Information processing apparatus

Abstract

To make a more useful proposal about a movement plan of travel or the like.SOLUTION: A movement plan draft is created on the basis of information related to a movement schedule of a user U1, and a movement plan having a predetermined relationship with the movement plan draft of the user U1 is extracted from movement plans of users having a friendship with the user U1 with reference to a friend list database 330 storing users having a friendship with the user U1 and a movement plan database 340 storing a movement plan for each user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Technologies for supporting the creation of travel plans have been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that, when a user inputs a place to visit, acquires, from a database storing the travel plans of other users, visit place information associated with the other user's travel route that includes the planned visit place, and creates travel support information that includes the acquired visit place information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2018-124292 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, when matching a user's planned visit destination with other users' travel routes, only location information is used, and other user attributes, time information, etc. are not used.

[0005] One example of a problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide more useful suggestions regarding travel plans such as trips. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a travel plan acquisition unit that acquires information related to a first user's travel plans, a travel plan proposal creation unit that creates a travel plan proposal including route information based on the acquired information related to the travel plans, a friend list database that stores users who are friends with the first user, a travel plan database that stores travel plans for each user including route information, and a travel plan extraction unit that extracts travel plans of users who are friends with the first user from the travel plans stored in the travel plan database, and extracts travel plans that have a predetermined relationship with the travel plan proposal from the extracted travel plans.

[0007] The invention described in claim 4 is an information processing method executed by a computer, comprising: a travel plan acquisition step of acquiring information related to a first user's travel plan; a travel plan proposal creation step of creating a travel plan proposal including route information based on the acquired information about the travel plan; and a travel plan extraction step of referencing a friend list database that stores users who are friends with the first user, extracting travel plans of users who are friends with the first user from a travel plan database that stores travel plans for each user including route information, and extracting travel plans that have a predetermined relationship with the travel plan proposal from the extracted travel plans.

[0008] The invention described in claim 5 causes a computer to execute the information processing method described in claim 4.

[0009] The invention as recited in claim 6 stores the information processing program as recited in claim 5. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a movement plan proposal system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a route in a proposed movement plan and a route in a movement plan. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a route in a proposed movement plan and a route in a movement plan. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a route in a proposed movement plan and a route in a movement plan. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a route in a proposed movement plan and a route in a movement plan. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing processing operations in the travel plan proposal system 100. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the server 300. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 illustrates a delivery optimization system 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information relating to a user's plans to go out. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a non-optimized delivery route. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an optimized delivery route. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an optimized delivery route. [Figure 13] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a changed outing plan and a delivery route. [Figure 14] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing processing operations in a delivery route optimization system 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a travel plan acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a travel plan of a first user; a travel plan proposal creation unit that creates a travel plan proposal including route information based on the acquired information regarding the travel plan; a friend list database that stores users who are friends with the first user; a travel plan database that stores travel plans for each user including route information; and a travel plan extraction unit that extracts travel plans of users who are friends with the first user from the travel plans stored in the travel plan database and extracts travel plans that have a predetermined relationship with the travel plan proposal from the extracted travel plans. This makes it possible to extract travel plans related to the first user's travel plan proposal from the travel plans of the first user's friends. This makes it possible to provide the first user with information based on the travel plans of the first user's friends. For example, if the predetermined relationship is a relationship in which the destination of the travel plan is on the route of the first user's travel plan proposal, the destination of the extracted travel plan may be a city in which the first user's friend has expressed interest. Since the first user and his friend may have the same hobbies and preferences, information that the first user's friend will be visiting this city may be useful to the first user.

[0012] Furthermore, the route information of the proposed movement plan may include a departure point, a destination, and a route connecting the departure point and the destination, and the route information of the movement plan may include a departure point, a destination, and a route connecting the departure point and the destination, each point on the route of the proposed movement plan may be identified by a date, time, and location, and each point on the route of the movement plan may be identified by a date, time, and location, and the predetermined relationship may be a relationship in which there is a point on the route of the movement plan that is within a predetermined time interval and a predetermined distance from at least one point on the route of the proposed movement plan. This makes it possible to extract movement plans of friends that the first user may meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan. Therefore, it is possible to provide the first user with information that there are friends that the first user may meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan.

