Information process system, control method of the same, and program

Abstract

To perform grouping suitable for transmission and reception of information without increase in labor and time of a user.SOLUTION: A virtual conference system 1 comprises: an attribute information acquisition part 22 acquiring OS language information of a client terminal 10 from the client terminal 10; a group generation part 23 dividing a plurality of client terminals OS into a plurality of groups on the basis of the OS language information acquired by the attribute information acquisition part 22; and a distribution information acquisition part 24 acquiring a content distributed to a transmission destination client terminal 10 on the basis of media data from a transmission source client terminal 10. The distribution information acquisition part 24 acquires the content to the transmission destination client terminal 10 in the same group on the basis of the media data from the transmission source client terminal 10 in the same group between the client terminals 10 in the same group in which the group divided by the group generation part 23 is the same.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a control method thereof, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In a virtual conference room called a room, the opportunity to use a remote conferencing system for transmitting and receiving information (media data) such as voice or images between a plurality of client terminals is increasing. The use of remote conferencing systems for seminars is also increasing. In the case of seminars, it may be necessary to group users in order to conduct discussions among the users of the client terminals that have entered the same room.

[0003] For example, the remote conferencing system described in Patent Document 1 below has a group management function for grouping users within the same room. In this remote conferencing system, information corresponding to the group to which the user belongs is transmitted to the client terminals of the users who have been grouped in advance.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The group management function in the remote conferencing system described in Patent Document 1 above requires a procedure of registering groups in advance or creating groups during a meeting by a user's operation, which is troublesome for the user.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system, a control method thereof, and a program that can perform appropriate grouping for transmitting and receiving information without causing trouble to the user.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] The information processing system according to the present invention is an information processing system capable of transmitting and receiving information between a plurality of client terminals in a virtual conference room, comprising: an attribute information acquisition means for acquiring user attribute information indicating the attributes of the users of the client terminals from the client terminals; a group generation means for dividing the plurality of client terminals into a plurality of groups based on the user attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition means; and a distribution information acquisition means for acquiring distribution information, which is information to be distributed to the destination client terminal, based on transmission information, which is information transmitted from the source client terminal. The distribution information acquisition means acquires distribution information to the destination client terminal within the same group based on the transmission information from the source client terminal within the same group among the client terminals within the same group where the groups divided by the group generation means are the same.

[0008] Further, a control method for an information processing system according to the present invention is a control method for an information processing system capable of transmitting and receiving information between a plurality of client terminals in a virtual conference room, comprising: an attribute information acquisition step of acquiring user attribute information indicating the attributes of the users of the client terminals from the client terminals; a group generation step of dividing the plurality of client terminals into a plurality of groups based on the user attribute information acquired in the attribute information acquisition step; and a distribution information acquisition step of acquiring distribution information, which is information to be distributed to the destination client terminal, based on transmission information, which is information transmitted from the source client terminal. The distribution information acquisition step acquires distribution information to the destination client terminal within the same group based on the transmission information from the source client terminal within the same group among the client terminals within the same group where the groups divided in the group generation step are the same.

[0009] In addition, the program of the information processing system according to the present invention is a program of an information processing system capable of transmitting and receiving information between a plurality of client terminals in a virtual conference room. The information processing system includes: an attribute information acquisition means for acquiring user attribute information indicating the attributes of the users of the client terminals from the client terminals; a group generation means for dividing the plurality of client terminals into a plurality of groups based on the user attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition means; and a distribution information acquisition means for functioning as a means for acquiring distribution information, which is information to be distributed to the destination client terminal, based on transmission information, which is information transmitted from the source client terminal. The distribution information acquisition means acquires distribution information to the destination client terminal within the same group based on the transmission information from the source client terminal within the same group among the client terminals within the same group divided by the group generation means.

[0010] In the information processing system, its control method, and the program according to the present invention, a plurality of client terminals are divided into a plurality of groups based on the user attribute information of the client terminals. Therefore, appropriate grouping based on the attributes of the users can be performed without the user having to go to the trouble of registering groups in advance. Then, distribution information to the destination client terminal within the same group is acquired based on the transmission information from the source client terminal within the same group. As a result, it becomes possible to transmit and receive information within the appropriately divided same group. From the above, it is possible to perform appropriate grouping for transmitting and receiving information without the user having to go to the trouble.

[0011] In addition, the information processing system according to the present invention includes an access processing means for processing an access request for requesting access from a client terminal to a virtual conference room. The access request includes user attribute information, and the attribute information acquisition means may acquire the user attribute information based on the access request processed by the access processing means. In this case, the user attribute information is acquired based on the processing of the access request from the client terminal. Therefore, without a special user operation or the like for the user to acquire the user attribute information, the user attribute information can be automatically acquired along with the access request and grouped.

[0012] Alternatively, the attribute information acquisition means may acquire the user attribute information by receiving the user attribute information transmitted from the client terminal. In this case, the user attribute information is acquired by the attribute information acquisition means along with the transmission of the user attribute information from the client terminal. Therefore, grouping can be easily performed based on the user attribute information transmitted from the client terminal.

[0013] Also, the user attribute information may be OS language information indicating the language of the OS of the client terminal. In this case, grouping is performed based on the OS language information of the client terminal. Therefore, for example, client terminals with the same OS language can be grouped into the same group, and within the same group, information can be appropriately transmitted and received between client terminals with the same OS language.

