Information processing method and information processing terminal

Abstract

To provide an information processing method and an information processing terminal that improve sales efficiency.SOLUTION: An information processing method, which is executed by an information processing device that manages a store composed of autonomously moving mobile objects that sell products, comprises an identification step of identifying, on the basis of product information related to a product to be sold by a first store, a sales receiving store that is another store that sells a request object product among products of the first store, and a movement control step of moving a mobile object mounting the request object product included in the first store to the sales receiving store.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing method and an information processing terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems are known in which autonomously moving mobile objects that sell products are used as stores. For example, a system has been disclosed that outputs the inventory of products sold by mobile objects belonging to a store. Another system has been disclosed that generates an operation plan for the mobile objects so that a user can meet a mobile object of a store that the user wants to visit at a predetermined location.

[0003] Depending on the sales status of products by a mobile object that constitutes a certain store, it may be possible to improve sales efficiency by moving the mobile object to another store to sell the products. However, in the prior art, no attempt has been made to move a mobile object from one store to another store to sell products, which has made it difficult to improve sales efficiency. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-51500 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-139371 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing method and an information processing terminal that can improve sales efficiency. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing method of the embodiment is an information processing method executed by an information processing device that manages a store consisting of mobile objects that move autonomously and sell products, and includes an identification step of identifying a sales acceptance store, which is another store that sells the requested product among the products of the first store, based on product information regarding the products for sale at the first store, and a movement control step of moving a mobile object included in the first store and carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an example of an information processing system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of the data configuration of the management DB. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4D] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4E] FIG. 4E is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4F] FIG. 4F is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4G] FIG. 4G is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4H] FIG. 4H is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4I] FIG. 4I is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4J] FIG. 4J is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 4K] FIG. 4K is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing system 1 of this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 of the requester of the sale of the product G. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 on the accepting side that accepts the sale of a product G from another store. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing device 10 of this embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information processing executed in the information processing system 1 of this modified example. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of an information processing method and an information processing terminal will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an information processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0010] The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 10, an information processing terminal 20, and a mobile object 30. The information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 are communicably connected via a network NW or the like.

[0011] The information processing system 1 includes a plurality of stores. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a store A, a store B, and a store C. Note that the information processing system 1 may include a plurality of stores, and the number of stores included is not limited to three.

[0012] A store is made up of one or more mobile units 30. Fig. 1 shows an example in which store A is made up of mobile units 30A (mobile units 30A1 to 30A4), store B is made up of mobile units 30B (mobile units 30B1 to 30B3), and store C is made up of mobile units 30C (mobile units 30C1 to 30C3). Mobile units 30A, mobile units 30A1 to 30A4, mobile units 30B, mobile units 30B1 to 30B3, mobile units 30C, and mobile units 30C1 to 30C3 are examples of mobile units 30.

[0013] In this embodiment, for each of the multiple stores included in the information processing system 1, the mobile objects 30 that belong to each store and thereby constitute the store are determined in advance.

[0014] The mobile object 30 is a movable object that moves autonomously and sells products. The mobile object 30 is, for example, an autonomously moving vehicle, a robot that has a movement function and moves autonomously, etc. An autonomously moving vehicle is sometimes called an automatically driven vehicle.

[0015] The information processing terminal 20 is an information processing device operated by a staff member P in charge of a store. The staff member P is a user in charge of the store. The information processing terminal 20 is, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, or the like. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the information processing system 1 includes information processing terminals 20A, 20B, and 20C. The information processing terminal 20A is an information processing device operated by a staff member P1 in charge of store A. The information processing terminal 20B is an information processing device operated by a staff member P2 in charge of store B. The information processing terminal 20C is an information processing device operated by a staff member P3 in charge of store C. The staff members P1 to P3 are examples of staff members P.

[0016] The information processing device 10 is an information processing device that manages each of the multiple stores included in the information processing system 1. In this embodiment, the information processing device 10 manages the mobile objects 30 and information processing terminals 20 that belong to each store included in the information processing system 1. In detail, based on product information related to products for sale at the store, the information processing device 10 controls the mobile objects 30 of the store to move to other stores and sell the products at the other stores (described in detail below).

[0017] 2 is a functional block diagram of an example of the information processing system 1 of this embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 10, an information processing terminal 20, and a mobile object 30.

[0018] The information processing terminal 20 includes a communication unit 21, an input unit 22, an output unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25. The communication unit 21, the input unit 22, the output unit 23, the storage unit 24, and the control unit 25 are communicatively connected via a bus or the like.

[0019] The communication unit 21 is a communication interface that communicates with the mobile object 30, the information processing device 10, etc. via a network NW, etc. The input unit 22 accepts various operations by a user. The input unit 22 is, for example, a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, a microphone, etc. The output unit 23 outputs various information. The output unit 23 is, for example, a display that displays various information, a speaker that outputs various sounds, etc. The input unit 22 and the output unit 23 may be integrated into a touch panel. The input unit 22 and the output unit 23 may also be configured as separate entities from the information processing terminal 20. In this case, the input unit 22 and the output unit 23 may be configured to be communicably connected to the information processing terminal 20.

[0020] The storage unit 24 stores various types of data. The storage unit 14 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, a hard disk, an optical disk, etc. The storage unit 14 may be a storage device provided outside the information processing device 10. The storage unit 14 may also be a storage medium that stores or temporarily stores programs and various types of information downloaded via a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, etc.

[0021] The control unit 25 is a computer that executes information processing in the information processing terminal 20. The control unit 25 may be realized by causing a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a program, that is, by software.

[0022] In this embodiment, the control unit 25 executes processing related to the movement of the mobile object 30 included in the store it is responsible for to other stores, by communicating various types of information with the information processing device 10, and other information processing terminals 20 and mobile objects 30 via the information processing device 10. Details of this processing will be described later.

[0023] Next, the moving body 30 will be described.

[0024] The mobile object 30 includes a communication unit 31, an input unit 32, an output unit 33, a sensor 34, a drive unit 35, a memory unit 36, a sales operation unit 37, a product storage unit 38, and a control unit 39. The communication unit 31, the input unit 32, the output unit 33, the sensor 34, the drive unit 35, the memory unit 36, the sales operation unit 37, the product storage unit 38, and the control unit 39 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus or the like.

[0025] The communication unit 31 is a communication interface that communicates with the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, etc. via a network NW, etc. The input unit 32 accepts various operations by a user. The input unit 32 is, for example, a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, an input button, a microphone, etc. The output unit 33 outputs various information. The output unit 33 is, for example, a display that displays various information, a speaker that outputs various sounds, etc. The input unit 32 and the output unit 33 may be integrated into a touch panel.

[0026] The sensor 34 is a sensor that acquires information about the traveling environment of the mobile object 30. The traveling environment is, for example, observation information about the mobile object 30 and information about the surroundings of the mobile object 30. The sensor 34 is, for example, an internal sensor and an external sensor.

[0027] The internal sensor is a sensor that observes observation information. The observation information includes at least position information of the mobile object 30. The position information may be a relative position or an absolute position. In this embodiment, a form in which the position information is an absolute position represented by latitude and longitude will be described as an example. The internal sensor includes, for example, a position sensor (GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GPS (Global Positioning System)). The observation information may also include speed, acceleration, etc. In this case, the internal sensor further includes, for example, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, a rotary encoder, etc.

[0028] The external sensor observes information about the surroundings of the moving body 30. The external sensor may be mounted on the moving body 30 or may be mounted outside the moving body 30. The outside of the moving body 30 refers to, for example, other moving bodies 30 other than the moving body 30 in question, external devices, etc. In the following description, other moving bodies 30 other than the moving body 30 in question may be referred to as other moving bodies.

[0029] The surrounding information is information that indicates the situation around the moving body 30. The surroundings of the moving body 30 is an area within a predetermined range from the moving body 30. This range is an observable range of an external sensor. This range may be set in advance.

[0030] The surrounding information is, for example, at least one of a captured image of the surroundings of the moving object 30 and distance information. The captured image is captured image data obtained by capturing an image. In the following description, the captured image data will be simply referred to as a captured image. The distance information is information indicating the distance from the moving object 30.

[0031] The external sensor is, for example, an imaging device that captures an image by imaging, a distance sensor, etc. The distance sensor is, for example, a millimeter-wave radar, a laser sensor, a distance image sensor, etc. The captured image is, for example, digital image data in which a pixel value is defined for each pixel, or a depth map in which the distance from the sensor 34 is defined for each pixel, etc. The laser sensor is, for example, a two-dimensional LiDAR (Laser imaging Detection and Ranging) sensor installed parallel to a horizontal plane, or a three-dimensional LiDAR sensor.

[0032] The drive unit 35 is a device mounted on the mobile body 30 and drives the movement of the mobile body 30. The drive unit 35 is, for example, an engine, a motor, wheels, etc. The drive unit 35 is driven under the control of the control unit 39. For example, the control unit 39 determines the surrounding situation based on information obtained from the sensor 34, etc., and controls the amount of acceleration, the amount of braking, the steering angle, etc.

[0033] The storage unit 36 stores various types of data. The storage unit 36 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as RAM or flash memory, a hard disk, an optical disk, etc. The storage unit 26 may be a storage device provided outside the mobile object 30. The storage unit 26 may also be a storage medium that stores or temporarily stores programs and various types of information downloaded via a LAN, the Internet, etc.