[0013] The system may further include a proposal creation unit that creates a proposal for the first user, and when the movement plan extraction unit extracts a movement plan that has a predetermined relationship with the proposed movement plan, the proposal creation unit may create a proposal that includes information about the extracted movement plan. In this way, it is possible to provide information that there are users that the first user may be able to meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan.

[0014] Furthermore, an information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes: a travel plan acquisition step of acquiring information regarding a first user's travel plan; a travel plan creation step of creating a travel plan proposal including route information based on the acquired travel plan information; and a travel plan extraction step of referencing a friend list database storing users who are friends with the first user, extracting travel plans of users who are friends with the first user from a travel plan database storing travel plans for each user including route information, and extracting travel plans that have a predetermined relationship with the travel plan proposal from the extracted travel plans. In this way, it is possible to extract travel plans related to the first user's travel plan proposal from the travel plans of the first user's friends. This makes it possible to provide the first user with information based on the travel plans of the first user's friends.

[0015] Furthermore, an information processing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described information processing method. By doing so, it becomes possible to use the computer to extract travel plans related to the first user's proposed travel plan from among the travel plans of the first user's friends. This makes it possible to provide the first user with information based on the travel plans of the first user's friends.

[0016] Furthermore, a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention stores the information processing program, which allows the information processing program to be distributed as a standalone program in addition to being incorporated into a device, and makes it easy to perform version upgrades, etc. [Example]

[0017] <Movement plan proposal system 100> 1 is a diagram showing a movement plan proposal system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The movement plan proposal system 100 includes a terminal device 200 and a server 300. The server 300 corresponds to the information processing device of the above-described embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] The terminal device 200 has an input unit 210 that receives input from the user U1, a transmission / reception unit 220 that transmits and receives information to and from the server 300, and a display unit 230 that displays information.

[0019] The input unit 210 receives input of information related to a travel plan from the user U1, and the transmission / reception unit 220 transmits the input information related to the travel plan to the server 300. The user U1 is one of the users of the service provided by the travel plan proposal system 100, and a user identifier is assigned to each user of the service provided by the travel plan proposal system 100. The information related to the travel plan transmitted to the server 300 includes the user identifier of the user U1 who made the input, the departure point, the destination, and the scheduled departure date and time. The information related to the travel plan may include a scheduled arrival date and time instead of the scheduled departure date and time.

[0020] The server 300 includes a transmitter / receiver unit 310 that transmits and receives information to and from the terminal device 200, a travel plan proposal creation unit 320, a friend list database 330, a travel plan database 340, a travel plan extraction unit 350, and a proposal creation unit 360.

[0021] The transmitting / receiving unit 310 receives information related to the travel schedule transmitted from the terminal device 200. The transmitting / receiving unit 310 is a component that acquires information related to the travel schedule of the user U1 by receiving the information related to the travel schedule transmitted from the terminal device 200, and corresponds to the travel schedule acquisition unit in the above embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The proposed movement plan creation unit 320 creates a proposed movement plan based on the received information related to the movement plan. The proposed movement plan includes the user identifier of user U1 and route information. The route information includes a departure point, a destination, and a route connecting the departure point and the destination. The route connecting the departure point and the destination is created in the form of a position pn (n = 1, 2, ..., N) at each date and time tn (n = 1, 2, ..., N) between the scheduled departure date and time of departure from the departure point and the scheduled arrival date and time of arrival at the destination. That is, in this embodiment, each point on the route of the proposed movement plan is identified by the date and time tn and the position pn. Here, t1 corresponds to the scheduled departure date and time, p1 corresponds to the position of the departure point, tN corresponds to the scheduled arrival date and time, and pN corresponds to the position of the destination. The position pn may be expressed using longitude and latitude, or may be expressed using a link ID, etc.

[0023] As a method for creating a route for a proposed travel plan used in this embodiment, for example, a method used in conventional car navigation systems or the like can be used.

[0024] The friend list database 330 stores, for each user of the service provided by the travel plan proposal system 100, a list of users who are friends with this user. Specifically, the friend list database 330 stores, for each user identifier, a list in which user identifiers assigned to users who are friends with the user to whom this user identifier is assigned are associated. Therefore, in this embodiment, when a user identifier is given, it is possible to obtain the user identifiers of users who are friends with that user identifier.