[0014] Also, the user attribute information may be the number of transmissions of transmission information from the source client terminal. In this case, grouping is performed based on the number of transmissions of transmission information from the source client terminal. Therefore, for example, grouping can be performed so that there is no bias in the number of transmissions in each group.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing system, a control method thereof, and a program that can perform appropriate grouping for information transmission and reception without the user's effort.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same reference numerals will be used for the same elements or elements having the same function, and duplication will be

[0018] (First Embodiment) The remote conferencing system according to the present embodiment is an information processing system capable of transmitting and receiving information between a plurality of client terminals in a virtual conference room (hereinafter referred to as a "room") for using a web conference or a TV conference. The remote conferencing system according to the present embodiment can hold a plurality of meetings by setting a plurality of rooms.

[0019] The remote conferencing system according to the present embodiment is assumed to be used for seminars, for example. In this remote conferencing system, among a plurality of client terminals that have entered the same room, a user of one client terminal is selected as the chairperson user, and users of the other client terminals are general users other than the chairperson (seminar participants).

[0020] First, with reference to FIG. 1, the schematic configuration of the remote conferencing system according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the remote conferencing system 1 (web conferencing system) includes, for example, a plurality of client terminals 10 (10X, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) to which a personal computer can be applied, and a remote conferencing server 20 (server device) that enables the remote conferencing system to be used by each client terminal 10. Each client terminal 10 and the remote conferencing server 20 are communicably connected to each other via a wireless or wired network N.

[0022] The client terminal 10 may adopt various personal computers, such as, for example, a desktop PC (client terminal 10X), a notebook PC (client terminals 10A, 10B), or a tablet PC (client terminals 10C, 10D). In this embodiment, for example, the user of the client terminal 10X is selected as the chairperson user, and the users of the other client terminals 10A to 10D are regarded as general users.

[0023] The client terminal 10 is provided with a display, and displays a conference screen (interface) provided by the remote conference server 20 on the display. The conference screen is the screen of the conference in which the user participates. The client terminal 10 displays a conference image or a designated image provided by the remote conference server 20 on the conference screen.

[0024] The conference image is an imaging image that is captured by the camera function in the client terminal 10 in which the user ID of the user participating in the conference is input and transmitted to the remote conference server 20. The conference image is, for example, an image of the user's own face.

[0025] The designated image is an image that is transmitted from the client terminal 10 to the remote conference server 20 after receiving a designation in response to a user operation via the input unit of the client terminal 10. The remote conference server 20 transmits the designated image to the client terminals 10 of other users who are participating in the same conference as the user of the client terminal 10 that is the transmission source of the designated image.

[0026] The client terminal 10 has a camera function, a microphone function, and a speaker function.

[0027] Specifically, the client terminal 10X is provided with a camera 100, a microphone 101, and a speaker 102. The camera 100, the microphone 101, and the speaker 102 are communicably connected to the client terminal 10X.

[0028] The camera 100 is a web camera or the like which is a video device for transmitting its own moving image in a remote conference. The microphone 101 is an audio device for collecting the sound emitted by itself. The speaker 102 is an audio device for listening to the voice of the other party.

[0029] Each device such as the camera 100, the microphone 101, and the speaker 102 may be in a separate housing or may be provided as hardware in the same housing. For example, it may be configured as a device having a camera function and a microphone function, a device having a microphone function and a speaker function, or a device having all of these functions.

[0030] The client terminals 10A to 10D are provided with an in-camera (a camera installed on the side where the display is installed), a built-in microphone, and a built-in speaker, which are not shown in the figure.

[0031] The client terminal 10 outputs the content (distribution information) distributed from the remote conference server 20. The content distributed from the remote conference server 20 to the client terminal 10 is information based on the media data (image data or audio data) acquired by the camera function or the microphone function of the client terminal 10. For example, the client terminal 10 displays the image data in a predetermined display area (conference screen). Also, the client terminal 10 outputs the audio data distributed from the remote conference server 20 by the speaker function.

[0032] A web browser for accessing the remote conference server 20 and a dedicated module are installed in the client terminal 10. Note that this dedicated module is, for example, an ActiveX component downloaded from the remote conference server 20 via a web browser.

[0033] The remote conferencing server 20 is a server for realizing remote conferencing using a web browser. The remote conferencing system 1 obtains a conference screen (interface) for a user to use remote conferencing by accessing the remote conferencing server 20.

[0034] The remote conferencing server 20 stores the media data transmitted from the client terminal 10 and distributes the content based on the media data to the client terminal 10 connected to the remote conferencing server 20. The client terminal 10 outputs the content distributed from the remote conferencing server 20.

[0035] In the remote conferencing system 1, screen sharing between client terminals 10 may be performed. That is, the screen of the transmitting client terminal 10 may be displayed and shared on the display screen of the receiving client terminal 10. The screen to be shared can be specified by the client terminal 10 and may be the screen of the specified application or the entire desktop screen.

[0036] Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an example of the hardware configuration of various devices in the remote conferencing system 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of various devices in the remote conferencing system 1.

[0037] In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU which comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. Also, in the ROM 202 or the external memory 211, there are stored a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) which is a control program of the CPU 201, an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as OS), or various programs described later necessary for realizing the functions executed by each server or each PC.

[0038] 203 is a RAM and functions as the main memory or work area of the CPU 201. When executing a process, the CPU 201 loads a program or the like necessary for the execution of the process from the ROM 202 or the external memory 211 into the RAM 203, and realizes various operations by executing the loaded program.

[0039] Also, 205 is an input controller that controls input from an input device 209 such as a keyboard (KB) or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).

[0040] 206 is a video controller that controls display on a display device such as a display device 210 which is a CRT display (CRT). Note that the display is not limited to a CRT display, and may be other displays such as a liquid crystal display.