[0034] The sales operation unit 37 performs operations related to the sale of the product G loaded on the mobile body 30. In detail, the sales operation unit 37 provides the product G loaded on the product storage unit 38 provided on the mobile body 30 to the user in response to the user's operation instructions on the input unit 32, etc. Furthermore, the sales operation unit 37 executes payment acceptance processing and settlement processing for the price of the product G in response to information input by the user in response to the user's operation instructions on the input unit 32, etc. Upon completion of the payment acceptance processing and settlement processing for the product G, the sales operation unit 37 provides the product G to the user. The payment method by the user may be either cash or electronic money, and is not limited to this.

[0035] Furthermore, each time a product G stored in the product storage unit 38 is sold to a user, the sales operation unit 37 detects the number of products G in stock and the number already sold, and outputs the detection result to the control unit 39. The control unit 39 of the mobile object 30 transmits mobile object status information including the product ID (Identification) and the number of products G in stock included in the detection result to the information processing device 10.

[0036] The control unit 39 is a computer that controls the mobile object 30 that moves autonomously and sells the product G. The control unit 39 controls the driving unit 35 so as to autonomously move the mobile object 30. In detail, the control unit 39 controls the driving unit 35 so as to autonomously move using the captured image acquired by the sensor 34, the position information of the mobile object 30 detected by the sensor 34, and the like.

[0037] In this embodiment, the control unit 39 controls the driving unit 35 to autonomously move toward a position indicated by destination position information included in the movement start instruction information, in accordance with the movement start instruction information received from the information processing device 10. The memory unit 36 of the moving object 30 stores map information of the real space, and the control unit 39 controls the driving unit 35 to autonomously move toward the destination position in accordance with the map information and the movement start instruction information.

[0038] Furthermore, the control unit 39 transmits to the information processing device 10, at predetermined time intervals, mobile object status information including the mobile object ID of the mobile object 30, current location information which is information about the current location of the mobile object 30 detected by the sensor 34, product IDs of the products G stored in the product storage unit 38, the number of products in stock, and the number of products sold. The predetermined time is, for example, one second, but is not limited to this. Furthermore, as described above, the control unit 39 may transmit, in addition to the predetermined time intervals, mobile object status information to the information processing device 10 each time a product G is sold.

[0039] Next, the information processing device 10 will be described.

[0040] The information processing device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an input unit 12, an output unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15. The communication unit 11, the input unit 12, the output unit 13, the storage unit 14, and the control unit 15 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus or the like.

[0041] The communication unit 11 is a communication interface that communicates with the information processing terminal 20, the mobile object 30, etc. via a network NW, etc. The input unit 12 accepts various operations by a user. The input unit 12 is, for example, a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, an input button, a microphone, etc. The output unit 13 outputs various information. The output unit 13 is, for example, a display that displays various information, a speaker that outputs various sounds, etc. The input unit 12 and the output unit 13 may be integrated into a touch panel.

[0042] The storage unit 14 stores various types of data. The storage unit 14 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as RAM or flash memory, a hard disk, an optical disk, or the like. The storage unit 14 may be a storage device provided outside the information processing device 10. The storage unit 14 may also be a storage medium that stores or temporarily stores programs and various types of information downloaded via a LAN, the Internet, or the like.

[0043] In this embodiment, the storage unit 14 stores a management DB 14A.

[0044] 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of the data configuration of the management DB 14A. The management DB 14A is a database for managing information relating to each of a plurality of stores included in the information processing system 1. The data format of the management DB 14A is not limited to a database.

[0045] For example, management DB14A contains information that associates a store ID, store location, person in charge ID, information processing terminal ID, mobile object ID, mobile object location information, product ID, product name, product classification, inventory quantity, unit price, sales, note 1, and note 2.

[0046] The store ID is identification information of the store. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which store IDs for stores A to C shown in FIG. 1 are registered. The store location is information representing the position in real space of the store identified by the corresponding store ID. Specifically, the store location is represented by a group of latitude and longitude that represents the position, area, and range of the store in real space, which is composed of a group of one or more mobile objects 30. The staff member ID is identification information of the staff member P in charge of the store identified by the corresponding store ID. The information processing terminal ID is identification information of the information processing terminal 20 used by the staff member P identified by the corresponding staff member ID.

[0047] A mobile object ID is identification information of a mobile object 30 that constitutes a store identified by the corresponding store ID. In the management DB 14A, the mobile object ID of a mobile object 30 managed by each store is pre-registered in association with the store ID of the store that manages the mobile object 30. Therefore, even if a mobile object 30 that belongs to a store and is managed by that store temporarily moves to another store, the store that manages the mobile object 30 is the store from which the mobile object 30 moved.

[0048] The mobile object location information is current location information that indicates the current location of the mobile object 30 identified by the corresponding mobile object ID. The mobile object location information is expressed by latitude and longitude, etc.

[0049] The product ID is identification information of the product G that is or was carried on the mobile object 30 identified by the corresponding mobile object ID. The product name is the name of the product G identified by the corresponding product ID. The product classification is the classification of the product G identified by the corresponding product ID, for example, main product, side product, etc. The inventory quantity represents the inventory quantity of the product identified by the corresponding product ID that is carried on the mobile object 30. The unit price is the unit price of the product G identified by the corresponding product ID. The sales represent the sales amount of the product G identified by the corresponding product ID. Note 1 is registered with supplementary information regarding the product identified by the corresponding product ID. For example, note 1 is registered with the expiration date, best before date, sales target, etc. of the product identified by the corresponding product ID. Note 2 is registered with supplementary information regarding the store identified by the corresponding store ID. For example, note 2 is registered with the business hours of the store identified by the corresponding store ID, etc.

[0050] The management DB 14A is updated as needed by the control unit 15. For example, information such as mobile object location information, inventory quantity, and sales in the management DB 14A is updated sequentially in accordance with mobile object status information received from the mobile object 30.

[0051] Returning to Fig. 2, the explanation will be continued. The control unit 15 executes information processing in the information processing device 10. In this embodiment, based on product information about a product G for sale in a certain store, the control unit 15 controls the mobile object 30 in the store to move to another store and sell the product G in the other store.

[0052] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which a requesting store that requests another store to sell its own product G is store A, and a receiving store that receives a request from store A to sell product G and accepts the sale is store B. That is, in this embodiment, a case will be described in which store A is an example of a first store, and store B is an example of a second store. Also, a case will be described in which a person in charge of store A, P1, corresponds to the first person in charge, and a person in charge of store B, P2, corresponds to the second person in charge. Also, a case will be described in which information processing terminal 20A corresponds to the first information processing terminal, and information processing terminal 20B corresponds to the second information processing terminal. Note that, as will be described in detail later, the requesting store and the receiving store (the sales receiving store, the details of which will be described later) are identified by information processing, which will be described later, and are not limited to fixed stores.

[0053] The control unit 15 has a transmission / reception unit 15A, an identification unit 15B, and a movement control unit 15C. The transmission / reception unit 15A, the identification unit 15B, and the movement control unit 15C are realized by one or more processors. For example, each of the above units may be realized by causing a processor such as a CPU to execute a program, i.e., by software.

[0054] Each of the above units may be realized by a processor such as a dedicated IC, i.e., hardware. Each of the above units may also be realized by a combination of software and hardware. When multiple processors are used, each processor may realize one of the units, or may realize two or more of the units. Furthermore, at least one of one or more functional units included in the control unit 15 may be mounted on an external information processing device communicatively connected to the information processing device 10 via a network NW or the like.

[0055] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A communicates with the information processing terminal 20 and the mobile object 30 via the network NW.

[0056] The transmitter / receiver 15A receives mobile object status information from the mobile object 30 at predetermined intervals and each time a product G carried on the mobile object 30 is sold, and registers the information in the management DB 14A. Specifically, the transmitter / receiver 15A registers the current location information included in the received mobile object status information as mobile object location information, in association with the mobile object ID included in the mobile object status information. The transmitter / receiver 15A also registers the inventory quantity in association with the mobile object ID and the product ID included in the mobile object status information. The transmitter / receiver 15A also registers the amount of sales obtained by multiplying the unit price corresponding to the product ID by the number of sold items included in the mobile object status information, in association with the mobile object ID and the product ID. Through these processes, the transmitter / receiver 15A updates the management DB 14A. As a result, the management DB 14A is updated to information representing the latest status of the mobile object 30 and the product G carried on the mobile object 30.

[0057] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A also transmits product information about the products G to be sold at each store to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P in charge of each of the multiple stores managed by the information processing system 1. The transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits the product information of the store that the person in charge P is in charge of to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the store, for example, at predetermined time intervals.

[0058] The products G to be sold in a store are the products G mounted on each of one or more mobile objects 30 that make up the store. The product information may be information about the products G. For example, the product information may include the product name, product classification, inventory quantity, unit price, sales, expiration date, sales target, and the like of the products G. For each store ID, the transmitter / receiver 15A reads the product name, product classification, inventory quantity, unit price, sales, best-before date, expiration date, sales target, business hours, and the like for each product ID associated with the store ID from the management DB 14A as product information. The transmitter / receiver 15A then transmits the read product information to the information processing terminal 20 identified by the information processing terminal ID corresponding to the store ID. Through this process, the product information about the products G to be sold in the store managed by the person in charge P is transmitted to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the store.

[0059] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the product information displays the received product information on the output unit 23 .

[0060] 4A is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50A displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20. The display screen 50A is an example of the display screen 50.

[0061] For example, assume that a display screen 50A including product information is displayed on the output unit 23 of an information processing terminal 20A operated by a person in charge P1 who manages store A. As shown in Fig. 4A, product information including the store name of store A, the names of products sold at store A, product categories, and inventory quantities is displayed on display screen 50A.