[0025] Here, the list of users who are friends with the user may be created based on input from the user, or may be created based on information such as a friend list from a social networking service (SNS) used by the user, or may be created based on information such as behavioral attributes including the user's hobbies, preferences, and behavioral history.

[0026] The movement plan database 340 accumulates and stores movement plans of users of services provided by the movement plan proposal system 100. The movement plans stored in the movement plan database 340 are movement plans created by the server 300 or the like based on information input by users of services provided by the movement plan proposal system 100, and each movement plan includes the user identifier and route information of the user associated with the movement plan. Therefore, in this embodiment, when a user identifier is given, it is possible to obtain the movement plan of the user to whom that user identifier is assigned. The route information of the movement plan also includes a departure point, a destination, and a route connecting the departure point and the destination. The route connecting the departure point and the destination is created, for example, in the form of a position Pm (m = 1, 2, ..., M) at each date and time Tm (m = 1, 2, ..., M) between the scheduled date and time of departure from the departure point and the scheduled date and time of arrival at the destination. In other words, in this embodiment, each point on the route of the movement plan is also identified by the date and time Tm and the position Pm.

[0027] The movement plan extraction unit 350 compares the proposed movement plan of user U1 with the movement plans of users who are friends with user U1, and extracts the movement plans of users that user U1 may meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan.

[0028] First, the movement plan extraction unit 350 extracts movement plans of users who are friends with user U1 by referring to the friend list database 330 and the movement plan database 340. Specifically, for example, based on the user identifier of user U1, the movement plan extraction unit 350 acquires the user identifiers of users who are friends with user U1 from the friend list database 330, and based on the acquired user identifiers, extracts movement plans of users to which these user identifiers are assigned from the movement plan database 340.

[0029] Next, the movement plan extraction unit 350 extracts, from the extracted movement plans of the friends of user U1, movement plans of users that user U1 may potentially meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, when user U1 is at time tn1 and position pn1 on route R1 of the proposed movement plan, if friend F1 of user U1 is at time Tm1 close to time tn1 and position Pm1 close to position pn, user U1 will be traveling near friend F1 while traveling according to the proposed movement plan, and may potentially meet friend F1.

[0030] Therefore, the movement plan extraction unit 350 extracts, for example, from the movement plans of the extracted friends of user U1, movement plans in which a point (Tm, Pm) exists on route R2 within a predetermined time interval Ith and a predetermined distance Dth from at least one point (tn, pn) on route R1 of user U1's proposed movement plan. This makes it possible to extract movement plans of users that user U1 may meet while traveling according to the proposed movement plan.

[0031] 3 and 4, there may be cases where a movement plan exists that has a point where the route intersects with route R1 of user U1's proposed movement plan (FIG. 3), or where a movement plan exists that has a portion where the route overlaps with route R1 of user U1's proposed movement plan (FIG. 4). That is, there may be cases where route R1 of the proposed movement plan and route R2 of the movement plan include the same position pn1 (=Pm1). In such cases, the movement plan extraction unit 350 may extract a movement plan in which the time interval In1m1 between date and time tn1 of route R1 of user U1's proposed movement plan and date and time Tm1 of route R2 of the movement plan at the same position pn1 is less than or equal to a predetermined time interval Ith.

[0032] For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when user U1 arrives at position pn1 (=Pm1), user U1's friend F1 passes through position pn1 at a date and time that is the time interval |tn1-Tm1| before or the time interval |tn1-Tm1| after date and time tn1. Therefore, if the time interval |tn1-Tm1| is equal to or less than a predetermined time interval Ith, user U1 may be able to meet friend F1 around position pn. In other words, if the predetermined time interval Ith is set to a time interval that is acceptable for waiting for someone, when user U1 arrives at position pn1 before user U1, user U1 can meet friend F1 at position pn1 by having friend F1 wait at position pn1 for a short time. Also, when user U1 arrives at position pn1 before friend F1, user U1 can meet friend F1 at position pn1 by having user U1 wait at position pn1 for a short time.

