Output device, output method, and output program

Abstract

To provide an output device that can appropriately improve work efficiency for users utilizing virtual spaces built online. [Solution] The user terminal 10A, which serves as an output device, comprises a location information acquisition unit 152, a relationship information acquisition unit 153, a threshold calculation unit 154, and an output control unit 156. The location information acquisition unit 152 acquires the location information of the first user's avatar and the location information of the second user's avatar in the virtual space. The relationship information acquisition unit 153 acquires information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user. The threshold calculation unit 154 calculates a predetermined threshold based on the information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 153. The output control unit 156 outputs a predetermined sound to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to a threshold.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an output device, an output method, and an output program.

Background Art

[0002] Tools have been developed to construct a virtual space online through a communication network for multiple users to communicate remotely. By using this tool, multiple users can use their avatars to communicate with other users in a different physical space within the virtual space.

[0003] As an example of a virtual space, there is a virtual office used when performing remote work. Since a user is often alone in the physical space during remote work, a sense of alienation occurs, which is different from the actual office environment, and this has been a problem. Patent Document 1 describes an invention that eliminates the sense of alienation by outputting sounds generated along with human movements to assist in transmitting the presence of other members.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The degree to which a user can improve work efficiency due to the presence of other users during remote work varies depending on the relationship between the user and other users. However, existing virtual offices do not provide information considering the relationship between users, and there is a problem that the work efficiency of users may not be appropriately improved.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an output device, an output method, and an output program that can appropriately improve the work efficiency of users utilizing a virtual space constructed online. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An output device according to one or more embodiments for achieving the above objectives includes: a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information of a first user's avatar and location information of a second user's avatar in a virtual space; a relationship information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user; a threshold calculation unit that calculates a predetermined threshold based on the information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit; and an output control unit that outputs a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold.

[0008] Furthermore, an output method according to one embodiment of one or more embodiments involves an output device acquiring location information of the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in a virtual space, acquiring relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user, calculating a predetermined threshold based on the acquired relationship information, and outputting a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold.

[0009] Furthermore, an output program according to one or more embodiments provides a computer with the following functions: a function to acquire location information of the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in a virtual space; a function to acquire relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user; a function to calculate a predetermined threshold based on the acquired relationship information; and a function to output a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to an output device, output method, and output program according to one or more embodiments, it is possible to appropriately improve the work efficiency of users who utilize a virtual space constructed online. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows the configuration of a virtual office system using a user terminal as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This flowchart shows the operation of a user terminal as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is an example of image information of a virtual office displayed on a user terminal acting as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is an example of a screen configuration diagram when an avatar of a user using another user terminal is displayed within the image information of a virtual office displayed on a user terminal acting as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is an example of a screen configuration diagram when the avatars of users using other user terminals and the avatars of users using the same user terminal are displayed within the image information of a virtual office displayed on a user terminal acting as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6]This flowchart shows the process by which a user terminal, acting as an output device according to one embodiment of the present invention, selects an output sound. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The following describes a virtual office system constructed using a user terminal as an output device according to an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the drawings. This system constructs a virtual office in a virtual space online via a communication network. Each user terminal displays image information of this virtual office, and within this image information, the avatars of users who are "attending" the virtual office, that is, users using user terminals logged into the virtual office system, are displayed.

[0013] <Configuration of a virtual office system according to one embodiment> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the virtual office system 1 according to this embodiment. The virtual office system 1 is configured such that pre-registered user terminals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D are connected to each other via a wide-area communication network 20.

[0014] User terminal 10A is used by user UA and is installed in the first physical space where user UA resides. User terminal 10B is used by user UB and is installed in the second physical space where user UB resides. User terminal 10C is used by user UC and is installed in the third physical space where user UC resides. User terminal 10D is used by user UD and is installed in the fourth physical space where user UD resides. The first physical space, the second physical space, the third physical space, and the fourth physical space are all different physical spaces.

[0015] In this embodiment, we will describe a case where four user terminals are connected to the wide-area communication network 20, but the number is not limited to this; two, three, or five or more user terminals may be connected, as long as there are two or more.