[0062] The person in charge P1 operating the information processing terminal 20A checks the displayed product information and, if he or she determines that there is a product that he or she would like to request to be sold at another store, inputs a request to search for other store status by operating the input unit 22. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4A, the product information for store A indicates that, of the multiple products for sale at store A, the main product is sold out and side products remain. Therefore, after checking the displayed product information, the person in charge P1 of store A may determine that it would be difficult to sell only the side product at store A and may wish to sell the side product at another store. In this case, the person in charge P1 operates the input unit 22 of the information processing terminal 20A to operate the displayed other store search request button. Upon receiving this operation, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 transmits a request to search for other store status to the information processing device 10.

[0063] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 may determine whether the received product information satisfies a predetermined condition, and if it determines that the condition is met, may send a request to search for the status of other stores to the information processing device 10.

[0064] The predetermined conditions are, for example, when the inventory of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information is below a threshold, when the sales amount of the one or more products represented by the product information is below a target sales amount, when a predetermined timing has occurred, when a predetermined period has passed before the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information, when a predetermined period has passed before the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information, and when a predetermined period has passed before the end of the planned sales period of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information.

[0065] When the above conditions include that the inventory of at least one of one or more products G represented by the product information is below a threshold, the control unit 25 can promote the sale of products G with inventory above the threshold in other stores, thereby improving sales efficiency. Furthermore, when the above conditions include that the sales amount of one or more products represented by the product information is below a target sales amount, the control unit 25 can promote the sale of products G with sales amounts below the target sales amount in other stores, thereby improving sales efficiency. Furthermore, when the above conditions include that the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of one or more products G represented by the product information has arrived a predetermined period before the expiration date or best-before date, the control unit 25 can promote the sale of products G with an upcoming expiration date or best-before date in other stores where they can be sold more efficiently. Furthermore, since the above conditions include timing that is a predetermined period before the expiration date or use-by date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information, the control unit 25 can prevent requests for sales at other stores of products G that are difficult to sell at other stores, such as products G that are close to their expiration date or use-by date.

[0066] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 may determine whether at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information satisfies at least one of the above conditions, and if it determines that it does, may send a request to search for the status of other stores to the information processing device 10.

[0067] In other words, a situation in which a request to search the status of other stores is sent from the information processing terminal 20 to the information processing device 10 occurs when the person in charge P, who operates the information processing terminal 20, wishes to sell at least one of the products G that are for sale at the store he is in charge of at another store.

[0068] The other store status search request is information representing a search request for the status of other stores other than the store in charge of the person in charge P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that sent the request.

[0069] Returning to Fig. 2, the explanation will be continued. The transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 that has received the other store status search request generates store information and transmits it to the information processing device 10 that has sent the other store status search request.

[0070] The store information is information relating to each of one or more stores other than the store managed by the information processing terminal 20 that has transmitted the other store status search request. For example, the store information includes the store name, product names and product classifications of each of the other stores that are stores other than the store managed by the information processing terminal 20 that has transmitted the other store status search request.

[0071] The store information may further include at least one of various information such as the unit price of each product for sale at the other store, sales, store business hours, store location information, store staff information, store budget size, product sales hours at the store, behind-the-scenes information about the store, store demand forecast, and customer conditions. Behind-the-scenes information is supplementary information about the store, such as whether the store is profit-oriented and aims to sell out of products, or whether sales are not emphasized. Demand forecast is a time-based demand forecast for each product sold at the store, and indicates, for example, the time period predicted to be the most demanded. Customer conditions are information indicating the desired conditions of the staff member P when selling products for sale at the store at another store. Customer conditions are, for example, information indicating a predetermined distance range from the current location of the mobile object 30, available business hours, desired price, etc.

[0072] The store information may further include detailed information about the products G for sale at the store. The detailed information about the products G may include, for example, product images, product prices, purchase amounts, product quantities, inventory quantities, and sold quantities.

[0073] The store information may further include information about the mobile object 30 that belongs to the store. The information about the mobile object 30 may be, for example, the size of the mobile object 30, the design of the mobile object 30, and the characteristics of the mobile object 30. The design and characteristics of the mobile object 30 may be information that indicates, for example, a cute design, a cool design, a design that does not disrupt the atmosphere of the store, etc.

[0074] The store information may further include at least one of payment information and transaction information for the product G for sale at the store. The payment information is, for example, information indicating the payment method, profit distribution, etc. The transaction information is, for example, information indicating a reward. The transaction information may also include a message such as "If you accept this offer, we will pay you a reward of XX yen," where X is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0075] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 that has received the store status search request generates store information about one or more stores other than the store managed by the information processing terminal 20 that has transmitted the other store status search request. The transmitting / receiving unit 15A may generate the store information based on the management DB 14A or the like. Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits the generated store information to the information processing terminal 20 that has transmitted the other store status search request.

[0076] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 may determine whether at least one of the above conditions is satisfied for each store included in the information processing system 1, based on the product information of each store. When the transmitting / receiving unit 15A determines that at least one of the above conditions is satisfied, or when it receives a request to search for other store statuses from the information processing terminal 20, it may transmit the store information to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of the store of the product information determined to satisfy the condition, or to the information processing terminal 20 that is the sender of the store status search request.

[0077] Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 may determine whether or not at least one of the above conditions is satisfied for each store included in the information processing system 1, based on the product information of each store. When the transmitting / receiving unit 15A determines that at least one of the above conditions is satisfied, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A may transmit a message to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P in charge of the store for which the product information has been determined to satisfy the condition, inquiring about whether or not to perform an operation to send a request to search for statuses of other stores.

[0078] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the store information displays the received store information on the output unit 23 .

[0079] Fig. 4B is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50B displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20. The display screen 50B is an example of the display screen 50. Fig. 4B shows a scene in which a request to search for the status of other stores is sent to the information processing device 10 in response to an operation instruction from the information processing terminal 20A by the person in charge of store A, P1, and store information of other stores is sent from the information processing device 10 to the information processing terminal 20A and displayed.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 4B, display screen 50B of information processing terminal 20A displays store information such as product names and product categories of products sold at each store, for stores B and C other than store A.

[0081] While viewing the display screen 50B, the person in charge P1 operates the input unit 22 to input the product name or product ID of the requested product that is to be sold at another store, among the products G that are to be sold at store A. Also, by operating the input unit 22, the person in charge P1 operates the offer button in the display field of the sales acceptance store, which is the accepting store that will sell the requested product. Through these operations, the person in charge P1 specifies the requested product that is to be sold at another store, among the products G that are to be sold at store A that he is in charge of, and the sales acceptance store, which is the accepting store that will sell the requested product.

[0082] As described above, the store information may include the business hours of the store. In this case, the person in charge P1 can operate the input unit 22 while viewing the display screen 50B, and can operate the offer button in the display field of the store where the mobile object 30 can move and sell the product G during the business hours, taking the business hours into consideration. In other words, by including the business hours in the store information, it is possible to prevent a store where the mobile object 30 may arrive, such as a store close to closing time, from being offered as the receiving store.

[0083] When these operations are accepted, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A transmits to the information processing device 10 sales request information including requested product information indicating the specified requested product and sales acceptance store information indicating the sales acceptance store.

[0084] The sales request information may further include other information, which may be input by the person in charge P1 operating the input unit 22 or by other instructions.

[0085] For example, the sales request information may include the request of the person in charge P1, comments, the sales location of the requested product, the sales time of the requested product, etc. The sales location of the requested product is information indicating, for example, which space within the area occupied by the sales receiving store the sales is desired to be used for sales, etc.

[0086] The sales request information may further include information such as a product image of the requested product, sales quantity limit, desired sales price, purchase amount, price range, product appeal, etc. Sales quantity limit is information regarding sales quantity limit, such as selling up to N units and leaving M units, or selling up to L units in the morning and up to K units in the afternoon. N, M, L, and K are integers greater than or equal to 1.

[0087] The sales request information may further include payment information such as payment method and profit distribution, and transaction information such as reward money and profit distribution.

[0088] Returning to Figure 2, the explanation will continue. The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 that has received the sales request information transmits the sales request information to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of the sales acceptance store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information. Here, the explanation will be given assuming that the sales acceptance store is store B, and the sales request information is transmitted to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 who is in charge of store B.

[0089] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the sales request information displays the received sales request information on the output unit 23 .

[0090] 4C to 4E are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of the display screen 50 (display screen 50C to display screen 50E) displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the sales request information. 4C to 4E show an example in which the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge of store B, P2, has received the sales request information.

[0091] As shown in Fig. 4C, when the sales request information is received, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B displays a message indicating that the sales request information has been received. Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the person in charge P2 operated the input unit 22 or since the sales request information was received, the control unit 25 displays a display screen 50D including the received sales request information on the output unit 23 (see Fig. 4D).

[0092] The person in charge P2 checks the sales request information by visually checking the display screen 50D of the information processing terminal 20B, and if he / she accepts the sales request, he / she operates the approval button included in the display screen 50D. Note that the person in charge P2 may input a comment on the sales request by operating the input unit 22.

[0093] When the approval button is operated by the person in charge P2 operating the input unit 22, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B displays a display screen 50E including a message indicating acceptance on the output unit 23 (see FIG. 4E). Then, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B transmits acceptance information indicating acceptance of the sales request information to the information processing device 10.

