x corresponds to the emotion value of "anger" in the table of Fig. 3, and y corresponds to "distance to the assigned elevator car", "waiting time", or "payload" in the table of Fig. 3. That is, from the said formula, the correlation coefficient representing the degree of correlation between the emotion value of "anger" and "distance to the assigned elevator car", the correlation coefficient representing the degree of correlation between the emotion value of "anger" and "waiting time", and the correlation coefficient representing the degree of correlation between the emotion value of "anger" and "payload" can each be obtained.

[0052] Among the right side of the formula shown in Fig. 5, the denominator indicates the product of "standard deviation of individual values of x" and "standard deviation of individual values of y", and the numerator indicates "covariance between individual values of x and individual values of y". n indicates the number of elevator users targeted. xi and yi respectively indicate the data of the i-th elevator user. x and y with bars respectively indicate the average of x and the average of y.

[0053] · Improvement Proposal Support Section 22f Based on the result of the cause determination by the cause determination section 22e, the improvement proposal support section 22f presents improvement measures for the elevator operation to the user of the information terminal 10A. By operating the information terminal 10A, the user of the information terminal 10A can complete a customer-oriented improvement proposal by editing, as necessary, the information on the improvement measures presented by the improvement proposal support section 22f through the screen. The user information management device 22 or the server 30 provides the information terminal 10A with an application that realizes a UI capable of displaying the information on the improvement measures presented by the improvement proposal support section 22f on the screen of the information terminal 10A and editing the information on the improvement measures on the screen.

[0054] Also, the improvement proposal support section 22f can instruct the operation control section 23 to implement the operation based on the improvement proposal approved by the customer.

[0055] Fig. 6 shows an example of a screen for displaying information including the improvement measures presented by the improvement proposal support section 22f.

[0056] In the example of the screen in FIG. 6, the building name, verification period, and information on two improvement measures are displayed. The information on the two improvement measures includes items such as "detected user dissatisfaction", "cause", and "improvement measure", as well as the specific content corresponding to each item.

[0057] In the information on the first improvement measure, the content of "detected user dissatisfaction" is described as "detected dissatisfaction from people in their 50s to 60s". The content of "cause" is described as "presumed to have received dissatisfaction due to the long distance to the assigned car". The content of this "cause" is based on the result of the cause determination section 22e performing a cause determination of "anger" for elevator users whose "presumed age" belongs to the 50s to 60s, meaning that the "distance to the assigned car" in FIG. 3 described above showed the highest correlation coefficient. Here, it may simply be displayed as "the distance to the assigned car is long". In that case, the user of the information terminal 10A may perform editing such as supplementing words as needed.

[0058] The content of "improvement measure" is described as "when dispatching an elevator for people in their 50s to 60s, by ○○ operation, give priority to dispatching the car closest to the user for the people in the specified age group". At least the main part of the content of this "improvement measure", "give priority to dispatching the car closest to the user", the at least main part of the content of the above-mentioned "cause", "the distance to the assigned car is long", and the "distance to the assigned car" in FIG. 3 described above are stored in the storage device of the server 30 as a database as information associated in advance. Therefore, the improvement proposal support section 22f can present the respective contents of the above-mentioned "cause" and "improvement measure" based on the information in this database.

[0059] In the information on the second improvement measure, the content of "detected user dissatisfaction phenomenon" is described as "detecting dissatisfaction from people in their teens to twenties". The content of "cause" is described as "presumably due to overcrowding inside the assigned car". The content of this "cause" is based on the result of the cause determination unit 22e performing cause determination of "anger" for elevator users whose "presumed age" belongs to the teens to twenties, which means that the "loaded weight" in FIG. 3 described above showed the highest correlation coefficient. Here, it may simply be displayed as "the assigned car is overcrowded". In that case, the user of the information terminal 10A may perform editing such as supplementing words as needed.