[0041] Also, in the embodiment of the present invention, the display devices 210 of the client terminals 10C and 10D which are tablet PCs shall have a touch panel function. When the display device 210 has a touch panel function, the display device 210 also functions as an input device, and transmits information on a touch operation detected by the touch panel function (received on the display) to the input controller as input information. That is, the input controller 205 performs input control from the display device 210.

[0042] 207 is a memory controller. The memory controller 107 controls access to a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), or the external memory 211. The hard disk stores a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, edited files, or various data. The external memory is, for example, a compact flash (registered trademark) memory connected via an adapter to a PCMCIA card slot.

[0043] 208 is a communication I / F controller that connects to and communicates with external devices via a network (for example, the network N shown in FIG. 1), and executes communication control processing on the network. For example, communication using TCP / IP is possible.

[0044] Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the display device 210 by executing an outline font expansion (rasterization) process in, for example, the display information area in the RAM 203. Further, the CPU 201 enables user instructions using a mouse cursor (not shown) on the display device 210.

[0045] The various programs described later for realizing the present invention are recorded in the external memory 211, and are executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 203 as necessary. Further, a definition file and various information tables used during the execution of the above programs are also stored in the external memory 211, and detailed descriptions thereof will also be given later. The above is an explanation of an example of the hardware configuration of the various devices in the remote conference system 1.

[0046] Next, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of the functional configuration of the remote conference system 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the remote conference system 1. Each of the functional units 11 to 16 shown in FIG. 3 is a functional unit provided in the remote conference application (client application) installed in the client terminal 10. Further, each of the functional units 21 to 27 shown in FIG. 3 is a functional unit provided in the remote conference application (server application) installed in the remote conference server 20.

[0047] First, the functional configuration of the client terminal 10 will be described. Functionally, the client terminal 10 includes an entrance request unit 11, a group generation request unit 12, a transmission data storage unit 13, a transmission control unit 14, a content reception control unit 15, and an output unit 16. Note that the group generation request unit 12 is provided only in the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user, and may not be provided in the client terminals 10A to 10D of other general users.

[0048] The entrance request unit 11 transmits an entrance request by the user of the client terminal 10 to the entrance processing unit 21 of the remote conference server 20. The entrance request is a request for entrance to a room that the user wishes to participate in. The entrance request unit 11 receives an entrance request based on, for example, a user operation.

[0049] Specifically, when the user's login to the remote conference server 20 using the user ID is successful, a menu screen including a "Conference Room Reservation" button is displayed on the display screen of the client terminal 10. When the pressing of the "Conference Room Reservation" button on the menu screen is received, a participation destination selection screen for selecting a conference to participate in (the room where the conference to participate in is held) is displayed on the display screen. When the selection of the conference to participate in is received by a user operation on this participation destination selection screen, the entrance request unit 11 transmits an entrance request for the selected conference (room) to the entrance processing unit 21.

[0050] The entrance request transmitted by the entrance request unit 11 includes user ID information, OS language information, and a chairperson flag. The user ID information is information indicating the user's ID. The OS language information is information indicating the language of the OS of the client terminal 10. The OS language is various languages such as, for example, Japanese or English.

[0051] The chairperson flag is a flag indicating whether the user is a chairperson user. For example, it is indicated by the number "1" when the user is a chairperson user and "0" when the user is a general user other than the chairperson user. Whether the user is a chairperson user is set in advance, for example, at the time of room reservation.

[0052] The group generation request unit 12 transmits a grouping request to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20. The grouping request is a request for grouping the client terminals 10A to 10D of general users in the same room. The group generation request unit 12 accepts a grouping request based on, for example, a user operation of the chairperson user (pressing the grouping start button 30 shown in FIG. 10). Note that the grouping request may be accepted based on an operation of a general user.

[0053] Also, the group generation request unit 12 transmits a group division cancellation request to the group generation unit 23 of the remote conference server 20. The group division cancellation request is a request for canceling the grouping of the grouped client terminals 10A to 10D. The group generation request unit 12 accepts a group division cancellation request based on, for example, a user operation of the chairperson user (pressing the group division cancellation button 32 shown in FIG. 11). Note that the group division cancellation request may be accepted based on an operation of a general user.

[0054] The transmission data storage unit 13 is a storage unit (queue) that stores the same information as the information transmitted by the transmission control unit 14. The transmission data storage unit 13 has, for example, an audio queue and an image queue. The audio queue is a queue for audio information collected by the microphone function of the client terminal 10. Audio information intermittently collected by the microphone function of the client terminal 10 is sequentially stored in the audio queue.

[0055] The image queue includes an image queue for a captured image (conference image) captured by the camera function of the client terminal 10 and an image queue for a designated image (such as an image of the desktop screen of the client terminal 10) designated by a user operation.

[0056] In the image queue for captured images, the captured images are sequentially stored. By the camera function of the client terminal 10, intermittent imaging processing (imaging of a video and input of the video to the client terminal 10) is performed. Therefore, in the image queue for captured images, a plurality of images constituting the video are sequentially stored for each frame in the video.

[0057] In the image queue for designated images, the designated images are stored every predetermined time. In the image queue for designated images, for example, the desktop images displayed on the desktop screen of the client terminal 10 are sequentially stored every 0.2 seconds. Each stored designated image is, for example, one frame of a video that plays by connecting the desktop images.

[0058] The transmission control unit 14 transmits the media data (transmission information) to be transmitted from the client terminal 10 as the transmission source to the client terminal 10 as the reception destination in a remote conference to the reception control unit 26 of the remote conference server 20. The media data is, for example, data such as the sound collected by the microphone function, the image (video) captured by the camera function, or the designated image (image of the entire desktop or the screen of the designated application) designated as an image to share the display by the user operation.