[0033] The predetermined time interval Ith is set appropriately. The same value may be set in advance for all users, or may be set in advance for each user. When the predetermined time interval Ith is set for each user, the value of the predetermined time interval Ith may be input in advance from the user, and the input value may be set as the predetermined time interval Ith. Furthermore, the server 300 may have a means for acquiring the user's personal attributes and behavioral attributes, including the user's hobbies, preferences, and behavioral history, and may have a means for setting the predetermined time interval Ith for the user based on the acquired behavioral attributes. The acceptable waiting time varies from person to person. Therefore, setting the predetermined time interval Ith for each user makes it possible to make more accurate suggestions.

[0034] 5, there may be cases where there is no movement plan that has a route that intersects or overlaps with route R1 of the proposed movement plan for user U1, but route R1 of the proposed movement plan and route R2 of the movement plan include the same date and time tn (=Tm). In such cases, the movement plan extraction unit 350 may extract a movement plan in which the minimum value of the distances Dnm between position pn of the route of the proposed movement plan for user U1 and position Pm of the route of the movement plan at the same date and time tn (=Tm) is equal to or less than a predetermined distance Dth.

[0035] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, multiple dates and times are included in both route R1 in user U1's proposed travel plan and route R2 in user U1's friend F1's travel plan. Of the distances Dnm between position pn of route R1 and position Pm of route R2 at the same date and time tn (= Tm), the distance Dn1m1 between position pn1 of route R1 and position Pm1 of route R2 at date and time tn1 (= Tm1) is the smallest. Therefore, if this distance Dn1Dm1 is less than or equal to a predetermined distance Dth, user U1 may be able to meet friend F1 around date and time tn1. In other words, if the predetermined Dth is set to a distance that is acceptable for a detour, in this example, user U1 may be able to meet friend F1 by having at least one of user U1 and friend F1 slightly deviate from the route around date and time tn1 (= Tm1).

[0036] The predetermined distance Dth is set appropriately. The same value may be set in advance for all users, or may be set in advance for each user. When the predetermined distance Dth is set for each user, the value of the predetermined distance Dth may be input in advance from the user, and the input value may be set as the predetermined distance Dth. Furthermore, the server 300 may have a means for acquiring the user's personal attributes and behavioral attributes, including the user's hobbies, preferences, and behavioral history, and may have a means for setting the predetermined distance Dth for the user based on the acquired personal attributes and behavioral attributes. The degree of detour tolerance varies from person to person. Therefore, setting the predetermined distance Dth for each user makes it possible to make more accurate suggestions.

[0037] The proposal creation unit 360 creates a proposal for the user U1. Information about this created proposal is sent to the terminal device 200 via the transmitter / receiver 310 and the transmitter / receiver 220, and the created proposal is displayed on the display unit 230 of the terminal device 200.

[0038] When the movement plan extraction unit 350 does not extract a movement plan, that is, when there is no user that the user U1 may meet while moving according to the movement plan proposal, the proposal creation unit 360 creates a proposal based only on the movement plan proposal. At this time, the display unit 230 of the terminal device 200 displays, for example, only this movement plan proposal.

[0039] On the other hand, when a movement plan is extracted by the movement plan extraction unit 350, that is, when there is a user that user U1 may meet while moving according to the proposed movement plan, the proposal creation unit 360 creates a proposal including information about this extracted movement plan.

[0040] In this case, the proposal creation unit 360 may create a proposal indicating that there is a possibility that the user U1 will meet the user associated with the extracted travel plan. For example, when the extracted travel plan and the proposed travel plan have a relationship as shown in the example of FIG. 3, there is a possibility that the user U1 will meet a friend at a position pn on a date and time tn. In such a case, for example, the proposal may indicate that "you can meet your friend F1 around a position pn around a date and time tn." In this case, the proposal creation unit 360 may create a proposal including the proposed travel plan in addition to this message, and display this message together with the proposed travel plan on the display unit 230 of the terminal device 200 of the user U1.

[0041] There are also cases where the extracted movement plan and the proposed movement plan have a relationship as shown in Fig. 5. In such cases, the proposal creating unit 360 may modify the proposed movement plan for user U1 so that it has an intersecting portion with the route of the movement plan, and include this modified proposed movement plan in the proposal to user U1.