[0094] The consignment information includes an acceptance flag indicating acceptance of the sales request information, and any entered comments. The consignment information may also include a response message to the sales request, the sales location and sales time of store B, which is the accepting store, information about the products G for sale at store B, payment information, and the like. The information about the products G for sale at store B is, for example, information representing the product image, sales quantity limit, desired product price, purchase amount, price range, product appeal, and the like of each of the products G for sale at store B, which is the accepting store. The payment information is information representing the payment method and profit distribution, etc. The transaction information is information about the reward money, etc.

[0095] Returning to Figure 2, we continue the explanation.

[0096] The specifying unit 15B specifies a sales acceptance store, which is another store that sells the requested product among the products G of the store that is requested to sell, based on the product information on the product G that is the target of sale of the store.

[0097] As described above, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the requested product among the products of store A is sold at another store. Therefore, the identification unit 15B identifies the sales acceptance store based on the product information regarding the product G that is the target for sale at store A.

[0098] In detail, the identifying unit 15B identifies the requested product and the sales acceptance store that sells the requested product based on the sales request information received from the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge of store A, P1.

[0099] More specifically, the identification unit 15B identifies the product represented by the requested product information included in the sales request information as the requested product, and identifies the store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information as the sales acceptance store.

[0100] In addition, the identification unit 15B may transmit the sales request information received from the information processing terminal 20A to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 in charge of store B, which is the store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information, and when it receives acceptance information representing acceptance of the sales request information from the information processing terminal 20B, it may identify store B represented by the sales acceptance store information as the sales acceptance store.

[0101] Furthermore, the identification unit 15B may identify a store that satisfies at least one of the above conditions as a requesting store that requests the sale of the product G at another store, based on the store information of each store included in the information processing system 1. Then, the identification unit 15B may identify a product that satisfies predetermined product conditions as a product to be sold, based on the product information of the requesting store, and identify a sales acceptance store by searching, based on the management DB 14A, for other stores that can sell the product to be sold.

[0102] In this embodiment, a description will be given assuming a situation in which the identification unit 15B identifies store B as a sales acceptance store.

[0103] When the specifying unit 15B specifies the sales acceptance store, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits request acceptance information indicating that the request has been accepted to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 in charge of store A, which is the requestor.

[0104] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the request acceptance information displays the received request acceptance information on the output unit 23 .

[0105] Fig. 4F is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50F displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20 that has received the request acceptance information. The display screen 50F is an example of the display screen 50. Fig. 4F shows an example in which the information processing terminal 20A of a person in charge of store A, which is the request source, receives and displays the request acceptance information.

[0106] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20, which has received the request acceptance information, displays a display screen 50F including the request acceptance information on the output unit 23. For example, the control unit 25 displays a display screen 50F on the output unit 23 that includes a message indicating that the request has been accepted and a message prompting an instruction to permit the start of movement of the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store that has accepted the request. When approving the start of movement, the person in charge P1 operates the input unit 22 to operate the start movement button included on the display screen 50F. The control unit 25, which has received the start movement instruction by operating the start movement button, transmits to the information processing device 10 start movement instruction information including an instruction to move the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store.

[0107] Returning to Figure 2, the explanation continues.

[0108] The movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10, which has received the movement start instruction information from the information processing terminal 20, moves the mobile object 30 carrying the requested product included in store A to the sales acceptance store.

[0109] The movement control unit 15C may move the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product included in store A to the sales acceptance store when receiving acceptance information indicating acceptance of the sales request information from the information processing terminal 20B of store B. Furthermore, the movement control unit 15C may move the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product included in store A to the sales acceptance store when the sales acceptance store is identified by the identification unit 15B.

[0110] For example, the movement control unit 15C identifies the moving body 30 identified by the moving body ID associated with the store ID of the requesting store and the product ID of the requested product in the management DB 14A as the moving body 30 to be moved. The movement control unit 15C also reads the store location associated with the store ID of the identified sales acceptance store from the management DB 14A. The movement control unit 15C then transmits movement start instruction information including a latitude and longitude group representing the store location as destination location information to the identified moving body 30 to be moved.

[0111] As described above, the mobile object 30 that has received the movement start instruction information controls the driving unit 35 so as to autonomously move toward the position indicated by the movement destination position information included in the movement start instruction information, in accordance with the movement start instruction information received from the information processing device 10. Therefore, the mobile object 30 starts moving from the store A to which it belongs toward the store B that is the sales acceptance store.

[0112] The transmitter / receiver unit 15A of the information processing device 10 determines whether the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product has arrived at the sales acceptance store by determining whether the current location information contained in the mobile body status information sequentially received from the mobile body 30 indicates a location within the store location of the sales acceptance store read from the management DB 14A.

[0113] Then, when the transmitter / receiver unit 15A determines that the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product has arrived at store B, which is the sales acceptance store, it transmits movement completion information indicating that the movement has been completed to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 in charge of store B, which is the sales acceptance store.

[0114] 4G is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50G displayed on the information processing terminal 20B. The display screen 50G is an example of the display screen 50.

[0115] When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B receives the movement completion information from the information processing device 10, it displays a display screen 50G including a message prompting confirmation of the movement completion on the output unit 23. When the person in charge P2 confirms that the mobile object 30 that moved from store A has arrived at store B that he is in charge of, he operates the button indicating arrival completion by operating the input unit 22. When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B receives the signal indicating arrival completion, it transmits confirmation completion information indicating confirmation completion by the person in charge P to the information processing device 10.

[0116] Returning to Fig. 2, the explanation will be continued. When the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 receives confirmation completion information from the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 who is in charge of store B, which is the sales acceptance store, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of movement of the mobile object 30 to store B to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 who is in charge of store A, which is the requester. The transmitting / receiving unit 15A receives information indicating approval of the movement completion information from the information processing terminal 20A.

[0117] When the mobile unit 30 of store A carrying the requested product moves to store B, which is a sales acceptance store that sells the requested product of store A and which has been identified based on the product information of store A, the mobile unit 30 becomes available to sell product G in the area of store B. As a result, product G that is the target for sale of store A becomes available for sale in the area of store B as a result of the movement of mobile unit 30, and a new store that can also sell the new requested product is configured as store B. In other words, when the mobile unit 30 of store A moves to store B, product G that was being sold at store A is sold together with product G that is the target for sale of store B.

[0118] When the sale of the product G at the store B is to be completed, the person in charge of the store B, P2, operates the information processing terminal 20B to input return instruction information for the moving object 30.

[0119] 4H and 4I are schematic diagrams of an example of the display screen 50 (display screen 50H, display screen 50I) displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20B.

[0120] For example, the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge of store B, which is the sales acceptance store, displays on the output unit 23 a display screen 50H including a message prompting the person in charge to start moving the mobile object 30 that has moved from store A, the requesting store, back to the requesting store (see FIG. 4H). When the person in charge P2 operating the information processing terminal 20B wishes to return the mobile object 30 that moved from store A to store B, which the person in charge of ...

[0121] Returning to Fig. 2, the explanation will be continued. After the movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10 has moved the mobile object 30 from the requesting store to the seller accepting store, when end-of-sale information regarding the end of sales is received from the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the seller accepting store, the movement control unit 15C moves the mobile object 30 to the requesting store. In this embodiment, when the movement control unit 15C receives return instruction information from the information processing terminal 20B, it moves the mobile object 30 to the requesting store A. The return instruction information is an example of end-of-sale information.

[0122] Specifically, the movement control unit 15C identifies, based on the management DB 14A, the mobile object 30 that has moved from store A to store B, which is in charge of person P2 operating the information processing terminal 20B. For example, the movement control unit 15C identifies, among the mobile objects 30 present in the store location associated with the information processing terminal ID of the information processing terminal 20B, the mobile object ID of the mobile object 30 associated with the store ID of a store other than store B identified by the store ID corresponding to the information processing terminal ID. Then, the movement control unit 15C transmits, to the mobile object 30 identified by the identified mobile object ID, movement start instruction information including, as destination position information, a latitude and longitude group that indicates the store location of store A to which the mobile object 30 belongs.

[0123] Upon receiving the movement start instruction information, the mobile object 30 controls the driving unit 35 to autonomously move toward the position indicated by the destination position information included in the movement start instruction information, in accordance with the movement start instruction information received from the information processing device 10. Therefore, the mobile object 30 starts moving from store B, which is a sales acceptance store, toward store A to which the mobile object 30 belongs.

[0124] The transmitter / receiver unit 15A of the information processing device 10 determines whether the mobile body 30 has reached the requesting store A by determining whether the current location information contained in the mobile body status information sequentially received from the mobile body 30 indicates a location within the store location of the requesting store A to which the mobile body 30 belongs, as read from the management DB 14A.

[0125] Then, when the transmitter / receiver 15A determines that the moving object 30 has arrived at store A, which is the store that originated the request, it transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of movement to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 who is in charge of store A, which is the requestor.

[0126] 4J is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50I displayed on the information processing terminal 20A. The display screen 50I is an example of the display screen 50.

[0127] When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives the movement completion information from the information processing device 10, it displays a display screen 50I including a message prompting confirmation of the movement completion on the output unit 23. When the person in charge P1 confirms that the mobile object 30 that moved from store B has arrived at store A that he is in charge of, he operates the button indicating arrival completion by operating the input unit 22. When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives the signal indicating arrival completion, it transmits arrival confirmation completion information indicating that the person in charge P has completed arrival confirmation to the information processing device 10.

[0128] Returning to Figure 2, the explanation continues. The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10, which has received the arrival confirmation information from the information processing terminal 20A, transmits service completion information indicating the completion of the service to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 who is in charge of store A, which is the requesting store, and to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 who is in charge of store B, which is the sales receiving store.