[0016] The user terminal 10A is composed of, for example, a smart device, and includes an input / output unit 11, a speaker unit 12, a communication unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a control unit 15.

[0017] The input / output unit 11 is composed of, for example, a touch panel, and inputs operation information of a user (hereinafter referred to as "self-terminal user") UA who is a user of the self-user terminal 10A, and displays display information sent from the control unit 15 as will be described later. The speaker unit 12 outputs sound information sent from the control unit 15 as will be described later. The communication unit 13 performs information communication with the user terminals 10B, 10C, and 10D via the wide-area communication network 20.

[0018] The storage unit 14 is composed of, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The storage unit 14 has a relationship information storage unit 141, a calculation information storage unit 142, and a sound source storage unit 143.

[0019] The relationship information storage unit 141 stores information indicating the relationship with a user (hereinafter referred to as "other-terminal user") who is a user of another user terminal registered in the virtual office system 1 as seen from the self-terminal user UA.

[0020] The calculation information storage unit 142 stores information for calculating a first threshold value for determining whether or not the avatar (hereinafter referred to as "self-terminal avatar") VA of the self-terminal user UA and the avatar of the other-terminal user (hereinafter referred to as "other-terminal avatar") are adjacent to each other in the virtual office, for each relationship between users. The sound source storage unit 143 stores sound source information to be output from the speaker unit 12.

[0021] The control unit 15 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) of a general-purpose microcomputer, and by installing and executing a program for virtual office management, it constitutes one or more information processing units as described below. The control unit 15 may also be a processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or quantum processor (quantum computer control chip). For example, the control unit 15 may load a program from the storage unit 14 into memory and execute the program.

[0022] The control unit 15 includes a display information generation unit 151, a location information acquisition unit 152, a relationship information acquisition unit 153, a threshold calculation unit 154, an avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155, and an output control unit 156. The program, although not shown in the figures, is a computer program that implements the processing of the information processing method according to this disclosure. As a result, the control unit 15 realizes the functions of the display information generation unit 151, the location information acquisition unit 152, the relationship information acquisition unit 153, the threshold calculation unit 154, the avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155, and the output control unit 156. Some or all of the relationship information acquisition unit 153, the threshold calculation unit 154, the avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155, and the output control unit 156 may be realized by hardware other than the control unit 15, for example, by a general-purpose or dedicated circuit implemented in a semiconductor device.

[0023] The display information generation unit 151 generates image information of the virtual office and outputs it to the input / output unit 11. The display information generation unit 151 also obtains the location information of a predetermined user's avatar within the virtual office from the location information acquisition unit 152 (described later), and displays the user's avatar at the location corresponding to this location information within the image information of the virtual office.

[0024] When the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires the location information of its own terminal avatar VA within the virtual office, which is input from the input / output unit 11, it sends the acquired information to the display information generation unit 151. Also, when the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires the location information of other terminal avatars VB, VC, or VD within the virtual office from user terminals 10B, 10C, or 10D via the communication unit 13, it sends the acquired information to the display information generation unit 151.

[0025] When the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires the location information of another terminal's avatar, the relationship information acquisition unit 153 acquires information from the relationship information storage unit 141 that indicates the relationship between the other terminal user corresponding to this other terminal avatar and the local terminal user UA.

[0026] The threshold calculation unit 154 calculates a first threshold for each user combination to determine whether the user's own terminal avatar and another terminal avatar are adjacent to each other within the virtual office, based on the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 153 and the information stored in the calculation information storage unit 142.

[0027] The avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155 calculates the avatar-to-avatar distance between the user's avatar and other avatars within the virtual office based on the location information of each avatar acquired by the location information acquisition unit 152. Specifically, in order to calculate the distance between the user's avatar and other avatars, it acquires the position coordinates of the user's avatar and the position coordinates of other avatars in the virtual space and calculates the distance between these coordinates.

[0028] The output control unit 156 retrieves sound source information stored in the sound source storage unit 143 and outputs a predetermined sound from the speaker unit 12 when the distance between avatars calculated by the avatar distance calculation unit 155 is less than or equal to the first threshold calculated by the threshold calculation unit 154.

[0029] User terminals 10B, 10C, and 10D have the same configuration as user terminal 10A.