[0059] The content reception control unit 15 makes a communication start request to the distribution control unit 25 of the remote conference server 20. Specifically, the content reception control unit 15 stores the user information in the same room notified by the entry processing unit 21 described later. Based on the stored user information in the same room, the content reception control unit 15 opens a socket necessary for distributing the content from the remote conference server 20 to the client terminal 10. The content reception control unit 15 makes a communication start request involving the opening of the socket to the distribution control unit 25, and receives the content output from the distribution control unit 25. The content reception control unit 15 outputs the received content to the output unit 16.

[0060] The output unit 16 outputs the content output from the content reception control unit 15. Specifically, it displays the image data as the content on the conference screen, or outputs the audio data as the content by means of the speaker function. The output unit 16 switches the display of the conference screen based on the result of the group division execution from the group generation unit 23 of the remote conference server 20. The output unit 16 may perform an output for notifying that a user has entered when notified from the entry processing unit 21 that a user has entered.

[0061] Next, the functional configuration of the remote conference server 20 will be described. Functionally, the remote conference server 20 includes an entry processing unit 21 (entry processing means), an attribute information acquisition unit 22 (attribute information acquisition means), a group generation unit 23 (group generation means), a distribution information acquisition unit 24 (distribution information acquisition means), a distribution control unit 25, a reception control unit 26, and a reception data storage unit 27.

[0062] When the entry processing unit 21 receives an entry request transmitted from the entry request unit 11 of the client terminal 10, it executes entry processing. The entry processing is a process of allowing a user to enter the requested room, for example, a process of storing which user is entering which room from which client terminal 10. In the present embodiment, as the entry processing, the user ID information, the OS language information, and the chairperson flag included in the entry request are stored.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a database of information stored by the entry processing unit 21. In the database shown in FIG. 4, the user ID indicated by the user ID information, the OS language indicated by the OS language information, and the number indicated by the chairperson flag are stored respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, the entry processing unit 21 stores the OS language and the chairperson flag in association with the user ID. The entry processing unit 21 manages a database as shown in FIG. 4 for each room.

[0064] The user with the user ID of "User X" shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the user of the client terminal 10X. The users with the user IDs of "User A", "User B", "User C", and "User D" shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the users of the client terminals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D, respectively.

[0065] When the room entry processing unit 21 performs the room entry processing for one user, it notifies the other users in the room where the room entry processing has been performed that the one user has entered the room. For example, the room entry processing unit 21 transmits information indicating that one user has entered the room to the output unit 16 of the client terminal 10 of the other users.

[0066] The room entry processing unit 21 notifies the content reception control unit 15 of the client terminal 10 of the user who has performed the room entry processing about the information of the other users in the room where the room entry processing has been performed (hereinafter, also referred to as "user information in the same room"). The user information in the same room is information indicating which other users have entered the same room, and is used, for example, to open a socket required for content distribution.

[0067] The attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires the user attribute information of the client terminal 10 from the client terminal 10. The user attribute information is information indicating the attributes of the user, and in this embodiment, it is the OS language information.

[0068] The attribute information acquisition unit 22 extracts and acquires the user attribute information for each user from the information stored by the room entry processing unit 21. The attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires the user attribute information, for example, at the timing when a grouping request is transmitted from the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10.

[0069] Specifically, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires OS language information indicating that the OS languages of users with user IDs of "User A" and "User B" are "English" and the OS languages of users with user IDs of "User X", "User C", and "User D" are "Japanese" from the database shown in FIG. 4. The attribute information acquisition unit 22 outputs the acquired OS language information (user attribute information) to the group generation unit 23.

[0070] Based on the OS language information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit 22, the group generation unit 23 divides the plurality of client terminals 10 into a plurality of groups. The group generation unit 23 generates groups for the client terminals 10A to 10D of general users other than the chairperson user.

[0071] Specifically, based on the OS language information output from the attribute information acquisition unit 22, the group generation unit 23 generates groups for the client terminals 10A to 10D such that users with the same OS language are in the same group. That is, the group generation unit 23 designates the client terminals 10A and 10B of "User A" and "User B" whose OS language is "English" as "Group 1", and the client terminals 10C and 10D of "User C" and "User D" whose OS language is "Japanese" as "Group 2", and performs grouping.

[0072] The group generation unit 23 stores group information indicating the generated groups. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a database of group information stored by the group generation unit 23. In the database shown in FIG. 5, a group ID for identifying a group and a user ID are stored. As shown in FIG. 5, the group generation unit 23 stores the group ID and the user ID in association with each other.

[0073] When a group cancellation request is sent from the group generation request unit 12, the group generation unit 23 cancels the grouping of each of the client terminals 10A to 10E.

[0074] The group generation unit 23 outputs the result of group execution (the result of grouping or the result of ungrouping) to the distribution information acquisition unit 24. Further, the group generation unit 23 notifies the output unit 16 of each client terminal 10 of the result of group execution.

[0075] The distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content (distribution information), which is information to be distributed to each client terminal 10 as the transmission destination by the distribution control unit 25. The content is acquired based on the media data stored in the reception data storage unit 27. The distribution information acquisition unit 24 outputs the acquired content to the distribution control unit 25.

[0076] When the result of group execution is output by the group generation unit 23, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content based on the output result. When the group division by the group generation unit 23 is not executed (when the group division is canceled), the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content based on the media data from all the client terminals 10 in the same room.

[0077] For example, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10X based on the media data from all the other client terminals 10A to 10D other than the client terminal 10X.

[0078] When the media data is audio, information obtained by synthesizing (mixing) the media data from each client terminal 10A to 10D may be acquired as content. The distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content to be distributed to all the client terminals 10 in the same room in the same manner.