[0060] The content of the "improvement measure" is described as "When dispatching elevators to people in their teens to twenties, by means of ○○ operation, give priority to dispatching cars with a small load value inside the car to the people of the specified age group". At least the main part of the content of this "improvement measure", "give priority to dispatching cars with a small load value inside the car", at least the main part of the content of the above-mentioned "cause", "the assigned car is overcrowded", and the "loaded weight" in FIG. 3 described above are stored in the storage device of the server 30 as a database as information associated in advance. Therefore, the improvement proposal support unit 22f can present the respective contents of the above-mentioned "cause" and "improvement measure" based on the information in this database.

[0061] When the user of the information terminal 10A completes an improvement proposal for the elevator operation using the information shown on the screen of FIG. 6, the data of the improvement proposal is transmitted from the information terminal 10A to the information terminal 10B of the owner or administrator of the building where the elevator is installed, or to a specified server or the like.

[0062] <Operation Example> Referring to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8, an example of the operation by the user information management device 22 will be described.

[0063] First, in step S11 of FIG. 7, the user information management device 22 determines, at regular intervals, based on the images of the cameras installed at each landing, the waiting time of the elevator users shown in the images (the elapsed time since the elevator users appeared at the landing), the emotions of the elevator users (the type and degree of emotions), the estimated age, the distance from the elevator users to the assigned car, and the like.

[0064] Next, in step S12, the user information management device 22 determines whether the elevator (assigned car) has responded to a call from any of the landings. If not (NO in step S12), the process from step S11 is repeated. If so (YES in step S12), the process proceeds to step S13.

[0065] Next, in step S13, the user information management device 22 acquires information about the elevator (various feature quantities) when the assigned car responds, such as "the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car", "the waiting time of the elevator user for the assigned car (the waiting time from when the elevator user appears at the landing until the assigned car arrives at that landing)", and information on "the load capacity of the assigned car", and stores these together with the date and time information in the storage device.

[0066] Also, in step S14, the user information management device 22 acquires information about the corresponding elevator user (user information) when the assigned car responds, such as the emotion of the elevator user (e.g., the emotion value of "anger") and the estimated age, and stores these together with the date and time information in the storage device. This user information is stored in a state combined with various corresponding feature quantities for each elevator user.

[0067] The processes of steps S11 to S14 are repeated.

[0068] In step S21 of FIG. 8, when it is necessary or timely to create an improvement proposal, the user information management device 22 obtains the combination of user information for a certain period stored in the above-described storage device and various feature amounts.

[0069] Next, in step S22, the user information management device 22 extracts the combination of information in which the emotion determination in the user information is "anger" from among the combinations of user information and various feature amounts.

[0070] Next, in step S23, based on the extracted combination of information, the user information management device 22 determines that among various feature amounts, the feature amount having the highest correlation with "anger" (for example, any one of "distance from the elevator user to the assigned car", "waiting time of the assigned car for the elevator user", and "loading weight of the assigned car") corresponds to the cause of "anger".

[0071] Next, in step S24, based on the result of the cause determination, the user information management device 22 supports the creation of an improvement proposal for the user of the information terminal 10A based on the cause of "anger". For example, information including improvement measures for the elevator operation as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the screen of the information terminal 10A. The user of the information terminal 10A completes an improvement proposal for the customer by editing the improvement measure information as necessary.

[0072] Finally, in step S25, the information terminal 10A outputs the improvement proposal information according to the operation of the user. For example, it is transmitted from the information terminal 10A to the information terminal 10B such as the building owner or administrator, or a designated server.

[0073] Thus, according to the embodiment, it is possible to present improvement measures for operation in consideration of the emotions of elevator users.

[0074] <Modification Example> Hereinafter, some modification examples of the above-described embodiment will be described.

[0075] ·Response to elevator users with children, in wheelchairs, or with canes The image analysis unit 22a may be configured to be able to identify elevator users with children, elevator users in wheelchairs, and elevator users with canes reflected in the image, respectively. In that case, the improvement proposal support unit 22f may be configured to be able to further present improvement measures for elevator operation (for example, "When dispatching an elevator to a person with a child, a person in a wheelchair, or a person with a cane, dispatch the elevator to the designated car for priority users with a specific operation with priority.") for elevator users with children, elevator users in wheelchairs, and elevator users with canes.

[0076] By configuring in this way, it is possible to present improvement measures for elevator operation that take into account the feelings of elevator users with children, elevator users in wheelchairs, and elevator users with canes.

