Condition improvement system, condition improvement method, condition improvement device, and condition improvement program

Abstract

The goal is to provide an environment based on the user's state. [Solution] A state improvement system including a terminal device, environmental equipment, and a state improvement device connected to the terminal device and environmental equipment via a network, wherein the state improvement device includes an input receiving unit that receives input of biometric information acquired from a user linked to the terminal device, and an environmental equipment control unit that controls the environmental equipment according to environmental setting information selected from environmental setting information stored in a storage unit based on the user's state when it is determined that the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is a state requiring improvement, and the environmental equipment operates according to the environmental setting information so that the surrounding environment of a user determined to be in a state requiring improvement becomes an environment that improves the user's state.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a state improvement system, a state improvement method, a state improvement device, and a state improvement program.

Background Art

[0002] For example, there is a known area-by-area environment providing system for providing an environment for each of a plurality of areas, which detects the arousal level of an individual or the like belonging to each area and provides a preferable environment for each area based on the arousal level and a preferable arousal level determined according to the work content of the individual or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The above-described conventional technology provides an environment in which the arousal level of an individual or the like becomes a preferable arousal level determined according to the work content of the individual or the like, and does not consider providing an environment based on the state of an individual.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an environment based on the state of a user.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The disclosed technology is a state improvement system including a terminal device, an environmental device, and a state improvement device connected to the terminal device and the environmental device via a network, wherein the state improvement device includes an input receiving unit that receives input of biometric information acquired from a user linked to the terminal device, and an environmental device control unit that controls the environmental device according to environmental setting information selected from environmental setting information stored in a storage unit based on the user's state when it is determined that the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is a state requiring improvement, and the environmental device operates according to the environmental setting information so that the surrounding environment of the user, which has been determined to be a state requiring improvement, becomes an environment that improves the user's state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] It can provide an environment based on the user's state. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the system configuration of the condition improvement system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of a condition improvement device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the environment configuration database in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a user database in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the history database in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This diagram illustrates an example of the functions of each device in the first embodiment of the condition improvement system. [Figure 7] This is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the first embodiment of the condition improvement system. [Figure 8] This flowchart illustrates an example of the processing performed by the state estimation unit and the necessity determination unit. [Figure 9] This flowchart illustrates an example of the processing in the environment settings selection section. [Figure 10] This is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the condition improvement system in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] This is the first figure showing an example of the display of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] (First embodiment) The first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the condition improvement system of the first embodiment.

[0010] The condition improvement system 100 of this embodiment includes a condition improvement device 200, a terminal device 300, and environmental equipment 500. In the condition improvement system 100, the condition improvement device 200, the terminal device 300, and the environmental equipment 500 are connected via a network such as the Internet. The terminal device 300 may also communicate with a wearable terminal 400, for example, via Bluetooth®. The terminal device 300 acquires biometric information of the user linked to the terminal device 300 from the wearable terminal 400 and transmits it to the condition improvement device 200.

[0011] The wearable terminal 400 is worn, for example, by a user utilizing the condition improvement system 100. The wearable terminal 400 has a biosensor and acquires biometric information of the user wearing the wearable terminal 400 and transmits it to the terminal device 300. The biometric information in this embodiment includes, for example, information indicating the user's heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and body movement. The biometric information may also include information about the user's facial expression, facial temperature distribution, voice, blinking, and eye movements, which are linked to the terminal device 300. The information about the user's facial expression, facial temperature distribution, voice, blinking, and eye movements, which are linked to the terminal device 300, may be acquired based on a facial image of the user captured by the imaging device of the terminal device 300.

[0012] The terminal device 300 of the present embodiment is operated by a user who uses, for example, the state improvement system 100. The terminal device 300 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a notebook personal computer, or a desktop personal computer.

[0013] The environmental device 500 of the present embodiment operates according to the control from the state improvement device 200 and adjusts the surrounding environment of the user associated with the terminal device 300. The environmental device 500 is, for example, an air conditioner, a lighting device, an audio device, or a video device.

[0014] The air conditioner is a device that adjusts the air environment such as temperature, humidity, or air flow, which is an example of the user's surrounding environment. The lighting device is a device that adjusts the lighting environment such as illuminance, which is an example of the user's surrounding environment. The audio device is a device that adjusts environmental sounds such as BGM (Back Ground Music), which is an example of the user's surrounding environment. The video device is a device that adjusts the environmental video, which is an example of the user's surrounding environment. The air conditioner, the lighting device, the audio device, or the video device adjusts the air environment, the lighting environment, the environmental sound, or the environmental video, which is an example of the surrounding environment of the user associated with the terminal device 300, according to the control from the state improvement device 200.