[0079] Further, when the group division by the group generation unit 23 is executed, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content based on the groups divided by the group generation unit 23.

[0080] Specifically, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content among the client terminals 10 within the same group (a group in which the groups divided by the group generation unit 23 are the same). The distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires content for the destination client terminal 10 within the same group based on the media data from the source client terminal 10 within the same group.

[0081] For example, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires, as the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10A belonging to "Group 1", the media data from the client terminal 10B belonging to the same "Group 1". Also, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires, as the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10B belonging to "Group 1", the media data from the client terminal 10A belonging to the same "Group 1".

[0082] In addition, if there are other client terminals belonging to "Group 1" other than the terminals 10A and 10B, the media data from those other client terminals is also acquired as the content to be distributed to each of the client terminals 10A and 10B. Also, the media data from the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user may be acquired as the content to be distributed to each of the client terminals 10A and 10B.

[0083] The distribution information acquisition unit 24 also acquires the content to be distributed for the client terminals 10C and 10D belonging to "Group 2" in the same way as for the client terminals 10A and 10B belonging to "Group 1".

[0084] In addition, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 may acquire the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user regardless of whether the group division by the group generation unit 23 is executed. For example, even when the group division by the group generation unit 23 is executed, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 may acquire, as the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10X, the media data from all the other client terminals 10A to 10D other than the client terminal 10X, in the same way as when the group division is not executed.

[0085] The distribution control unit 25 outputs the content output from the distribution information acquisition unit 24 to the content reception control unit 15 of each client terminal 10 that requests the distribution.

[0086] The reception control unit 26 receives the media data transmitted from the transmission control unit 14 of the client terminal 10. The reception control unit 26 outputs the received media data to the reception data storage unit 27.

[0087] The reception data storage unit 27 stores the media data received by the reception control unit 26. The reception data storage unit 27 has an audio queue and an image queue.

[0088] Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9, the processing and operations executed in the remote conference system 1 having the above configuration, that is, the control method of the remote conference system 1 will be described.

[0089] In the following description of the flowchart, among the processes in the remote conference system 1, the entry process, the group division execution process, and the process after the group division is released will be particularly focused on and described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the entry process. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the group division execution process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of the content acquisition process in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the process after the group division is released.

[0090] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the case where there is an entry request from the client terminal 10A will be described as an example.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 6, first, when an entry request is transmitted by the entry request unit 11 of the client terminal 10A (step S301), the entry request is received by the entry processing unit 21 of the remote conference server 20 (step S302). Subsequently, the entry processing unit 21 executes entry processing (step S303). Specifically, the entry processing unit 21 analyzes the parameters of the entry request and acquires user ID information, OS language information, and a chairperson flag.

[0092] Subsequently, the entry processing unit 21 performs a process of storing the acquired user ID information, OS language information, and chairperson flag for the room where the entry request was made (step S304). Subsequently, the entry processing unit 21 notifies the output units 16 of the other client terminals 10 (client terminals 10X, 10B to 10E) that have entered the room where the entry processing was performed that the user of the client terminal 10A has entered (step S305).

[0093] Subsequently, the entry processing unit 21 notifies the content reception control unit 15 of the client terminal 10A that made the entry request of user information within the same room (which other users have entered the same room) (step S306).

[0094] Subsequently, the content reception control unit 15 of the client terminal 10A stores the user information within the same room notified by the entry processing unit 21 (step S307).

[0095] Subsequently, the content reception control unit 15 of the client terminal 10A requests the distribution control unit 25 of the remote conference server 20 to start communication (step S308). Specifically, based on the user information within the same room notified by the entry processing unit 21, the content reception control unit 15 opens the necessary number of sockets and requests the start of communication. The number of sockets, for example, is one for audio and the number of other users is required for video. The opening of the sockets may also be performed on the side of the remote conference server 20.

[0096] Subsequently, in response to a communication start request from the client terminal 10A, the distribution control unit 25 of the remote conferencing server 20 starts distributing the content (step S309).

[0097] Next, with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the conference screens shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the group division execution process will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 7, an example in which group division is executed by the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user will be described.

[0098] FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams showing the conference screens displayed on the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user. FIG. 10 shows the conference screen before the execution of group division, and FIG. 11 shows the conference screen after the execution of group division. FIGS. 12 and 13 are diagrams showing the conference screens displayed on the client terminal 10A of the general user. FIG. 12 shows the conference screen before the execution of group division, and FIG. 13 shows the conference screen after the execution of group division.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 7, first, a group division request is transmitted from the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10X to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conferencing server 20 (step S401).

[0100] The group generation request unit 12 receives a group division request, for example, by accepting the pressing of the group division start button 30 by the user in the conference screen before the execution of group division shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10, in the conference screen of the chairperson user before the execution of group division, each user (User A, User B, User C, User D) in the same room is displayed in the conference window 31.

[0101] Subsequently, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20 receives a grouping request from the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10X (step S402). Subsequently, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires OS language information for each user other than the chairperson user from the information stored by the room entry processing unit 21 in step S304 (step S403). The OS language information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit 22 is output from the attribute information acquisition unit 22 to the group generation unit 23.

[0102] Subsequently, the group generation unit 23 divides the client terminals 10A to 10D into a plurality of groups based on the OS language information acquired in step S403 (step S404). Specifically, each client terminal 10A, 10B of users (user A, user B) whose OS language is "English" is set as "Group 1", and each client terminal 10C, 10D of users (user C, user D) whose OS language is "Japanese" is set as "Group 2".