[0077] ·Response to elevator users who are angry when they appear at the landing Elevator users who already show a degree of "anger" higher than a predetermined value when they appear at the landing are not angry due to elevator operation, so such elevator user information shall be excluded from the processing target.

[0078] By configuring in this way, the accuracy of cause determination can be improved, and the reliability of the presented improvement measures can be enhanced.

[0079] ·Response to elevator users showing a feeling of joy When an elevator user showing a feeling of "joy" is detected at a certain landing, for example, if an elevator user showing a feeling of "anger" is detected at a landing on another floor, improvement measures for elevator operation such as reducing the priority of dispatching an elevator to the elevator user showing a feeling of "joy" while increasing the priority of dispatching an elevator to the elevator user showing a feeling of "anger" may be presented. Also, improvement measures for elevator operation such as dispatching an elevator so that an elevator user showing a feeling of "joy" gets on the car that an elevator user showing a feeling of "anger" has boarded may be presented.

[0080] By configuring in this way, it is possible to further reduce the anger of elevator users showing the emotion of "anger" or soothe their feelings.

Explanation of Signs

[0081] 10A, 10B... Information terminals, 11a~11c... Elevator control devices, 12a~12c... Carriages, 14... Landing (elevator hall), 15... Landing call registration device, 16a~16c... Cameras (imaging devices), 17a~17c... Landing doors, 18a~18c... Cameras (imaging devices), 20... Group management control device, 21... Call storage unit, 22... User information management device, 22a... Image analysis unit, 22b... Information collection unit, 22c... Situation determination unit, 22d... Information storage unit, 22e... Cause determination unit, 22f... Improvement proposal support unit, 23... Operation control unit, 30... Server.

Claims

1. An image analysis unit that analyzes an image of a camera installed in an elevator landing or car to determine at least the emotions of each individual elevator user shown in the image; An information storage unit that stores, for each elevator user, the determination result of the image analysis unit and various feature amounts indicating the state of the corresponding elevator in a storage device; A factor determination unit that determines factors of a specific emotion based on a combination of the determination result and the various feature amounts stored for each elevator user in the storage device; An improvement proposal support unit that presents improvement measures for elevator operation based on the determination result of the factor determination unit; An elevator system comprising:

2. The specific emotion is anger or a negative emotion, The elevator system according to Claim 1.

3. The image analysis unit further determines the degree of the specific emotion from an image of an elevator user. The elevator system according to Claim 1.

4. Each of the various feature amounts is information that can be a factor of the specific emotion. The elevator system according to Claim 1.

5. The various feature amounts include the distance from the elevator user to the assigned car, the waiting time of the assigned car for the elevator user, or the load capacity of the assigned car. The elevator system according to Claim 4.

6. The factor determination unit determines that the feature amount having the highest correlation with the specific emotion among the various feature amounts corresponds to the factor of the specific emotion. The elevator system according to any one of Claims 1 to 5.

7. The image analysis unit further determines the estimated age of the elevator user. The elevator system according to Claim 1.

8. The factor determination unit uses the determination result of the estimated age to determine the factors of the specific emotion for elevator users belonging to a specific age group, The improvement proposal support unit presents improvement measures for elevator operation for elevator users belonging to the specific age group. The elevator system according to Claim 7.

9. The image analysis unit identifies an elevator user with a child, an elevator user in a wheelchair, or an elevator user with a cane shown in the image, The improvement proposal support unit presents improvement measures for elevator operation for the elevator user with a child, the elevator user in a wheelchair, or the elevator user with a cane. The elevator system according to claim 1.

10. An image analysis unit analyzes an image of a camera installed in an elevator landing or car to determine at least the emotions of individual elevator users reflected in the image; An information storage unit stores, for each elevator user, the determination result of the image analysis unit and various feature amounts indicating the state of the corresponding elevator in a storage device; A factor determination unit determines a factor of a specific emotion based on a combination of the determination result and the various feature amounts stored in the storage device for each elevator user; An improvement proposal support unit presents improvement measures for elevator operation based on the determination result of the factor determination unit; An information providing method comprising the above.

Images