[0030] <Operation of a virtual office system according to one embodiment> This section will describe the processes executed by the user terminal 10A used by the first user, user UA, while the virtual office system 1 according to this embodiment is in operation.

[0031] The relationship information storage unit 141 of the user terminal 10A stores information indicating the relationships between users, specifically the relationships between the user UA and other terminal users UB, UC, and UD, who are second users from the perspective of the user UA. For example, the relationship information storage unit 141 stores information indicating the hierarchical relationship and the depth of the relationship from the perspective of the user UA, such as "supervisor in the same department" for other terminal user UB, "colleague in the same department" for other terminal user UC, and "colleague in another department" for other terminal user UD. The information indicating the relationships between users may also include whether or not each of the other terminal users is a member of a project in which the user UA is participating. The user UA may also manually set the relationships with other users in the relationship information storage unit 141.

[0032] Information indicating relationships between users may include not only information on job titles and the depth of relationships, as mentioned above, but also information defining a friendly relationship as a relationship between two users being friends. For example, if one user sends a friend request to another user in a virtual reality space, and the other user accepts it, it can be determined that the two users are friends and have a friendly relationship. Information indicating relationships between users may also include numerical data on the level of intimacy derived from the number of times they have been members of the same project or the content of their conversations. In addition, information indicating relationships between users may include numerical data on the level of intimacy based on the number of times they have contacted each other via chat, the number of times they have met one-on-one or in a group, the number of times they have conversed in a virtual office, or the number of times they have sat next to each other.

[0033] Furthermore, the calculation information storage unit 142 of the user terminal 10A stores information for calculating a first threshold, which determines whether the user's own terminal avatar VA and other terminal avatars are in adjacent positions within the virtual office, for each relationship between users.

[0034] The information used to calculate this first threshold is the distance threshold between avatars within the virtual office. Users with a closer relationship to the user's UA (User Agent) are assigned a higher value, meaning a longer distance, while users with a weaker relationship are assigned a lower value, meaning a shorter distance. Specifically, for users in the same department (supervisors, colleagues, subordinates, etc.) from the user's perspective, they are considered to have a close relationship, and a first threshold of "10" is set. In contrast, for users in other departments (supervisors, colleagues, subordinates, etc.) from the user's perspective, they are considered to have a weak relationship, and a first threshold of "5" is set. This first threshold value is calculated and set, for example, by setting a predetermined distance within the virtual office to 1. Alternatively, the information used to calculate the first threshold may be configured so that the user manually sets the relationship and threshold for other users.

[0035] Furthermore, the sound source memory unit 143 of the user terminal 10A stores sound source information for each relationship with the user UA of the terminal. For example, the sound source memory unit 143 stores sound source information for other terminal users who are "supervisors" from the perspective of the user UA, such as the sound of leather shoes clicking. On the other hand, it stores sound source information for other terminal users who are "colleagues" or "subordinates" from the perspective of the user UA, such as the sound of cloth shoes tapping.

[0036] Furthermore, the sound source memory unit 143 stores sound source information for each avatar-to-avatar distance within the virtual office. For example, the sound source memory unit 143 stores sound source information for sounds that can be heard from relatively far away, such as footsteps, as first sound source information when the distance between the avatars exceeds the second threshold "7". Also, as second sound source information when the distance between the avatars is 7 or less and exceeds the third threshold "4", it stores sound source information for sounds that can be heard from a moderate distance, such as a cough. Also, as third sound source information when the distance between the avatars is 4 or less, it stores sound source information for sounds that can only be heard from a close distance, such as the seat next to you, such as tapping your fingertips on a desk, cracking your knuckles, or the sound of a writing instrument clicking.

[0037] The sound source storage unit 143 is not limited to storing different sound source information in three ranges, as described above: when the distance between avatars exceeds the second threshold, when it is below the second threshold and exceeds the third threshold, and when it is below the third threshold. It may also store different sound source information in two ranges of avatar distances with a single threshold, or it may store different sound source information in four or more ranges of avatar distances with even more thresholds.