[0129] 4K is a schematic diagram of an example of a display screen 50J displayed on the information processing terminal 20A. The display screen 50J is an example of the display screen 50.

[0130] When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives the service completion information from the information processing device 10, it displays the display screen 50J including a message indicating that the service has been completed on the output unit 23. Similarly, when the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B receives the service completion information from the information processing device 10, it displays the display screen 50 including a message indicating that the service has been completed on the output unit 23.

[0131] Next, an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing system 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0132] FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing system 1 of this embodiment.

[0133] As described above, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the requesting store requesting the sale of product G at another store is store A, and the selling store is store B. Note that the requesting store and the selling store are determined by the above information processing, and are therefore not limited to store A and store B, respectively.

[0134] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 receives mobile object status information from the mobile object 30 at predetermined time intervals and each time a product G carried on the mobile object 30 is sold (step S100). The transmitter / receiver 15A registers the received mobile object status information in the management DB 14A, thereby updating the management DB 14A.

[0135] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 transmits product information about the product G to be sold at each store to each of the information processing terminals 20 of the staff P in charge of each of the multiple stores managed by the information processing system 1 (step S102). Fig. 5 shows a representative scene in which the product information is transmitted to the information processing terminal 20A.

[0136] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A that receives the product information determines whether the received product information satisfies predetermined conditions, and if it determines that the conditions are met (step S104), it sends a request to search for the status of other stores to the information processing device 10 (step S106).

[0137] For example, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A, which has received the product information, displays the received product information on the output unit 23. For example, the output unit 23 displays a display screen 50A shown in FIG. 4A. When a person in charge P1 who manages store A wishes to sell product G, which is a product for sale at store A, at another store, the person in charge operates the other store search request button. When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives an instruction to operate the other store search request button, the control unit 25 determines that the conditions are met and transmits a request to search for the status of other stores to the information processing device 10.

[0138] Furthermore, as described above, when the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A determines that at least one of the following conditions is met: the inventory of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information is below a threshold; the sales amount of the one or more products represented by the product information is below a target sales amount; a predetermined timing has arrived; a timing that is a predetermined period before the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information; a timing that is a predetermined period before the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information; and a timing that is a predetermined period before the end of the planned sales period of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information, the control unit 25 sends a request to search for status of other stores to the information processing device 10.

[0139] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 that has received the other store status search request generates store information (step S108). The transmitting / receiving unit 15A generates store information about one or more stores other than the store managed by the information processing terminal 20A that has transmitted the other store status search request. The transmitting / receiving unit 15A then transmits the generated store information to the information processing terminal 20A that has transmitted the other store status search request (step S110).

[0140] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A that has received the store information displays the received store information on the output unit 23 (step S112). By the processing of step S112, for example, a display screen 50B shown in FIG. 4B is displayed on the input unit 22 of the information processing terminal 20A.

[0141] While viewing the display screen 50B, the person in charge P1 operates the input unit 22 to specify the requested product to be sold at another store from among the products G for sale at store A. The person in charge P1 also operates the input unit 22 to operate the offer button in the display field for the sales acceptance store that will sell the requested product. The person in charge P1 also operates the input unit 22 to input the product name or product ID of the requested product to be sold at another store. By these operations, the person in charge P1 specifies the requested product to be sold at another store from among the products G for sale at store A that he is in charge of, and the sales acceptance store that is the other store that will sell the requested product.

[0142] When these operations are accepted (step S114), the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A transmits sales request information including requested product information representing the specified requested product and sales acceptance store information representing the sales acceptance store to the information processing device 10 (step S116).

[0143] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 that receives the sales request information transmits the sales request information to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 who is in charge of the sales acceptance store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information (step S118).

[0144] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B that has received the sales request information displays the received sales request information on the output unit 23 (step S120). By the processing of step S120, for example, the display screen 50 of FIGS. 4C to 4E is displayed on the output unit 23.

[0145] When the approval button is operated by the person in charge P2 through the input unit 22 of the information processing terminal 20B (step S122), the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B transmits acceptance information representing acceptance of the sales request information to the information processing device 10 (step S124).

[0146] The identification unit 15B of the information processing device 10 identifies the product represented by the requested product information included in the sales request information received in step S116 as the requested product, and identifies store B represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information as the sales acceptance store (step S126). For example, the identification unit 15B identifies store B managed by person in charge P2 who operates information processing terminal 20B that is the source of the acceptance information in step S124 as the sales acceptance store.

[0147] When the identification unit 15B identifies the sales acceptance store, the transmission / reception unit 15A of the information processing device 10 transmits request acceptance information indicating that the request has been accepted to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 in charge of the requesting store A (step S128).

[0148] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A that has received the request acceptance information displays the received request acceptance information on the output unit 23 (step S130). By the processing of step S130, for example, a display screen 50F shown in FIG. 4F is displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20A.

[0149] When the store A staff member P1 operates the input unit 22 to operate the start movement button included in the display screen 50F, the control unit 25 accepts the start movement instruction (step S132). Then, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A transmits to the information processing device 10 start movement instruction information including an instruction to move the mobile object 30 loaded with the requested product to store B, which is a sales acceptance store (step S134).

[0150] The movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10, which has received the movement start instruction information from the information processing terminal 20, moves the mobile object 30 carrying the requested product contained in store A to store B, which is a sales acceptance store (steps S136 to S140).

[0151] In detail, the movement control unit 15C transmits movement start instruction information including a group of latitude and longitude indicating the store location of store B as destination location information to the moving object 30 that is the movement object and that carries the requested product and belongs to store A (step S136). Fig. 5 shows an example of a scene in which the movement start instruction information is transmitted to the moving object 30A of store A.

[0152] Upon receiving the movement start instruction information, the moving body 30A controls the driving unit 35 so as to autonomously move toward the position indicated by the destination position information included in the movement start instruction information, in accordance with the movement start instruction information received from the information processing device 10. By this control, the moving body 30A moves from the store A to which it belongs toward the store B, which is the sales acceptance store (step S138).

[0153] The transmitter / receiver unit 15A of the information processing device 10 determines whether the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product has arrived at the sales acceptance store by determining whether the current location information contained in the mobile body status information sequentially received from the mobile body 30 indicates a location within the store location of the sales acceptance store read from the management DB 14A (step S140).

[0154] Then, when the transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 determines that the mobile body 30 carrying the requested product has arrived at store B, which is the sales acceptance store, it transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of the movement to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 in charge of store B, which is the sales acceptance store (step S142).

[0155] When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B receives a signal indicating the completion of arrival by the operation instruction of the person in charge P2 on the input unit 22, the control unit 25 transmits confirmation completion information indicating the completion of confirmation by the person in charge P2 to the information processing device 10 (step S144).

[0156] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 transmits movement completion information, which indicates that the movement of the mobile object 30 to store B has been completed, to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge of store A, which is the requester (step S146). The transmitter / receiver 15A receives confirmation completion information, which indicates approval of the movement completion information, from the information processing terminal 20A (step S148).

[0157] When mobile unit 30A of store A carrying the requested product moves to store B, a sales acceptance store that sells the requested product of store A, identified based on the product information of store A, mobile unit 30A sells product G carried on it in the area of store B. As a result, product G to be sold in store A becomes available for sale in the area of store B due to the movement of mobile unit 30, and a new store that can sell the new requested product together is configured as store B. In other words, product G that was being sold in store A becomes available for sale together with product G to be sold in store B.

[0158] When the sale of the product G at the store B is finished, the person in charge of the store B, P2, operates the information processing terminal 20B to input return instruction information including an instruction to start moving the mobile object 30A (step S150). The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20B transmits the return instruction information representing an instruction to return the mobile object 30A to the information processing device 10 (step S152).

[0159] When the movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10 receives the return instruction information from the information processing terminal 20B, it transmits movement start instruction information to the moving object 30B to start moving toward store A (step S154). In response to the received movement start instruction information, the moving object 30A controls the driving unit 35 so that the moving object 30A autonomously moves toward the position indicated by the destination position information included in the movement start instruction information. Therefore, the moving object 30A moves from store B, which is a sales acceptance store, toward store A to which the moving object 30A belongs (step S156).

[0160] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 determines whether the mobile body 30A has reached the requesting store A by determining whether the current location information contained in the mobile body status information sequentially received from the mobile body 30A indicates a location within the store location of store A (step S158).

[0161] Then, when the transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 determines that the mobile object 30 has reached store A, which is the store that originated the request, it transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of the movement to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 who is in charge of store A, which originated the request (step S160).

[0162] When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives the movement completion information from the information processing device 10, it displays on the output unit 23 a display screen 50I including a message prompting confirmation of the movement completion (see, for example, FIG. 4I) (step S162). When the person in charge P1 confirms that the mobile object 30 that moved from store B has arrived at store A that he is in charge of, he operates the input unit 22 to operate a button indicating that arrival is complete. When the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A receives the signal indicating the arrival completion, it transmits arrival confirmation completion information indicating that the person in charge P has completed arrival confirmation to the information processing device 10 (step S166).

[0163] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10, which has received the arrival confirmation information from the information processing terminal 20A, transmits service completion information indicating the completion of service to the information processing terminal 20A of the person in charge P1 in charge of store A, which is the requesting store, and to the information processing terminal 20B of the person in charge P2 in charge of store B, which is the sales receiving store (steps S168 and S170). Then, this routine ends.

[0164] Next, an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 of a requesting store that requests the sale of product G at another store will be described. Each of the multiple information processing terminals 20 included in the information processing system 1 executes the information processing shown in Fig. 6 when it becomes the requesting information processing terminal 20.