[0042] The input unit 210 may receive an input indicating whether the user U1 accepts the proposed travel plan. The travel plan database 340 may, for example, store only travel plans that are accepted by each user of the service provided by the travel plan proposal system 100 as travel plans.

[0043] <Processing operations in the travel plan proposal system 100> FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing operations in the travel plan proposal system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0044] In the terminal device 200, the input unit 210 receives input of information relating to travel plans from the user U1 (step S601). The transmitting / receiving unit 220 transmits the input information relating to travel plans to the server 300 (step S602).

[0045] In server 300, the transceiver 310 receives information regarding the planned movement transmitted from terminal device 200 (step S603). The movement plan proposal creation unit 320 creates a movement plan proposal based on the received information regarding the planned movement (step S604). The movement plan extraction unit 350 refers to the friend list database 330 and extracts the movement plans of users who are in a friendship relationship with user U1 from the movement plans stored in the movement plan database 340 (step S605). The movement plan extraction unit 350 extracts a movement plan that satisfies a predetermined condition from the extracted movement plans in relation to the movement plan proposal of user U1 (step S606). The proposal creation unit 360 creates a proposal for user U1 based on the extracted movement plan and the movement plan proposal (step S607). The transceiver 310 transmits information regarding the created proposal to terminal device 200 (step S608).

[0046] In terminal device 200, the transceiver 220 receives the information transmitted from server 300 (step S609). The display unit 230 displays the proposal related to the received information (step S610).

[0047] <Web movement plan acquisition unit 370> As shown in FIG. 7, server 300 may further include a Web movement plan acquisition unit 370 that acquires information regarding the user's planned movement from Web services such as schedules and hotel reservations, as a configuration corresponding to the movement plan acquisition unit of the above-described embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the movement plan proposal creation unit 320 may create a movement plan proposal based on the acquired information regarding the planned movement. The Web movement plan acquisition unit 370 corresponds to the movement plan acquisition unit of the above-described embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] For example, if the Web travel schedule acquisition unit 370 can acquire information on the "place of departure," "planned departure date and time," and "destination" as information related to user U1's travel schedule from a web schedule service, the travel plan proposal creation unit 320 creates a travel plan proposal based on this information, as described above. Also, for example, if the Web travel schedule acquisition unit 370 can acquire only information on the "planned departure date and time" and "destination" as information related to user U1's travel schedule from a schedule app but cannot acquire information on the "place of departure," the travel plan proposal creation unit 320 may estimate user U1's home as the "place of departure" and create a travel plan proposal.

[0049] Also, for example, if the Web travel schedule acquisition unit 370 acquires information from a hotel reservation site that user U1 has booked a hotel stay, the travel plan proposal creation unit 320 may create a travel plan proposal by estimating user U1's home as the "departure point," the location of the booked hotel as the "destination," and the scheduled date and time of check-in at the hotel as the "scheduled arrival date and time."

[0050] Also, for example, if the Web travel schedule acquisition unit 370 acquires information from a hotel reservation site that user U1 has booked a hotel stay, and acquires information from a car sharing reservation site or a rental car reservation site that user U1 has booked a car rental, the travel plan creation unit 320 may create a travel plan by setting the location where the rental car is located as the "departure point," the start date and time of the car rental as the "planned departure date and time," and the location of the reserved hotel as the "destination."

[0051] In addition, the server 300 may have a means for acquiring behavioral attributes of the user U1, including the hobbies, preferences, and behavioral history, and the movement plan creation unit 320 may create a movement plan by predicting the behavior of the user U1 based on these behavioral attributes.

[0052] By doing the above, it becomes possible to create a proposed travel plan for user U1 without receiving input of information regarding travel plans from user U1, and the travel plan proposal system 100 can actively propose a proposed travel plan to user U1 and inform him or her of the existence of friends that he or she may be able to meet.

[0053] The movement plan database 330 may also store, as a movement plan, a movement plan proposal actively created by the movement plan proposal system 100 in this way.