[0038] Furthermore, the sound source storage unit 143 may store, in advance, sounds generated from the actions of each other terminal user as sound source information unique to other terminal users, along with the identification information of these other terminal users, or it may store generated onomatopoeia. Examples of sound source information unique to other terminal users include everyday sounds such as each user's footsteps, breathing sounds, coughs, and keyboard typing sounds. Examples of everyday sounds include the sound of tapping something with fingertips, cracking knuckles, rattling a chair by shaking one's body, the sound of a writing instrument clicking, sighing, yawning, and scratching one's hair or body. This sound source information unique to other users may also be information recorded from sounds made when other users are working in a real-world office.

[0039] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the processes executed by user terminals 10A, 10C, and 10D. Here, we will explain the processes executed by user terminal 10A as an example.

[0040] On user terminal 10A, when user UA operates the input / output unit 11 to launch the virtual office management application and inputs user UA identification information to log in to the virtual office system 1, the control unit 15 acquires the user's login information (S1), and the display information generation unit 151 generates image information of the virtual office and displays it on the input / output unit 11 (S2).

[0041] Figure 3 shows an example of image information for a virtual office displayed on the input / output unit 11. This image information for the virtual office includes image information for desks D1, D2, and D3.

[0042] The location information acquisition unit 152 detects other user terminals 10B, 10C, and 10D that are logged into the virtual office system via the communication unit 13, and the relationship information acquisition unit 153 acquires information from the relationship information storage unit 141 that indicates the relationship from the perspective of the user UA of the other terminals, UB, UC, and UD, respectively, that are using these terminals (S3).

[0043] Specifically, the relationship information acquisition unit 153 acquires information indicating the relationship between the local terminal user UA and other terminal users UB, such as "supervisor in the same department," information indicating the relationship between the local terminal user UA and other terminal users UC, such as "colleague in the same department," and information indicating the relationship between the local terminal user UA and other terminal users UD, such as "colleague in another department."

[0044] The threshold calculation unit 154 calculates a first threshold "10" to determine whether the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VB are adjacent to each other in the virtual office, based on the relationship information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit 153 and the information stored in the calculation information storage unit 142 (S4). Similarly, the threshold calculation unit 154 calculates a first threshold "10" for the combination of the local terminal user UA and the other terminal user UC, and calculates a first threshold "5" for the combination of the local terminal user UA and the other terminal user UD.

[0045] Furthermore, the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires location information of other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD within the virtual office from other user terminals 10B, 10C, and 10D that are logged into the virtual office system. Specifically, the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires location information of other terminal avatar VB from user terminal 10B, location information of other terminal avatar VC from user terminal 10C, and location information of other terminal avatar VD from user terminal 10D (S5). The location information acquisition unit 152 sends the acquired location information of other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD to the display information generation unit 151.

[0046] The display information generation unit 151 displays the other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD within the displayed virtual office image information based on the acquired location information of the other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD (S6).

[0047] Figure 4 is an example of a screen configuration when other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD are displayed within the image information of the virtual office displayed on the input / output unit 11. Within this image information of the virtual office, other terminal avatar VB is displayed adjacent to desk D1, other terminal avatar VC is displayed above desk D2 in Figure 4, and other terminal avatar VD is displayed below desk D3 in Figure 4.

[0048] In this way, the user UA of the local terminal views the image information of the virtual office displayed on the input / output unit 11, decides where to display their own terminal avatar VA, and performs an operation to specify this position on the image information. For example, the user UA of the local terminal might specify a position close to the avatars of other terminals in the same department as the position to display their own terminal avatar VA. The input / output unit 11 inputs the position information of the local terminal avatar VA within the virtual office based on the operated position.

[0049] When the location information acquisition unit 152 acquires the location information of the user's terminal avatar VA input from the input / output unit 11 (S7), it sends the acquired information to the display information generation unit 151. Based on the acquired location information of the user's terminal avatar VA, the display information generation unit 151 displays the user's terminal avatar VA within the displayed image information of the virtual office (S8). The location information acquisition unit 152 also transmits the acquired location information of the user's terminal avatar VA to other user terminals 10B, 10C, and 10D that are logged into the virtual office system.