[0165] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 of the requester of the sale of the product G.

[0166] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 determines whether the product information received from the information processing device 10 satisfies a predetermined condition (step S200). If it is determined that the condition is not satisfied (step S200: No), this routine ends. If it is determined that the condition is satisfied (step S200: Yes), the process proceeds to step S202.

[0167] As described above, the conditions are at least one of the following: an instruction to operate the other store search request button has been received; the inventory of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information is below a threshold; the sales amount of the one or more products represented by the product information is below a target sales amount; a predetermined timing has occurred; a timing that is a predetermined period before the best-before date or expiration date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information; a timing that is a predetermined period before the best-before date or expiration date of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information; and a timing that is a predetermined period before the end of the planned sales period of at least one of the one or more products G represented by the product information.

[0168] In step S202, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 transmits a request to search for other store situations to the information processing device 10 (step S202), and receives store information from the information processing device 10 (step S204).

[0169] The control unit 25, which has received the store information, displays the store information received in step S204 on the output unit 23 (step S206). By the processing of step S206, for example, a display screen 50B shown in FIG. 4B is displayed on the input unit 22 of the information processing terminal 20A.

[0170] While viewing the display screen 50B, the person in charge P operates the input unit 22 to specify a requested product to be sold at another store, from among the products G for sale at the store for which the person in charge is responsible. The person in charge P also operates the input unit 22 to operate the offer button in the display field of the selling acceptance store that will sell the requested product. The person in charge P also operates the input unit 22 to input the product name or product ID of the requested product to be sold at another store. Through these operations, the person in charge P specifies a requested product to be sold at another store, from among the products G for sale at the store for which the person in charge is responsible, and the selling acceptance store, which is the other store that will sell the requested product. Upon receiving these operation instructions (step S208), the control unit 25 transmits sales request information to the information processing device 10, including requested product information indicating the specified requested product and selling acceptance store information indicating the selling acceptance store (step S210).

[0171] When the control unit 25 receives request acceptance information indicating that the request has been accepted from the information processing device 10 (step S212), the control unit 25 displays the received request acceptance information on the output unit 23 (step 214). By the processing of step S214, for example, a display screen 50F shown in FIG. 4F is displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20.

[0172] When the person in charge P operates the input unit 22 to operate a start movement button included in the display screen 50F, the control unit 25 accepts the start movement instruction (step S216). Then, the control unit 25 transmits start movement instruction information including an instruction to move the mobile object 30 carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store to the information processing device 10 (step S218).

[0173] When the control unit 25 receives from the information processing device 10 movement completion information indicating the completion of movement to the sales acceptance store (step S220), the control unit 25 displays the movement completion information on the output unit 23 (step S222). When the control unit 25 receives an operation to approve the movement completion information by an operation instruction from the person in charge P on the input unit 22 (step S224), the control unit 25 receives confirmation completion information indicating approval of the movement completion information (step S226).

[0174] When the sale of the product G at the sales acceptance store is completed and the mobile object 30 moves from the sales acceptance store to its own store under the control of the information processing device 10, the control unit 25 receives movement completion information indicating the completion of the movement from the information processing device 10 (step S228).

[0175] The control unit 25 displays a display screen 50I including a message prompting confirmation of the completion of the movement on the output unit 23 (see, for example, FIG. 4I) (step S230). When the person in charge P confirms that the mobile object 30 has arrived at the store he or she is responsible for, the person in charge P operates the input unit 22 to operate a button indicating that the object has arrived. When the control unit 25 receives a signal indicating that the object has arrived from the input unit 22 (step S232), the control unit 25 transmits arrival confirmation completion information indicating that the person in charge P has completed the arrival confirmation to the information processing device 10 (step S234). Then, the control unit 25 receives service completion information indicating that the service has been completed from the information processing device 10 (step S236), and ends this routine.

[0176] Next, an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 of a store that accepts sales of a product G from another store will be described. Each of the multiple information processing terminals 20 included in the information processing system 1 executes the information processing shown in Fig. 7 when it becomes the sales accepting information processing terminal 20.

[0177] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing terminal 20 on the accepting side that accepts the sale of a product G from another store.

[0178] When the control unit 25 receives sales request information from the information processing device 10 (step S300), it displays the received sales request information on the output unit 23 (step S302). By the processing of step S302, for example, the display screen 50 of FIGS. 4C to 4E is displayed on the output unit 23.

[0179] When the approval button is operated by the person in charge P through the input unit 22 of the information processing terminal 20 (step S304), the control unit 25 transmits acceptance information indicating acceptance of the sales request information to the information processing device 10 (step S306).

[0180] When the mobile object 30 from the store that requested the sales arrives at the store, the control unit 25 receives information indicating that the mobile object 30 has reached the store from the information processing device 10 (step S308). The control unit 25 displays a message on the output unit 23 prompting the person in charge P to confirm the arrival of the mobile object 30 (step S310), and upon receiving a signal indicating that confirmation by the person in charge P has been completed through an operation instruction on the input unit 22 by the person in charge P (step S312), transmits confirmation completion information to the information processing device 10 (step S314).

[0181] Next, the control unit 25 repeats a negative determination (step S316: No) until it determines that the sale of the product G carried on the moving object 30 in its own store has ended. For example, the control unit 25 makes the determination in step S316 by determining whether or not the control unit 25 has received input of return instruction information for the moving object 30 received from another store through an operation instruction from the person in charge P on the input unit 22. If it determines that the sale of the product G has ended (step S316: Yes), the control unit 25 proceeds to step S318.

[0182] In step S318, the control unit 25 transmits return instruction information indicating an instruction to return the mobile object 30 accepted from another store to the information processing device 10 (step S318). Then, when the control unit 25 receives service completion information indicating completion of the service from the information processing device 10 (step S320), the control unit 25 ends this routine.

[0183] Next, the flow of information processing executed by the information processing device 10 of this embodiment will be described.

[0184] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of information processing executed by the information processing device 10 of this embodiment.

[0185] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A receives the mobile object status information from the mobile object 30 at predetermined time intervals and each time the product G carried on the mobile object 30 is sold, and updates the management DB 14A.

[0186] The transmitter / receiver 15A transmits product information about the product G to be sold in each store to each of the information processing terminals 20 of the staff P in charge of each of the stores managed by the information processing system 1 (step S400).

[0187] The transmitter / receiver 15A determines whether or not a request to search for other store statuses has been received from any of the information processing terminals 20 (step S402). If a negative determination is made in step S402 (step S402: No), the process returns to step S400. If a positive determination is made in step S402 (step S402: Yes), the process proceeds to step S404.

[0188] In step S404, store information is generated for each of one or more stores other than the store managed by the information processing terminal 20 that is the sender of the other store status search request received in step S402 (step S404).Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits the generated store information to the information processing terminal 20 that is the sender of the other store status search request received in step S402 (step S406).

[0189] When the transmitter / receiver unit 15A receives the sales request information from the information processing terminal 20 that transmitted the store information in step S406 (step S408), it transmits the sales request information to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of the sales acceptance store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information (step S410).

[0190] When the identification unit 15B receives acceptance information for the sales request information from the information processing terminal 20 (step S412), it identifies the product represented by the requested product information included in the sales request information as the requested product, and identifies the store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information as the sales acceptance store (step S414).

[0191] The transmitter / receiver 15A receives movement start instruction information from the information processing terminal 20 operated by the person in charge P of the requesting store that is the sender of the sales request information (step S416). The movement control unit 15C transmits the movement start instruction information, which includes a group of latitudes and longitudes representing the store location of the sales acceptance store as destination position information, to the moving body 30 carrying the requested product that is included in the requesting store that is the sender of the sales request information (step S418). By the processing of step S418, the moving body 30A that has received the movement start instruction information autonomously moves toward the position represented by the destination position information included in the movement start instruction information in accordance with the movement start instruction information received from the information processing device 10.

[0192] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 determines whether the mobile object 30 carrying the requested product has arrived at the sales acceptance store by determining whether the current location information included in the mobile object status information sequentially received from the mobile object 30 indicates a location within the store location of the sales acceptance store (step S420). The transmitting / receiving unit 15A repeats a negative determination (step S420: No) until a positive determination is made in step S420, and when a positive determination is made (step S420: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S422.

[0193] In step S422, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of movement to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of the store that is the sales acceptance store (step S422). When the transmitting / receiving unit 15A receives confirmation completion information indicating that the movement of the mobile object 30 to the sales acceptance store has been confirmed from the information processing terminal 20 (step S424), the processing proceeds to step S424.

[0194] By the processing of steps S420 to S424, the mobile body 30 of a store carrying the requested product moves to a sales acceptance store that sells the requested product of the store, which is identified based on the product information of the store, and the carried product G becomes available for sale in the area of the sales acceptance store. Therefore, the sales acceptance store is joined by a mobile body 30 carrying a product G to be sold from another store, and the product G carried on the mobile body 30 becomes available for sale.

[0195] When the sale of the product G at the sales receiving store is to be completed, the person in charge of the store operates the information processing terminal 20 to input return instruction information including an instruction to start moving the mobile object 30 received from another store. The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20 transmits the return instruction information indicating an instruction to return the mobile object 30 to the information processing device 10.

[0196] The movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10 repeats negative judgments (step S426: No) until it determines that return instruction information has been received from the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the sales acceptance store P, and when it determines that return instruction information has been received (step S426: Yes), it proceeds to step S428.