[0054] 1 and 6 is configured with a terminal device 200 and a server 300, but the terminal device 200 may be configured to have all of the functions of the server 300, and the movement plan proposal system 100 may be configured with only the terminal device 200. In this case, the terminal device 200 corresponds to the information processing device of the above-described embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] <Delivery Route Optimization System 400> FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a delivery route optimization system 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention. If the delivery destination is not available at the time of delivery, the delivery company must make the delivery again (redeliver). Such redelivery not only increases the burden on the delivery company, but also causes problems such as increased energy consumption due to the use of trucks and other equipment during redelivery and increased emissions of carbon dioxide, which is considered a greenhouse gas. Another problem arises, such as the user at the delivery destination having to wait at home in preparation for redelivery. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the delivery route optimization system 400 according to this embodiment includes multiple user terminal devices 500, a delivery company terminal device 600, and a server 700.

[0056] Each of the plurality of user terminal devices 500 has an input unit 510 that receives information input from a user, and a transmission / reception unit 520 that transmits and receives information to and from the server 700 .

[0057] The input unit 510 receives input of information relating to plans to go out from the user, and the transmitting / receiving unit 520 transmits this input information to the server device 700. The user inputs the planned time of going out, the purpose of going out, and the like, as information relating to the plans to go out using the input unit 510.

[0058] 9 is a diagram showing an example of information related to users' outing plans. In the example shown in FIG. 9, User A's planned outing time is "8:30 to 9:30" and the purpose of going out is "to drop off at nursery school." User B's planned outing time is "9:30 to 11:30" and the purpose of going out is "shopping," and User C's planned outing time is "11:00 to 12:00" and the purpose of going out is "to the dentist."

[0059] The delivery company terminal device 600 includes a delivery destination information acquisition unit 610 that acquires information related to the delivery destination, and a transmission / reception unit 620 that transmits and receives information to and from the server 700 .

[0060] The delivery destination information acquisition unit 610 acquires information about the delivery destination, for example, through input by a delivery company, and the transmission / reception unit 620 transmits the acquired information to the server device 700. The information about the delivery destination includes information for identifying the user of the delivery destination, such as the name, address, and identifier of the user of the delivery destination.

[0061] The server 700 has a transmission / reception unit 710 that transmits and receives information between the user terminal device 500 and the delivery company terminal 600, a memory unit 720 that stores information, and a delivery route optimization unit 730 that generates an optimized delivery route.

[0062] The transmitting / receiving unit 710 receives information transmitted from the user terminal device 500, and the storage unit 720 stores this received information. In other words, the storage unit 720 stores information regarding the user of the user terminal device 500's plans to go out.

[0063] Furthermore, the transmitting / receiving unit 710 receives information transmitted from the delivery company terminal 600. That is, the transmitting / receiving unit 710 receives information relating to the delivery destination from the delivery company terminal 600.

[0064] The delivery route optimization unit 730 then generates an optimized delivery route for visiting the delivery destination based on the information about the delivery destination received by the transmission / reception unit 710 and information about the user's outing schedule stored in the storage unit 720. Specifically, the delivery route optimization unit 730 identifies the user of the delivery destination based on information for identifying the user of the delivery destination included in the information about the delivery destination, acquires the identified user's outing schedule from the storage unit 720, and generates an optimized delivery route for visiting the delivery destination based on the acquired user's outing schedule. The delivery route includes the time for visiting the delivery destination for each delivery destination (estimated delivery time for each delivery destination).

[0065] For example, suppose the delivery destination users are users A, B, and C who have plans to go out as shown in Figure 9, and the delivery is made to users A, B, and C in that order as shown in Figure 10, without taking into account the plans of users A, B, and C. In this case, if users A, B, and C go out as planned, as shown in Figure 10(B), it will not be possible to deliver to all of users A, B, and C at the time of the first delivery attempt because all of users A, B, and C will be out, and redelivery will have to be made to all of users A, B, and C.

[0066] Therefore, in this embodiment, the delivery route optimization unit 730 uses information about the user's planned outings to generate an optimized delivery route so that the delivery can be made at a time when the user at the delivery destination is not out. Then, the transmission / reception unit 710 transmits this generated optimized delivery route to the delivery company terminal 600. As a result, in this embodiment, the delivery company can make deliveries using the delivery route optimized so that the delivery can be made at a time when the user at the delivery destination is not out. As a result, the delivery company can reduce the number of redeliveries.