[0015] Further, the environmental device 500 may be an air conditioner, a lighting device, an audio device, or a video device that can adjust the surrounding environment for each user. In this case, the environmental device 500 realizes a personal air conditioner, personal lighting, personal audio, or personal video that can adjust the surrounding environment in units of users.

[0016] The state improvement device 200 of the present embodiment includes an environment setting DB (Database) 210, a user DB 220, a history DB 230, and a state improvement unit 240.

[0017] [[ID=The environment setting DB210 is a database that stores environment setting information for controlling the environment device 500 so that the surrounding environment of the user determined to be in a state that requires improvement becomes an environment for improving the user's state. The user DB220 is a database that stores user information indicating the attributes of the users of the terminal device 300. In the present embodiment, the user of the terminal device 300 is, in other words, the subject for whom it is determined whether improvement is required based on biological information. The history DB230 is a database that stores, for each user, history information indicating the history of the processing by the state improvement unit 240. The details of each database will be described later.

[0018] The state improvement unit 240 of the present embodiment estimates the state of the user based on the biological information of the user acquired from the terminal device 300. Specifically, the state improvement unit 240 obtains an index value indicating the degree of the state of the user indicated by each item for a plurality of items indicating the state of the user, and estimates the state of the user according to the index value of each item.

[0019] Then, the state improvement unit 240 determines whether the estimated state of the user is a state that requires improvement. When it is determined that improvement is required, the state improvement unit 240 refers to the environment setting DB210 and selects environment setting information based on the state of the user from the environment setting information stored in the environment setting DB210. The state improvement unit 240 controls the environment device 500 so that the surrounding environment of the user becomes an environment for improving the state of the user according to the environment setting information selected based on the state of the user.

[0020] Further, the state improvement unit 240 may output the environment setting information selected based on the state of the user to the terminal device 300 and cause it to be displayed on the terminal device 300. In other words, the state improvement unit 240 may present the user with the environment setting information for improving the state of the user.

[0021] [[ID=1,5]] Furthermore, the status improvement unit 240 stores information including indicator values ​​for multiple items indicating the user's status, the results of estimating the user's status, the results of determining whether the user's status requires improvement, and environment setting information selected based on the user's status, as history information in the history DB 230.

[0022] Thus, in this embodiment, it is determined whether the user's state, estimated from biological information, is a state requiring improvement. If it is determined that the state requires improvement, the environmental device 500 is controlled so that the user's surrounding environment becomes an environment that improves the user's state. Therefore, according to this embodiment, an environment based on the user's state can be provided.

[0023] In the example shown in Figure 1, the terminal device 300 included in the condition improvement system 100 is set to one unit, but the number of terminal devices 300 included in the condition improvement system 100 is not limited to one unit and may be multiple units.

[0024] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 1, the status improvement device 200 has an environment setting DB 210, a user DB 220, and a history DB 230, but is not limited to this. The environment setting DB 210, user DB 220, and history DB 230 may be partially or entirely provided in devices other than the status improvement device 200. Moreover, the status improvement device 200 may be implemented by multiple information processing devices. In other words, the functions of the status improvement unit 240 may be implemented by multiple information processing devices.

[0025] Next, with reference to Figure 2, the hardware configuration of the condition improvement device 200 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the condition improvement device.

[0026] The condition improvement device 200 in this embodiment includes a processor 201, memory 202, auxiliary storage device 203, I / F (Interface) device 204, communication device 205, and drive device 206. The hardware components included in the condition improvement device 200 are interconnected via a bus 207.

[0027] The processor 201 has various computing devices such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processor 201 reads various programs (for example, state improvement programs, etc.) into memory 202 and executes them.

[0028] Memory 202 has main memory devices such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The processor 201 and memory 202 form a so-called computer, and the computer realizes the various functions described above by the processor 201 executing various programs read from memory 202.

[0029] The auxiliary storage device 203 stores various programs and various information used when those programs are executed by the processor 201. For example, the environment settings DB 210, user DB 220, and history DB 230 are implemented by the auxiliary storage device 203.

[0030] The I / F device 204 is a connection device that connects to the operating device 261, the display device 262, etc. The I / F device 204 receives operations from the administrator (not shown) of the status improvement device 200 via the operating device 261. The I / F device 204 also outputs the processing results and presents them to the administrator of the status improvement device 200 via the display device 262. The communication device 205 is a communication device for communicating with the external device 265 via the network 264.