[0197] In step S428, the movement control unit 15C transmits movement start instruction information to the mobile object 30 that has moved from the requesting store to the sales acceptance store (step S428). The mobile object 30 that has received the movement start instruction information controls the drive unit 35 in accordance with the received movement start instruction information so as to autonomously move toward the position indicated by the destination position information included in the movement start instruction information. Therefore, the mobile object 30 moves from the sales acceptance store toward the store to which the mobile object 30 belongs.

[0198] The transmitting / receiving unit 15A determines whether the mobile object 30 has arrived at the requesting store by determining whether the current location information included in the mobile object status information sequentially received from the mobile object 30 indicates a location within the store location of the requesting store (step S430). The transmitting / receiving unit 15A repeats a negative determination (step S430: No) until a positive determination is made in step S430, and when a positive determination is made (step S430: Yes), the processing proceeds to step S432.

[0199] In step S432, the transmitting and receiving unit 15A transmits movement completion information indicating the completion of the movement to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the requesting store (step S432). Then, when the transmitting and receiving unit 15A receives arrival confirmation information from the information processing terminal 20 (step S434), it transmits service completion information to the information processing terminal 20 of the requesting store and the information processing terminal 20 of the sales receiving store (step S436). Then, this routine ends.

[0200] As described above, the information processing method of this embodiment is an information processing method executed by an information processing device 10 that manages a store made up of mobile objects 30 that move autonomously and sell products G. The information processing method includes an identification step of identifying a sales acceptance store, which is another store that sells the requested product among the products G sold at the first store, based on product information about the products G that are for sale at the first store, and a movement control step of moving the mobile object 30 that is included in the first store and that is equipped with the requested product to the sales acceptance store.

[0201] Here, depending on the sales status of the products G by the mobile objects 30 constituting a certain store, there are cases where the sales efficiency of the products G can be improved by moving the mobile objects 30 to another store to sell the products G. However, in the prior art, there have been no attempts to move the mobile objects 30 from one store to another store to sell the products G, and there have been cases where it has been difficult to improve the sales efficiency.

[0202] On the other hand, the information processing method of this embodiment includes an identification step of identifying a sales acceptance store, which is another store that sells the requested product among the products G sold at the first store, based on product information regarding the product G sold at the first store, and a movement control step of moving a mobile body 30 carrying the requested product included in the first store to the sales acceptance store.

[0203] Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to move the mobile object 30 from one store to another store and sell the product G carried on the mobile object 30 together with the product G of the other store.

[0204] Therefore, the information processing method of this embodiment can improve sales efficiency.

[0205] In addition to the above-mentioned effects, the information processing method of this embodiment can also prevent missed sales opportunities for the product G.

[0206] (Variation 1) In this modified example, the information processing device 10 identifies a sales acceptance store that sells the product G of the requesting store based on the matching request information and product information received from the information processing terminal 20 of each of a plurality of stores.

[0207] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of information processing executed in the information processing system 1 of this modified example.

[0208] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 receives mobile object status information from the mobile object 30 at predetermined time intervals and each time a product G carried on the mobile object 30 is sold (step S600). The transmitter / receiver 15A registers the received mobile object status information in the management DB 14A, thereby updating the management DB 14A.

[0209] The transmitter / receiver 15A of the information processing device 10 transmits product information about the product G to be sold at each store to each of the information processing terminals 20 of the staff P in charge of each of the multiple stores managed by the information processing system 1 (steps S602 and S604). Fig. 9 shows a representative scene in which the product information is transmitted to the information processing terminal 20A and the information processing terminal 20B.

[0210] The control units 25 of the information processing terminals 20A and 20B that have received the product information transmit the matching request information input by the person in charge P operating the input unit 22 to the information processing device 10 (steps S606 and S608).

[0211] The matching request information is information that represents information about a product G that another store wishes to sell, or information about a product G that another store wishes to receive and sell. Here, it is assumed that the information processing terminal 20A transmits, to the information processing device 10, matching request information that represents a desire to sell a product G that is being sold at store A at another store. It is also assumed that the information processing terminal 20B transmits, to the information processing device 10, matching request information that represents a desire to sell a product G from another store at store B, which is its own store.

[0212] The identification unit 15B of the information processing device 10 identifies the store that made the request, the requested product at the store, and the store accepting the request, based on the matching request information received from each of the multiple information processing terminals 20. In this assumed case, the identification unit 15B identifies product G at store A as the requested product, identifies store A as the requesting store, and identifies store B as the store accepting the request.

[0213] Then, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 transmits acceptance information indicating that matching has been established to each of the information processing terminal 20A and the information processing terminal 20B (steps S612 and S614).

[0214] The control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A that has received the acceptance information displays the received acceptance information on the output unit 23 (step S616). By the processing of step S616, for example, a display screen 50F shown in FIG. 4F is displayed on the output unit 23 of the information processing terminal 20A.

[0215] When the person in charge P1 of store A operates the movement start button included in the display screen 50F by operating the input unit 22, the control unit 25 accepts the movement start instruction (step S618). Then, the control unit 25 of the information processing terminal 20A transmits movement start instruction information including an instruction to move the mobile object 30 carrying the requested product to store B, which is a sales acceptance store, to the information processing device 10 (step S620). Then, the information processing system 1 executes the processes of steps S622 to S656 in the same manner as steps S136 to S170 described above, and ends this sequence.

[0216] In this way, in the information processing system 1, the information processing device 10 may identify a sales acceptance store that sells the product G of the requesting store based on matching request information received from each information processing terminal 20 of a plurality of stores, and control the movement of the mobile body 30.

[0217] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment, the identification unit 15B of the information processing device 10 identifies the accepting store, which is the store that accepts the product, based on the product information of the requesting store that requests another store to sell the product G of its own store and the other store status search request received from the information processing terminal 20 of the requesting store. That is, in the above embodiment, the identification unit 15B identifies the accepting store by active processing that identifies the accepting store in response to a request from the requesting store.

[0218] However, the identification unit 15B of the information processing device 10 may receive acceptance information indicating that the product G can be accepted from the information processing terminal 20 of a staff member P who manages a receiving store that wishes to accept the sale of the product G from another store. In this case, the identification unit 15B may identify stores that can permit the sale of the product G represented by the acceptance information at other stores, based on the product information. For example, the identification unit 15B may identify stores in which the product G represented by the acceptance information satisfies at least one of the above conditions, based on the product information of each store. Furthermore, when the identification unit 15B receives the acceptance information, the identification unit 15B may transmit store information of the store managed by the staff member P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that transmitted the acceptance information to an information processing terminal 20 other than the information processing terminal 20. Then, the identification unit 15B may identify the store managed by the staff member P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that transmitted the sales request information as the requesting store, in response to the transmitted store information, and identify the sales acceptance store represented by the sales acceptance store information included in the sales request information.

[0219] Through these processes, the identification unit 15B may identify the requesting store that requests another store to sell its own store's product G, and the sales acceptance store, which is the store in charge of the person in charge P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that sent the acceptance information.

[0220] In this case, the identification unit 15B can identify the sales acceptance store by a passive process of identifying the store that made the request in response to a request from the accepting side that wishes to accept the sale of the product G from another store.

[0221] Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 may transmit the sales request information to the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of each of a plurality of stores other than the store that originated the request. At this time, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A may transmit the sales request information to the information processing terminal 20 of each store, among the information processing terminals 20 of the person in charge P who is in charge of each of a plurality of stores other than the store that originated the request, in order starting from the store that satisfies the receiving destination condition included in the sales request information. Then, the identifying unit 15B may identify, as the sales receiving store, the store that is in charge of the person in charge P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that is the transmission source that transmitted the acceptance information in response to the sales request information.

[0222] Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 may simultaneously transmit the sales request information to the information processing terminals 20 of the staff members P in charge of each of a plurality of stores other than the store that sent the request. Then, the identifying unit 15B may identify, as the sales acceptance store, the store that is in charge of the staff member P who operates the information processing terminal 20 that sent the earliest acceptance information in response to the sales request information.

[0223] In the above embodiment, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 performs the following operations: identifying a store accepting sales, transmitting movement start instruction information to the mobile body 30, etc., in response to approval or an acceptance operation by the person in charge P who operates the information processing terminal 20. However, the control unit 15 may also perform the following operations: identifying a store accepting sales, transmitting movement start instruction information to the mobile body 30, etc., without the intervention of approval or an acceptance operation by the person in charge P who operates the information processing terminal 20.

[0224] Furthermore, the mobile object 30 may move between stores while outputting information indicating that the mobile object 30 is moving to another store for combined sales to the output unit 33. In this case, the control unit 39 of the mobile object 30 may perform control to output at least one of an image and a sound indicating that the mobile object 30 is moving to another store for combined sales to the output unit 33 while moving between stores based on the movement start instruction information.

[0225] The control unit 39 may also control the selling operation unit 37 to prohibit the selling operation of the product G while the product is being moved between stores. The control unit 39 may also control the selling operation unit 37 to conditionally permit the selling operation of the product G while the product is being moved between stores. For example, when the control unit 39 receives a signal indicating permission to sell the product G while the product is being moved from the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P who manages each of the source store and the destination store, the control unit 39 may control the selling operation unit 37 to permit the selling operation of the product G while the product is being moved between stores. The control unit 39 may also control the selling operation unit 37 to permit the selling operation of the product G depending on the inventory status of the product G stored in the product storage unit 38.