[0067] For example, when the delivery destination users are users A and C who plan to go out as shown in FIG. 9, the delivery route optimization 730 generates an optimized delivery route shown in FIG. 11, in which deliveries are made to users C and A in that order, so that deliveries can be made to users A and C's homes when users A and C are not at home. For this delivery route, as shown in FIG. 11(B), the scheduled delivery time to "user C's home" is "9:00-10:00," and the scheduled delivery time to "user B's home" is "10:00-11:00." The scheduled out-of-home times of both users A and C do not overlap. Therefore, by generating such a delivery route, deliveries to users A and C's homes when users A and C are not at home are not required, eliminating the need for redelivery. This reduces redelivery, shortens delivery times, and reduces the burden on delivery companies. Furthermore, users A and C no longer need to wait at home for redelivery, allowing them to add other out-of-home plans.

[0068] Also, for example, if the delivery destination users are users A, B, and C who have plans to go out as shown in Figure 9, user B's planned time of going out is "9:30 to 11:30," and it is not possible to generate a delivery route for all users A, B, and C such that the planned time of going out does not overlap with the planned delivery time. In such a case, the delivery route optimization unit 730 should prioritize the purpose of going out of the delivery destination users and generate a delivery route so that delivery is not made at the planned time of going out for the purpose of going out with high priority. In this way, it is possible to reduce redelivery.

[0069] For example, when the delivery destination users are users A, B, and C who have outing plans as shown in Fig. 9, and the delivery route optimization unit 730 prioritizes "daycare drop-off," "dentist," and "shopping" in that order, it generates an optimized delivery route in which deliveries are made to users B, C, and A in that order as shown in Fig. 12, so as not to visit user A's house or user C's home when users A and C are out for the higher-priority outing purposes of "daycare drop-off" and "dentist," that is, so that deliveries can be made when users A and C are not out. By doing this, as shown in Fig. 12(B), redelivery may be necessary for user B, but delivery to users A and C can be made without redelivery, making it possible to reduce redeliveries.

[0070] The delivery route optimization unit 730 may assign priorities such that a higher priority is given to out-of-home purposes for which it is difficult to change the planned out-of-home time. In a delivery route generated based on such priorities, there may be a user whose planned out-of-home time and planned delivery time are the same. However, the out-of-home purpose of that user is one for which it is relatively easy to change the planned out-of-home time. Therefore, if there is a user whose planned out-of-home time and planned delivery time are the same, the transceiver unit 710 may transmit the planned delivery time to that user's home to the user terminal device 500 of that user. This makes it possible to prompt the user to change the planned out-of-home time, thereby further reducing redelivery requests.

[0071] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, "shopping" may be a purpose of going out that allows for easier changes to the planned time of going out than "dropping off to nursery school" or "going to the dentist." In this case, if the delivery route optimization unit 730 generates a delivery route for users B, C, and A in the order shown in FIG. 12, and the transmission / reception unit 710 transmits a planned delivery time of "9:00 to 10:00" to the user terminal device 500 of user B, user B may change the planned time of going out from "9:30 to 11:30" to "10:00 to 12:00" in order to receive the package, as shown in FIG. 13. In the event of such a change, the delivery company will be able to deliver to all users A, B, and C without having to make a redelivery.

[0072] When the input unit 510 receives input of information regarding the user's plans to go out, it may also be configured to attach a priority to the purpose of going out and the delivery route optimization unit 730 may generate a delivery route based on the input priority so as not to make a delivery at a planned time of going out for a purpose of going out with a high priority. Also, when the input unit 510 receives input of information regarding the user's plans to go out, it may also be configured to attach information as to whether the planned time of going out is a changeable purpose of going out and the delivery route optimization unit 730 may generate a delivery route so as not to make a delivery at a planned time of going out for a purpose of going out that cannot be changed.