[0103] Subsequently, the group generation unit 23 notifies each client terminal 10 of the result of the grouping execution (step S405). Specifically, information indicating the result of the grouping execution is transmitted from the group generation unit 23 to the output unit 16 of each client terminal 10.

[0104] Based on the result of the grouping execution notified in step S405, the output unit 16 switches and displays the conference screen (step S406).

[0105] For example, on the conference screen of the chairperson user after the grouping execution, as shown in FIG. 11, frame images 41, 42 surrounding the users for each group are displayed in the conference window 31. That is, it is shown that the grouping has been executed on the conference screen. Also, on the conference screen of the chairperson user after the grouping execution, a group separation cancel button 32 is displayed instead of the group separation start button 30.

[0106] Before the group division is executed, the chair user is displayed in the meeting window 31 of the meeting screen of User A as shown in FIG. 12. After the group division is executed, User B within the same group is displayed in the meeting window 31 of the meeting screen of User A as shown in FIG. 13. That is, the meeting screen of User A is switched from the display of the chair user to the display of User B within the same group by the execution of the group division. Similarly, the meeting screen of User B is also switched from the display of the chair user to the display of User A within the same group by the execution of the group division.

[0107] Similarly, for the meeting screen of User C, it is switched from the display of the chair user to the display of User D within the same group by the execution of the group division. Similarly, for the meeting screen of User D, it is switched from the display of the chair user to the display of User C within the same group by the execution of the group division.

[0108] Subsequent to step S406, the transmission control unit 14 of each client terminal 10 transmits media data to the reception control unit 26 of the remote conference server 20 (step S407). Subsequently, the reception control unit 26 of the remote conference server 20 receives the media data transmitted in step S407 (step S408). The media data received by the reception control unit 26 is stored in the reception data storage unit 27.

[0109] Subsequently, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content to be distributed to the general users based on the group (step S409). Specifically, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 acquires the content to be transmitted between the client terminals 10 within the same group based on the media data of the client terminals 10 within the same group among the media data stored by the reception data storage unit 27. Note that the content to be distributed to the chair user is acquired based on the media data of all the client terminals 10A to 10B.

[0110] Referring to FIG. 8, the content acquisition process based on the group in step S409 will be described by taking the case where the media data is audio data as an example. In the process shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that, in addition to users A and B, there are other users belonging to "Group 1", and in addition to users C and D, there are other users belonging to "Group 2" for the purpose of explanation.

[0111] The process shown in FIG. 8 is repeated for all users in the same room, for example, until the content is acquired. For example, as the process of acquiring the content distributed to user A, first, the audio queue of the users belonging to the same group as user A stored in the reception data storage unit 27 is referred to (S4091). Subsequently, audio data of the users belonging to the same group (user B and other users belonging to "Group 1") is acquired from the referred audio queue (S4092).

[0112] Subsequently, the acquired audio data of each user is synthesized (mixed), and the synthesized result is acquired as the content (S4093). Subsequently, the content (synthesized audio data) acquired in S4093 is output to the distribution control unit 25 (S4094). When the above processes S4091 to S4094 are repeated for all users, the content acquisition process for the audio data ends, and the process of step S409 ends. If there are no other users belonging to the same group, or if the media data is an image, etc., the synthesis process in step S4093 described above is omitted.

[0113] When the content is acquired in step S409 shown in FIG. 7, the distribution control unit 25 distributes the content to each client terminal 10 (step S410). Thus, the group division execution process ends.

[0114] Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 and the conference screens shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the processing after the group division is released will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 9, an example in which the group division is released by the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user will be described.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 9, first, a group division release request is sent from the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10X to the group generation unit 23 of the remote conference server 20 (step S501). The group generation request unit 12 receives a group division release request, for example, by accepting the pressing of the group division release button 32 by the user on the conference screen after the group division is executed as shown in FIG. 11.

[0116] Subsequently, the group generation unit 23 receives the group division release request transmitted in step S501 (step S502). Subsequently, the group generation unit 23 notifies each client terminal 10 of the result of releasing the group division (step S503). Specifically, information indicating the result of releasing the group division is transmitted from the group generation unit 23 to the output unit 16 of each client terminal 10.

[0117] Subsequently, based on the release result notified in step S503, the output unit 16 changes the display of the conference screen (step S504). That is, it is shown on the conference screen that the group division has been released.

[0118] For example, the conference screen of the chairperson user switches from the conference screen in FIG. 11 to the conference screen in FIG. 10 due to the release of the group division. In the conference screen of the chairperson user, the frame images 41 and 42 displayed in the conference window 31 disappear, and the group division start button 30 is displayed instead of the group division release button 32.

[0119] The meeting screen of User A switches from the meeting screen in Fig. 13 to the meeting screen in Fig. 12 by canceling the grouping. That is, the user displayed in the meeting window 31 changes from User B to the chairperson user. Similarly, for the meeting screen of User B, the user displayed in the meeting window 31 changes from User A to the chairperson user by canceling the grouping. Similarly, the display also switches for the meeting screens of User C and User D.

[0120] Following step S504, the transmission control unit 14 of each client terminal 10 transmits media data to the reception control unit 26 of the remote conferencing server 20 (step S505). Subsequently, the reception control unit 26 of the remote conferencing server 20 receives the media data transmitted in step S505 (step S506). The media data received by the reception control unit 26 is stored in the received data storage unit 27.

[0121] Subsequently, the distribution information acquisition unit 24 re-acquires the content to be distributed to users other than the chairperson (step S507). For example, the content to be distributed to the client terminal 10A is acquired based on the media data from all client terminals 10X, 10B to 10D other than the client terminal 10A. The distribution information acquisition unit 24 outputs the re-acquired content to the distribution control unit 25.