[0031] The drive device 206 is a device for setting the recording medium 263. The recording medium 263 includes media that record information optically, electrically, or magnetically, such as CD-ROMs, flexible disks, and magneto-optical disks. The recording medium 263 may also include semiconductor memory that records information electrically, such as ROMs and flash memory.

[0032] The various programs to be installed in the auxiliary storage device 203 are installed, for example, when the distributed recording medium 263 is set in the drive device 206, and the various programs recorded on the recording medium 263 are read by the drive device 206. The various programs to be installed in the auxiliary storage device 203 may also be installed by downloading them from the network 264 via the communication device 205. The hardware configuration of the terminal device 300 may be the same as in Figure 2, so its explanation is omitted.

[0033] Referring to Figures 3 to 5, the databases of the condition improvement device 200 of this embodiment will be described.

[0034] Figure 3 shows an example of the environment setting DB of the first embodiment. The environment setting DB 210 of this embodiment is stored in advance by the administrator of the status improvement device 200 in the auxiliary storage device 203 of the status improvement device 200, or in an external device 265 that can be read by the status improvement device 200 via the network 264.

[0035] The environment settings DB210 in this embodiment may be provided for each of the multiple items indicating the user's state, as shown in Figure 3. More specifically, the environment settings DB210 may be provided for each of the multiple items indicating the user's state that is subject to the determination of whether improvement is necessary. In the example in Figure 3, among the multiple items indicating the user's state, fatigue, tension, drowsiness, concentration, and relaxation are shown as items that are subject to the determination of whether improvement is necessary.

[0036] In Figure 3, the environment setting DB210 corresponding to the item "fatigue" is designated as environment setting DB210-1. The environment setting DB210 corresponding to the item "tension" is designated as environment setting DB210-2. The environment setting DB210 corresponding to the item "drowsiness" is designated as environment setting DB210-3. The environment setting DB210 corresponding to the item "concentration" is designated as environment setting DB210-4. In addition, the environment setting DB210 corresponding to the item "relaxation" is designated as environment setting DB210-5. In other words, the environment setting DB210 includes environment setting DB210-1, 210-2, 210-3, 210-4, and 210-5, which correspond to the items fatigue, tension, drowsiness, concentration, and relaxation, respectively, that indicate the state for which improvement is to be judged.

[0037] The environment setting information stored in environment setting DBs 210-1, 210-2, 210-3, 210-4, and 210-5 each includes, as information items, items indicating the user's status, indicator values ​​corresponding to the items, and environment settings associated with each indicator value, and these are all associated with each other.

[0038] For example, Environment Settings DB210-1 stores environment settings information associated with an index value indicating the degree of fatigue for the item "Fatigue". Environment Settings DB210-2 stores environment settings information associated with an index value indicating the degree of tension for the item "Tension". Environment Settings DB210-3 stores environment settings information associated with an index value indicating the degree of drowsiness for the item "Sleepiness". Environment Settings DB210-4 stores environment settings information associated with an index value indicating the degree of concentration for the item "Concentration". Environment Settings DB210-5 stores environment settings information associated with an index value indicating the degree of relaxation for the item "Relaxation".

[0039] Note that the environment settings DB210 shown in Figure 3 is just one example of how environment settings information is stored. The environment settings information in this embodiment is not limited to the example shown in Figure 3. In addition, the multiple items indicating the user's status may include "normal" as an item indicating a state that is not subject to the determination of whether improvement is necessary. Details of the item "normal" will be described later.

[0040] Figure 4 shows an example of a user database in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the user database 220 is stored in advance by the administrator of the status improvement device 200 in the auxiliary storage device 203 of the status improvement device 200, or in an external device 265 that the status improvement device 200 can read via the network 264.

[0041] User DB220 includes information items such as User ID, Name, Age, Occupation, Email Address, and Biometric Information Storage Location, with the "User ID" item being associated with the other items. In this embodiment, user information in User DB220 is information that includes the value of the "User ID" item and the values ​​of the other items. In other words, user information is information that indicates the user's attributes.

[0042] The value of the "User ID" field is an example of identification information used to identify the user of terminal device 300. The values ​​of the "Name," "Age," "Occupation," and "Email Address" fields indicate the name, age, occupation, and email address of the user identified by the User ID.