[0073] Furthermore, when priorities are assigned to, for example, "drop off to nursery school," "dentist," and "shopping," the delivery route optimization unit 730 generates a delivery route in which deliveries are made to users B, C, and A in that order, as shown in Fig. 12, and also changes user B's planned time of leaving the house from "9:30-11:30" to "10:00-12:00," as shown in Fig. 13, and the transceiver unit 710 may transmit this changed planned time of leaving the house and the planned time of delivery to user B's house to user terminal device 500 of user B. In this way, it is possible to notify user B that a delivery will be made to the house of user B at the time user B planned to leave the house, and it is also possible to suggest to user B how user B should change his planned time of leaving the house so that he can receive the package without having to perform redelivery.

[0074] The server 700 may further include a web information acquisition unit 740 that acquires the user's outing schedule from a schedule web service. In this case, the delivery route optimization unit 730 may generate an optimized delivery route for visiting the delivery destination based on the information on the delivery destination received by the transmission / reception unit 710 and the information on the user's outing schedule acquired by the web information acquisition unit 740.

[0075] 14 is a diagram showing the processing operations in the delivery route optimization system 400 according to this embodiment. In the delivery company terminal 600, the delivery destination information acquisition unit 610 acquires information about the delivery destination (step S1401), and the transmission / reception unit 620 transmits the acquired information about the delivery destination to the server 700 (step S1402).

[0076] In the server 700, the transmitting / receiving unit 710 receives information about the delivery destination transmitted from the delivery company terminal device 600 (step S1403). The delivery route optimization unit 730 generates an optimized delivery route based on the received information about the delivery destination and information about the user's planned outing (step S1404). The transmitting / receiving unit 710 transmits the generated optimized delivery route to the delivery company terminal device 600 (step S1405).

[0077] The delivery company terminal device 600 receives the optimized delivery route transmitted from the server 700 (step S1406).

[0078] The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. While the present invention has been described herein with reference to specific examples, various modifications and variations can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 100 Travel Plan Proposal System 200 Terminal Device 210 Input section 220 Transmitter / Receiver 230 Display section 300 servers 310 Transmitter / Receiver 320 Mobility Planning Department 330 Friend List Database 340 Movement Planning Database 350 Movement plan extraction unit 360 Proposal Creation Department 370 Web Movement Schedule Acquisition Department 400 Delivery Route Optimization System 500 User terminal device 510 Input section 520 Transmitter / Receiver 600 Delivery company terminal device 610 Delivery destination information acquisition unit 620 Transmitter / Receiver 700 servers 710 Transmitter / Receiver 720 Storage section 730 Delivery Route Optimization Department 740 Web information acquisition section

Claims

1. a visiting destination information acquisition unit that acquires information about visiting destinations; an outing plan acquisition unit that acquires information about the outing plan of the user at the destination; and a visiting route optimization unit that generates a visiting route for visiting the visiting destinations based on the information about the outing plan and the information about the visiting destinations.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the visiting route optimization unit generates the visiting route so that a planned outing time included in the information about the outing plan does not overlap with a planned visiting time included in the visiting route.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when there is a destination where the planned time to go out overlaps with the planned time to visit, the visiting route optimization unit assigns priority to the purpose of going out included in the information about the planned time to go out, and generates the visiting route so that the planned time to go out for the purpose of going out with the highest priority does not overlap with the planned time to visit.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3 , wherein the visiting route optimization unit assigns a higher priority to the purpose of going out for which it is difficult to change the planned time of going out.

5. The information processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the visiting route optimization unit notifies a user of the visiting destination where the planned time of leaving overlaps with the planned time of visiting, and prompts the user to change the planned time of leaving.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the going out plan acquisition unit acquires information from the user regarding whether the planned going out time is changeable.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the outing plan acquisition unit acquires information about the outing plan of the user from a schedule web service.

8. the information about the destination is information about a delivery destination, 8. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the visiting route is a delivery route for delivery to a delivery destination.

9. 1. A computer-implemented information processing method, comprising: a visiting destination information acquisition step of acquiring information about visiting destinations; an outing schedule acquisition step of acquiring information about the outing schedule of the user at the destination; and a visiting route optimization step of generating a visiting route for visiting the visiting destinations based on the information about the outing plan and the information about the visiting destinations.

10. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing the information processing program according to claim 10.

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