[0122] Subsequently, the distribution control unit 25 distributes the content re-acquired in step S507 to each client terminal 10 (S508). Thus, the processing after canceling the grouping ends.

[0123] The above-described processing may be realized as a program that causes the remote conferencing system 1 to function as each of the above-described functional units.

[0124] As described above, according to the remote conference system 1, its control method, and program according to this embodiment, a plurality of client terminals 10 are divided into a plurality of groups based on the OS user attribute information of the client terminals 10. Therefore, appropriate grouping based on the user attributes can be performed without the user's effort such as registering groups in advance. Then, based on the media data from the client terminal 10 as the transmission source within the same group, the content to the client terminal 10 as the transmission destination within the same group is acquired. As a result, information can be transmitted and received appropriately within the same group that is properly divided. From the above, grouping appropriate for information transmission and reception can be performed without the user's effort.

[0125] Also, according to the remote conference system 1, based on the fact that the entry request from the client terminal 10 is processed by the entry processing unit 21, user attribute information is acquired. Therefore, without the user performing a special user operation or the like to acquire the user attribute information, the user attribute information can be automatically acquired along with the entry request and grouping can be performed.

[0126] Also, according to the remote conference system 1, grouping is performed based on the OS language information of the client terminal 10. Therefore, for example, client terminals 10 with the same OS language can be set as the same group, and within the same group, appropriate information transmission and reception can be performed between client terminals 10 with the same OS language.

[0127] (Second Embodiment) Next, the remote conference system according to the second embodiment will be described. The remote conference system according to the second embodiment has the same elements and structure as the remote conference system 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same elements and structure as those of the remote conference system 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted, and the parts different from the first embodiment will be described.

[0128] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the remote conferencing system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, in the second embodiment, the client terminal 10 includes an entry request unit 11, a group generation request unit 12, a transmission data storage unit 13, a transmission control unit 14, a content reception control unit 15, and an output unit 16, and further includes an attribute information transmission unit 17 (attribute information transmission means). Note that the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user may not include the attribute information transmission unit 17.

[0129] The attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits user attribute information from each of the client terminals 10A to 10D of general users to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conferencing server 20. That is, in the present embodiment, the user attribute information is transmitted separately from the entry request transmitted by the entry request unit 11.

[0130] The attribute information transmission unit 17 may transmit the user attribute information instead of the user attribute information included in the entry request transmitted by the entry request unit 11, or may transmit the user attribute information in addition to the user attribute information included in the entry request.

[0131] In the present embodiment, as the user attribute information, instead of the OS language information, the number of transmissions of the transmission information from the source client terminals 10A to 10D (hereinafter, also referred to as the “number of transmissions of the client terminals 10A to 10D”) is used. More specifically, the user attribute information is the number of times the user speaks during the meeting.

[0132] The number of transmissions of the client terminals 10A to 10D is stored for each of the client terminals 10A to 10D in the transmission data storage unit 13, for example. The attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits the number of transmissions of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D stored in the transmission data storage unit 13 to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 at a predetermined timing. That is, the attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits the number of transmissions of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D within a predetermined period to the attribute information acquisition unit 22.

[0133] The timing at which the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D are transmitted by the attribute information transmission unit 17 is, for example, the timing when a grouping request is received by the attribute information acquisition unit 22 during a meeting in a room. When information indicating that a grouping request has been received is transmitted from the attribute information acquisition unit 22, the attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D accordingly.

[0134] When the attribute information acquisition unit 22 receives a grouping request from the group generation request unit 12, it notifies the attribute information transmission units 17 of the client terminals 10A to 10D of the general user that a grouping request has been received.

[0135] The attribute information acquisition unit 22 receives the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D transmitted from the attribute information transmission unit 17. Thereby, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D as user attribute information. The attribute information acquisition unit 22 outputs the acquired transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D to the group generation unit 23.

[0136] Based on the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D output from the attribute information acquisition unit 22, the group generation unit 23 divides the plurality of client terminals 10A to 10D into a plurality of groups. For example, the group generation unit 23 generates groups so that the sum of the transmission counts of each client terminal 10A to 10D within the same group (hereinafter, also referred to as "total transmission count within the group") is not too biased for each group. More specifically, the group generation unit 23 performs grouping so that the difference in the total transmission count within the group for each group is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

[0137] Next, with reference to FIG. 15, the grouping execution process in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the grouping execution process according to the second embodiment.

[0138] As shown in FIG. 15, first, the grouping request is sent by the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10X of the chairperson user to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20 (step S601), and the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20 receives the grouping request from the group generation request unit 12 of the client terminal 10X (step S602).

[0139] When the grouping request is received in step S602, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20 notifies the attribute information transmission units 17 of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D that there is a grouping request (step S603). Subsequently, the attribute information transmission unit 17 receives information indicating that there is a grouping request (step S604). Subsequently, the attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits the transmission counts of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D to the attribute information acquisition unit 22 of the remote conference server 20 (step S605).

[0140] Subsequently, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 receives the transmission counts of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D transmitted in step S605 (step S606). The transmission counts of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D received by the attribute information acquisition unit 22 are output from the attribute information acquisition unit 22 to the group generation unit 23.

[0141] Subsequently, based on the transmission counts of each of the client terminals 10A to 10D received in step S606, the group generation unit 23 divides the client terminals 10A to 10D into a plurality of groups (step S607).

[0142] The subsequent processing is the same as the processing of steps S405 to S410 shown in FIG. 7, so the description thereof is omitted.