[0043] The value of the item "Biometric Information Storage Location" indicates the storage location of the biometric information obtained from the user identified by the user ID. The biometric information may be stored in a storage device such as the auxiliary storage device 203 of the state improvement device 200, or it may be stored in a storage device provided outside the state improvement device 200.

[0044] Note that Figure 4 is an example of user information showing user attributes. The information showing user attributes is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4. The information showing user attributes may include items other than those shown in Figure 4, or it may include some of the items shown in Figure 4. Specifically, User DB220 may include items that show user preferences, etc.

[0045] Figure 5 shows an example of the history database in the first embodiment. The history database 230 in this embodiment may be provided for each user, as shown in Figure 5. In addition, the history database 230 in this embodiment may accumulate history information for each user each time processing by the state improvement unit 240 is executed.

[0046] The history DB230 in Figure 5 includes user ID, processing date and time, indicator value, estimated result, improvement requirement, and environment setting information as information items, with the "user ID" item being associated with the other items. The history information in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, is information stored in the history DB230, including the value of the "user ID" item and the values ​​of the other items.

[0047] The value of the item "User ID" is an example of identification information used to identify the user of the terminal device 300. The value of the item "Processing Date and Time" indicates the date and time when the status improvement unit 240 performed processing. In other words, the value of the item "Processing Date and Time" includes the date and time when the user's status was estimated, the date and time when it was determined whether the user's status required improvement, or the date and time when the environmental equipment 500 was controlled according to the environmental setting information.

[0048] The "Indicator Value" item represents a degree of the user's state calculated based on biometric information, and is associated with the items fatigue, tension, drowsiness, concentration, relaxation, and normal. Fatigue, tension, drowsiness, concentration, relaxation, and normal are just examples of multiple items that indicate the user's state.

[0049] The "Fatigue" value is an index value that indicates the degree of fatigue of the user, calculated based on biometric information; a higher value indicates a higher level of fatigue. The "Tension" value is an index value that indicates the degree of tension of the user, calculated based on biometric information; a higher value indicates a higher level of tension.

[0050] The "Sleepiness" value is an index value that indicates the degree of sleepiness of the user, calculated based on biometric information. A higher value indicates that the user is feeling very sleepy. The "Concentration" value is an index value that indicates the degree of concentration of the user, calculated based on biometric information. A higher value indicates a higher level of concentration, while a lower value indicates a lower level of concentration (a state of distraction).

[0051] The "Relaxation" value is an index value that indicates the degree of relaxation of the user, calculated based on biometric information. A higher value indicates a higher degree of relaxation. Similarly, the "Normal" value is an index value that indicates the degree to which the user maintains a normal state, calculated based on biometric information. A higher value indicates that the user is in a normal state, maintaining a normal condition. In other words, a normal state for a user means that the user is not experiencing high levels of fatigue, high levels of tension, strong drowsiness, high levels of concentration, or high levels of relaxation, and does not require improvement.

[0052] The value in the "Estimated Result" column indicates the estimated state of the user based on each indicator value. The value in the "Improvement Required" column indicates whether the estimated state of the user requires improvement. Specifically, if the value of the "Improvement Required" column is "Required," it indicates that the user's state requires improvement. Conversely, if the value of the "Improvement Required" column is "Not Required," it indicates that the user's state does not require improvement (improvement is unnecessary).

[0053] Furthermore, the value of the item "Environmental Settings Information" indicates the environment settings information selected from the environment settings DB210 based on the user's status, when the user's status is determined to require improvement.

[0054] For example, as shown in Figure 5, if the user's "tension" item value of "5" is determined to be a state requiring improvement, the environmental setting information "raise the temperature" corresponding to the "tension" item value of "5" is selected from the environmental setting DB210 in Figure 3, and an air conditioning device, which is an example of environmental equipment, is controlled so that the user's surrounding environment becomes an environment that improves the user's high tension state. The state improvement device 200 of this embodiment raises the temperature of the user's surrounding environment, activates the user's parasympathetic nervous system, and improves the user's high tension state.

[0055] Furthermore, for example, if the user's "drowsiness" item value of "5," as shown in Figure 5, is determined to be a state requiring improvement, the environmental setting information "Blow cool air" corresponding to the "drowsiness" item value of "5" is selected from the environmental setting DB210 in Figure 3, and an air conditioning unit, which is an example of environmental equipment, is controlled to create an environment that improves the user's state of severe drowsiness. The state improvement device 200 of this embodiment improves the state of a user experiencing severe drowsiness by blowing cool air from the air conditioning unit onto the user. Note that the history information in Figure 5 is just an example. The items included in the history information are not limited to the example in Figure 5.