[0050] Figure 5 is an example of a screen configuration when the image information of the virtual office displayed on the input / output unit 11 shows the avatars of other terminals VB, VC, VD, and the local terminal avatar VA. In this image information of the virtual office, the local terminal avatar VA is displayed at the bottom of desk D2 in Figure 5.

[0051] The avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155 calculates the avatar-to-avatar distance between the user's own terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatars VB, VC, and VD within the virtual office, based on the location information of each avatar VA, VB, VC, and VD acquired by the location information acquisition unit 152 (S9).

[0052] For example, as shown in Figure 5, the avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155 calculates the distance "8" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VB, the distance "6" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VC, and the distance "6" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VD.

[0053] The output control unit 156 determines whether the distance between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VB is less than or equal to the first threshold (S10). Here, the output control unit 156 determines that the calculated distance "8" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VB is less than or equal to the first threshold "10", and that the avatars are adjacent to each other.

[0054] If the output control unit 156 determines that the avatars are adjacent to each other (YES in S10), it selects and acquires predetermined sound source information from the sound source storage unit 143, as described later, and outputs a predetermined sound from the speaker unit 12 (S11). On the other hand, if the output control unit 156 does not determine that the avatars are adjacent to each other (NO in S10), the output control unit 156 returns to step S5 and repeats the subsequent processing.

[0055] Specifically, the output control unit 156 determines that the avatars are adjacent when the calculated distance "6" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VC is less than or equal to the first threshold "10", and retrieves predetermined sound source information stored in the sound source storage unit 143 and outputs it from the speaker unit 12. Furthermore, the output control unit 156 determines that the avatars are not adjacent when the calculated distance "6" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VD is not less than or equal to the first threshold "5", and therefore does not output sound related to the other terminal user UD.

[0056] Here, the distance from the local avatar VA to the other avatar VC and the distance to the other avatar VD are both "6". However, the first threshold "10" between the local avatar VA and the other avatar VC is different from the first threshold "5" between the local avatar VA and the other avatar VD. Therefore, the determination of whether the avatars are adjacent or not differs, and the presence or absence of sound output differs.

[0057] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the process by which the output control unit 156 selects an output sound for combinations of avatars where the distance between avatars is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0058] The output control unit 156 selects the first sound source information stored in the sound source storage unit 143 if the distance between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar exceeds the second threshold (NO in S21) (S22). The output control unit 156 also selects the second sound source information if the distance between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar is less than or equal to the second threshold and exceeds the third threshold (NO in S23) (S24). The output control unit 156 also selects the third sound source information if the distance between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar is less than or equal to the third threshold (YES in S23) (S25).

[0059] For example, from the perspective of the user UA on the local terminal, user UB on the other terminal is a superior in the same department, and the avatar distance "8" between the local terminal avatar VA and the other terminal avatar VB exceeds the second threshold "7". Therefore, the output control unit 156 acquires the sound source information of the first sound source information related to the "superior," which is the sound of footsteps in leather shoes, "tap tap," from the sound source storage unit 143 as a sound that meets these conditions, and outputs it from the speaker unit 12. Here, since each person walks differently, and the weight, rhythm, and speed of their footsteps differ, the system may also output the user-specific footsteps according to the identification information of the other terminal user. By outputting user-specific sounds in this way, the user UA on the local terminal can accurately identify the other terminal user and sense their presence.

[0060] Subsequently, if the distance between the user's own avatar VA and the other user's avatar VB changes to "6", this avatar distance is less than or equal to the second threshold "7" and exceeds the third threshold "5". Therefore, the second sound source information related to the "boss," which is the sound source information of a cough, is acquired and output from the speaker unit 12. In this way, even if the relationship between users remains the same, the sound source information to be output changes in accordance with the change in the avatar distance.

[0061] Thereafter, whenever another user terminal logs into the virtual office and this user's avatar is displayed on the input / output unit 11, user terminal 10A calculates a first threshold based on the relationship between this other user and its own terminal user UA, and outputs a predetermined sound from the speaker unit 12 if the distance between avatars is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0062] The user agent (UA) of the local terminal may pre-configure which information to output from the sound source information stored in the sound source memory unit 143, for each other terminal user, for each avatar distance, etc.