[0143] As described above, according to the remote conferencing system of the present embodiment, when the attribute information transmission unit 17 transmits user attribute information from the client terminal 10, the attribute information acquisition unit 22 acquires the user attribute information. Therefore, grouping can be easily performed based on the user attribute information transmitted from the client terminal 10.

[0144] Also, according to the present embodiment, grouping is performed based on the number of transmissions of each client terminal 10. Therefore, for example, grouping can be performed so that there is no bias in the number of transmissions in each group.

[0145] As described above, various embodiments of the present embodiment have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

[0146] In the above embodiment, an example in which the user attribute information is included in the room entry request has been described, but the user attribute information may not be included in the room entry request.

[0147] In the above embodiment, an example in which grouping is executed based on either the OS language information or the number of transmissions of each client terminal 10 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, grouping may be executed based on the OS language information of each client terminal 10, and at a predetermined timing, grouping may be re-executed based on the number of transmissions of each client terminal 10.

[0148] The user attribute information is not limited to the examples described in the above embodiments. For example, it may be screen information shared on the conference screen of each client terminal 10, file information opened on each client terminal, or identification information (such as gender or age) of the users of each client terminal. When using the shared screen information as user attribute information, instead of obtaining the OS language information in step S403, the shared information may be obtained and grouping may be performed based on it. When using the opened file information or user identification information (such as gender or age), each piece of information may be obtained in step S403 and grouping may be performed based on it. Needless to say, it is also possible to perform grouping using a plurality of user attribute information.

[0149] In the above embodiment, each functional unit provided in the client terminal 10 may be provided in the remote conference server 20, and each functional unit provided in the remote conference server 20 may be provided in the client terminal 10.

[0150] In the above embodiment, a remote conference system including the client terminal 10 and the remote conference server 20 has been described, but it is not limited thereto. The information processing system according to the present invention may be the server itself provided with the above-described functional units, or may be the client terminal itself provided with the above-described functional units.

[0151] The present invention can also be implemented in embodiments such as a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, or a storage medium. Specifically, it may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of one device.

[0152] Note that the present invention includes supplying a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or an apparatus. And the present invention also includes cases where the computer of the system or apparatus reads out and executes the supplied program code to achieve the same.

[0153] Therefore, in order to implement (make executable) the functional processing of the present invention on a computer, the program code itself installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the present invention includes the computer program itself for implementing the functional processing of the present invention.

[0154] In that case, as long as it has the functions of the program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to an OS.

[0155] Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, MOs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, or CD-RWs. There are also magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, or DVDs (DVD-ROMs, DVD-Rs), etc.

[0156] As another method of supplying the program, connect to a homepage on the Internet using the browser of the client computer. Then, it can also be supplied by downloading the computer program itself of the present invention or a file including a compression and automatic installation function from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

[0157] Also, it is possible to divide the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and download each file from different homepages. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download program files for implementing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

[0158] It is also possible to encrypt the program of the present invention, store it on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and distribute it to users, and have users who meet certain conditions download key information for decrypting the program from a website via the Internet.Then, it is possible to execute the encrypted program using the downloaded key information and install it on a computer.

[0159] The functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments can also be realized by the OS running on the computer performing part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program.

[0160] Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on instructions from the program, a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment are also realized by this processing.

[0161] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative examples of the implementation of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by these embodiments. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its technical concept or main features. [Explanation of symbols]

[0162] 1. Remote conference system (information processing system) 10 Client Terminal 21 Entry processing unit (entry processing means) 22 Attribute information acquisition unit (attribute information acquisition means) 23 Group generation unit (group generation means) 24 Distribution information acquisition unit (distribution information acquisition means)

Claims

An information processing system in which a plurality of client terminals used by first-type users and second-type users are communicably connected, grouping means for dividing a plurality of client terminals related to the second-type users into a plurality of groups; display control means for displaying the video of the first-type user on the client terminals related to the second-type users, and controlling to display the videos of the second-type users within the same group as the user related to the client terminal when the grouping by the grouping means is executed; An information processing system characterized by comprising the above. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the display control means does not display the video of the second-type user and displays the video of the first-type user before the grouping by the grouping means is executed, and controls to display the videos of the second-type users within the same group as the user related to the client terminal when the grouping by the grouping means is executed. The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the display control means controls not to display the video of the first-type user that was displayed before the grouping by the grouping means is executed, and to display the videos of the second-type users within the same group as the user related to the client terminal when the grouping by the grouping means is executed. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the grouping means does not group the client terminals related to the first-type users, and divides the plurality of client terminals related to the second-type users into a plurality of groups. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by comprising display control means for displaying the videos of the second-type users on the client terminals related to the first-type users, and controlling to identify and display the videos of the second-type users for each group when the grouping by the grouping means is executed. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the display control means controls to identify and display by surrounding the second-type users within the same group with a thick frame.

7. Admission processing means for processing an admission request to the virtual conference room by the client terminal, comprising: The admission request includes a flag for identifying the user type, and it is characterized in that the user related to the client terminal is identified as a first type of user or a second type of user by the flag. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the first type of user is a chairman user and the second type of user is a general user.

9. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the video is a video captured by a camera provided in or connected to the information processing device.

10. A control method for an information processing system in which a plurality of client terminals used by a first type of user and a second type of user are communicably connected, a grouping step in which the grouping means of the information processing system divides a plurality of client terminals related to the second type of user into a plurality of groups; a display control step in which the display control means of the information processing system displays the video of the first type of user on the client terminal related to the second type of user, and controls to display the video of the second type of user in the same group as the user related to the client terminal when the grouping is executed by the grouping means; A control method for an information processing system, characterized by comprising:

11. A program for causing at least one computer to function as each means according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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