[0226] Furthermore, when the inventory quantity of the product G loaded on the mobile object 30 falls below a threshold value while moving between stores, the transmitting / receiving unit 15A of the information processing device 10 may notify the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge P in charge of the sales acceptance store, which is the accepting store, of information indicating the inventory quantity. Then, when service cancellation information is received from the information processing terminal 20, the movement control unit 15C of the information processing device 10 may cancel the movement of the mobile object 30 to the sales acceptance store and control the mobile object 30 to move to the requesting store.

[0227] Furthermore, there are cases where a mobile object 30 traveling from a requesting store to a seller accepting store, which is a store that accepts the request, does not arrive at the seller accepting store within the store's business hours. In this case, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 may cancel the movement of the mobile object 30 to the seller accepting store and control the mobile object 30 to move to the requesting store. Furthermore, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 may notify the information processing terminal 20 of the person in charge of the seller accepting store of mobile object status information including location information of the mobile object 30 traveling from the requesting store to the seller accepting store, which is a store that accepts the request, at predetermined intervals.

[0228] In addition, when the identification unit 15B of the information processing device 10 cancels the movement of the mobile body 30 to a sales acceptance store, it may identify another store other than the sales acceptance store as a new sales acceptance store and perform the same processing as described above.

[0229] Furthermore, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 may prohibit the acceptance of a cancellation request to the sales acceptance store of the mobile object 30 while the mobile object 30 is moving between stores. Furthermore, when the cancellation request is accepted from the information processing terminal 20 of either the person in charge P in charge of the requesting store or the person in charge of the sales acceptance store that is the accepting store, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 may perform control to impose a penalty, such as a fine, on the person in charge P of the information processing terminal 20 that sent the cancellation request.

[0230] Furthermore, there are cases where the same or similar product G is sold at multiple stores located within a distance equal to or less than a threshold. In such cases, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 may receive, within a predetermined time, a request to search for other store status from the information processing terminal 20 of a staff member P in charge of each of the multiple stores. In this case, the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 preferably adjusts the timing of processing, such as identifying a store accepting the product G and moving the mobile unit 30, in response to the other store status search requests received from each information processing terminal 20 so that offers from the multiple stores do not overlap. For example, when the control unit 15 of the information processing device 10 receives other store status search requests within a predetermined time from the information processing terminal 20 of a staff member P in charge of each of the multiple stores, the control unit 15 may transmit a message to the information processing terminal 20 prompting the staff member P to delay the timing or to avoid overlapping selected stores accepting the product G.

[0231] Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 of the above embodiment will be described.

[0232] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 according to the above embodiment.

[0233] The information processing device 10, information processing terminal 20, and mobile body 30 of the above embodiment have a hardware configuration that utilizes a normal computer, in which a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 80, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 84, an I / F 86, etc. are interconnected by a bus 88.

[0234] The CPU 80 is a computing device that controls the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 of the above-described embodiments. The ROM 82 stores programs and the like that realize information processing by the CPU 80. The RAM 84 stores data necessary for various processes by the CPU 80. The I / F 86 is an interface that is connected to a storage unit, an input unit, an output unit, a sensor, a communication unit, and the like, and is used to send and receive data.

[0235] In the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 of the above-described embodiment, the CPU 80 reads a program from the ROM 82 onto the RAM 84 and executes it, thereby realizing each of the above-described functional units on the computer.

[0236] The programs for executing the above processes executed by the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 of the above embodiment may be stored in an HDD (hard disk drive). Also, the programs for executing the above processes executed by the information processing device 10, the information processing terminal 20, and the mobile object 30 of the above embodiment may be provided by being pre-installed in the ROM 82.

[0237] The programs for executing the above processes executed by the information processing device 10, information processing terminal 20, and mobile object 30 of the above embodiments may be stored in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, memory card, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or flexible disk (FD) and provided as a computer program product. The programs for executing the above information processes executed by the information processing device 10, information processing terminal 20, and mobile object 30 of the above embodiments may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by downloading via the network. The programs for executing the above information processes executed by the information processing device 10, information processing terminal 20, and mobile object 30 of the above embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0238] Although the above describes an embodiment, the embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims.

[0239] The present technology can also be configured as follows. (1) An information processing method executed by an information processing device that manages a store made up of mobile objects that move autonomously and sell products, A step of identifying a sales acceptance store that is another store that sells the requested product among the products of the first store based on product information related to the product to be sold at the first store; a movement control step of moving a mobile body, which is included in the first store and on which the requested product is mounted, to the sales acceptance store; An information processing method including: (2) a transmitting step of transmitting store information about each of one or more stores other than the first store to a first information processing terminal of a first person in charge of the first store; a receiving step of receiving, from the first information processing terminal, sales request information including requested product information representing the requested product and sales acceptance store information representing the sales acceptance store, the requested product information being generated according to the product information and the store information; Including, The identifying step includes: Identifying the sales acceptance store that will sell the requested product based on the sales request information. The information processing method described in (1). (3) The movement control step includes: sending sales request information indicating the occurrence of a sales request to a second information processing terminal of a second person in charge of the sales acceptance store, and when receiving acceptance information indicating acceptance of the sales request information from the second information processing terminal, moving a mobile unit included in the first store and carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store; The information processing method according to (1) or (2). (4) The transmitting step includes: When the product information satisfies a predetermined condition or when other store search request information is received from the first information processing terminal, the store information is transmitted to the first information processing terminal. The information processing method according to (2) or (3). (5) The condition is: indicating that the inventory of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information is below a threshold; (4) The information processing method described in (4). (6) The condition is: indicates that the sales amount of one or more products represented by the product information is equal to or less than the target sales amount; The information processing method according to (4) or (5). (7) The condition is: Indicates that the predetermined timing has arrived. The information processing method according to any one of (4) to (6). (8) The condition is: indicating that the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information has arrived at a predetermined time before the expiration date or best-before date of the one or more products represented by the product information, The information processing method according to any one of (4) to (7). (9) The condition is: indicates that the timing is a predetermined period before the end of the planned sales period of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information, The information processing method according to any one of (4) to (8). (10) The transmitting step includes: transmits to the first information processing terminal store information of a store other than the first store that is in charge of a person operating a second information processing terminal that is a source of acceptance availability information indicating that the product can be accepted; The information processing method according to any one of (2) to (9). (11) The movement control step includes: After the mobile object is moved to the sales acceptance store, when end-of-sale information regarding the end of sales is received from a second information processing terminal of a second person in charge of the sales acceptance store, the mobile object is moved to the first store. The information processing method according to any one of (1) to (10). (12) An information processing terminal operated by a person in charge of a store made up of mobile objects that move autonomously and sell products, a control unit that moves the mobile unit carrying the requested product to a sales acceptance store that sells the requested product among the products of the store designated based on product information related to the products to be sold at the store; An information processing terminal comprising: [Explanation of symbols]

[0240] 1. Information Processing Systems 10. Information processing equipment 15A Transmitter / Receiver 15B Specific part 15C Movement control unit 20 Information processing terminal 25 Control Unit 30 Mobile

Claims

1. An information processing method executed by an information processing device that manages a store made up of mobile objects that move autonomously and sell products, a step of identifying a sales acceptance store that is another store that sells the requested product among the products of the first store based on product information related to the product to be sold at the first store; a movement control step of moving a mobile body, which is included in the first store and on which the requested product is mounted, to the sales acceptance store; An information processing method including:

2. a transmitting step of transmitting store information about each of one or more stores other than the first store to a first information processing terminal of a first person in charge of the first store; a receiving step of receiving, from the first information processing terminal, sales request information including requested product information representing the requested product and sales acceptance store information representing the sales acceptance store, the requested product information being generated according to the product information and the store information; Including, The identifying step includes: Identifying the sales acceptance store that will sell the requested product based on the sales request information. The information processing method according to claim 1 .

3. The movement control step includes: sending sales request information indicating the occurrence of a sales request to a second information processing terminal of a second person in charge of the sales acceptance store, and when receiving acceptance information indicating acceptance of the sales request information from the second information processing terminal, moving a mobile unit included in the first store and carrying the requested product to the sales acceptance store; The information processing method according to claim 1 .

4. The transmitting step includes: When the product information satisfies a predetermined condition or when other store search request information is received from the first information processing terminal, the store information is transmitted to the first information processing terminal. The information processing method according to claim 2 .

5. The condition is: indicating that the inventory of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information is below a threshold; The information processing method according to claim 4.

6. The condition is: indicates that the sales amount of one or more products represented by the product information is equal to or less than the target sales amount; The information processing method according to claim 4.

7. The condition is: Indicates that the predetermined timing has arrived. The information processing method according to claim 4.

8. The condition is: indicating that the expiration date or best-before date of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information has arrived at a time a predetermined period before the expiration date or best-before date of the one or more products represented by the product information; The information processing method according to claim 4.

9. The condition is: indicates that the timing is a predetermined period before the end of the planned sales period of at least one of the one or more products represented by the product information, The information processing method according to claim 4.

10. The transmitting step includes: transmits to the first information processing terminal store information of a store other than the first store that is in charge of a person operating a second information processing terminal that is a source of acceptance information indicating that the product can be accepted; The information processing method according to claim 2 .

11. The movement control step includes: After the mobile object is moved to the sales acceptance store, when end-of-sale information regarding the end of sales is received from a second information processing terminal of a second person in charge of the sales acceptance store, the mobile object is moved to the first store. The information processing method according to claim 1 .

12. An information processing terminal operated by a person in charge of a store made up of mobile objects that move autonomously and sell products, a control unit that moves the mobile unit carrying the requested product to a sales acceptance store that sells the requested product among the products of the store designated based on product information related to the products to be sold at the store; An information processing terminal comprising:

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