[0063] The process of outputting sound from the speaker unit 12 may be executed repeatedly at predetermined time intervals, or it may be executed only when another user terminal newly logs into the virtual office.

[0064] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the relationship information acquisition unit 153 of the user terminal 10A may perform a process to acquire information indicating the relationship between other terminal users as seen from the user UA of the user terminal 10A when the distance between the user terminal avatar VA and other terminal avatars in the virtual space is less than or equal to a predetermined fourth threshold. This fourth threshold is a value greater than the first threshold calculated by the threshold calculation unit 154. By performing this process, even when the virtual office is large in scale, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the user terminal by processing only other terminal avatars that are relatively close to the user terminal avatar VA.

[0065] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, at least one of the relationship information storage unit 141, calculation information storage unit 142, and sound source storage unit 143 provided in the storage unit 14 of each user terminal 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D, and at least one of the display information generation unit 151, location information acquisition unit 152, relationship information acquisition unit 153, threshold calculation unit 154, avatar-to-avatar distance calculation unit 155, and output control unit 156 provided in the control unit 15, may be provided in a central management server (not shown) connected to the wide-area communication network 20. By configuring in this way, each user terminal 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D can be easily configured, and the processing load can be reduced.

[0066] [Effects of the Embodiment] According to the above embodiment, the user terminal as an output device comprises a location information acquisition unit, a relationship information acquisition unit, a threshold calculation unit, and an output control unit. The location information acquisition unit acquires location information of the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space. The relationship information acquisition unit acquires information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user. The threshold calculation unit calculates a first threshold based on the information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit to determine whether the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar are in adjacent positions. The output control unit outputs a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0067] This allows the first user of a virtual office to work remotely while listening to sounds emitted by other users logged into the virtual office with whom they have a close relationship. As a result, the first user can improve their work efficiency by sensing the presence of a supervisor in the same department from a distance, thereby increasing their concentration, or by feeling the presence of colleagues in the same department, thereby gaining a sense of security.

[0068] Furthermore, the output control unit may change the sound output as sound information according to the relationship information between the first user and the second user acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit. This allows the first user to accurately identify the other user while also sensing their presence.

[0069] Furthermore, the output control unit may change the sound output as sound information depending on the distance between avatars. This allows the first user to sense the presence of other users with even greater accuracy.

[0070] Furthermore, by programming the functional configuration of the user terminal 10A (output device) described above and incorporating it into a computer, it is also possible to construct an output program that allows the computer to function as the user terminal 10A (output device). [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1. Virtual Office System 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D User Terminals 11 Input / output section 12 Speaker section 13 Communications Department 14 Storage section 15 Control Unit 20 Wide-area telecommunications network 141 Relationship Information Storage Unit 142 Calculation information storage unit 143 Sound source storage section 151 Display information generation section 152 Location information acquisition unit 153 Relationship Information Acquisition Unit 154 Threshold calculation unit 155 Avatar Distance Calculation Unit 156 Output Control Unit

Claims

1. A location information acquisition unit that acquires the location information of the first user's avatar and the location information of the second user's avatar within the virtual space, A relationship information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user, A threshold calculation unit calculates a predetermined threshold based on the information acquired by the relationship information acquisition unit, An output device comprising: an output control unit that outputs a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold;

2. The output device according to claim 1, wherein the output control unit changes the sound to be output as sound information according to the relationship information acquisition unit that has acquired information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user.

3. The output device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the output control unit changes the sound to be output as sound information according to the distance between avatars.

4. The output device is The system obtains the location information of the first user's avatar and the location information of the second user's avatar within the virtual space. The system obtains relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user, Based on the acquired relationship information, a predetermined threshold is calculated. An output method that outputs a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold.

5. On the computer, A function to acquire the location information of the first user's avatar and the location information of the second user's avatar within the virtual space. A function to acquire relationship information indicating the relationship between the first user and the second user, A function to calculate a predetermined threshold based on the acquired relationship information, An output program for implementing a function that outputs a predetermined sound as sound information to at least one of the first user and the second user when the avatar-to-avatar distance between the first user's avatar and the second user's avatar in the virtual space is less than or equal to the threshold.

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