[0056] Next, with reference to Figure 6, the functions of each device in the condition improvement system 100 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functions of each device in the condition improvement system of the first embodiment.

[0057] The condition improvement unit 240 of the condition improvement device 200 in this embodiment includes an input receiving unit 241, an output unit 242, a storage control unit 243, a condition estimation unit 244, a necessity determination unit 245, an environment setting selection unit 246, an environment setting acquisition unit 247, an environment equipment control unit 248, a performance recording unit 249, and an environment setting update unit 250.

[0058] The input receiving unit 241 receives various types of information input to the condition improvement device 200. Specifically, the input receiving unit 241 receives biometric information input from the terminal device 300. The output unit 242 outputs various types of information from the condition improvement device 200. Specifically, the output unit 242 outputs the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246 to the terminal device 300. In addition, the output unit 242 of this embodiment may apply the environment setting information acquired by the environment setting acquisition unit 247 to a pre-prepared text template or the like to create natural-sounding text, and then output it to the terminal device 300.

[0059] The storage control unit 243 controls the storage of various types of information. Specifically, the storage control unit 243 manages the storage of biometric information and other data received by the input receiving unit 241.

[0060] The state estimation unit 244 estimates the user's state based on biometric information. Specifically, the state estimation unit 244 calculates index values ​​for each item indicating the user's state multiple times based on the biometric information, and calculates the average value of the index values ​​for each item. Next, the state estimation unit 244 estimates the user's state to be the state corresponding to the item with the largest average value among the average values ​​of the index values ​​for each item. Details of the processing of the state estimation unit 244 will be described later.

[0061] The necessity determination unit 245 determines whether the user's state estimated by the state estimation unit 244 is a state that requires improvement. Specifically, the necessity determination unit 245 determines that the state requires improvement if the index value of the item identified by the state estimation unit 244 is above a preset threshold.

[0062] In this embodiment, when the necessity determination unit 245 determines that the user's condition requires improvement, the environment setting selection unit 246 selects environment setting information from the environment setting information stored in the environment setting DB 210, as shown in Figure 3, based on the estimated user's condition. The environment setting selection unit 246 selects environment setting information that improves the user's condition. Details of the processing of the environment setting selection unit 246 will be described later. The environment setting selection unit may also be instructed to select environment setting information that improves the user's condition from the environment setting information stored in the environment setting DB 210 based on the estimated user's condition and external information other than biometric information. External information refers to information that may affect the user's condition or the improvement effect, such as outside temperature, humidity, weather, and time.

[0063] The environment setting acquisition unit 247 acquires the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246 from the environment setting DB 210. The environment device control unit 248 controls the environment device 500 according to the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246. The environment device control unit 248 may also provide feedback control to the environment device 500 according to the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246 until the user's state changes from a state requiring improvement to a state that does not require improvement.

[0064] The performance recording unit 249 records the results of the processing performed by the state estimation unit 244, the necessity determination unit 245, and the environment setting selection unit 246 in the history DB 230. In other words, the performance recording unit 249 stores history information, including the estimation results by the state estimation unit 244, the determination results by the necessity determination unit 245, and the selection results by the environment setting selection unit 246, in the history DB 230.

[0065] The environment setting update unit 250 updates environment setting information to improve the user's status based on the history information stored in the history DB 230. Specifically, the environment setting update unit 250 refers to the history information from when the user's status required improvement to when it no longer required improvement, and updates the environment setting information to efficiently improve the user's status. Details of the processing of the environment setting update unit 250 will be described later.

[0066] Furthermore, the terminal device 300 includes a communication unit 330, an information acquisition unit 340, and a display control unit 350.

[0067] The communication unit 330 controls communication between the terminal device 300 and the external device 265. Specifically, the communication unit 330 controls communication between the terminal device 300 and the status improvement device 200, and communication between the terminal device 300 and the wearable terminal 400, etc.

[0068] The information acquisition unit 340 acquires the user's biometric information from the terminal device 300. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 340 acquires biometric information received from the wearable terminal 400 via the communication unit 330. Alternatively, the information acquisition unit 340 may acquire image data from, for example, an imaging device of the terminal device 300 and use that as biometric information.

[0069] The display control unit 350 controls the display on the display device (display) of the terminal device 300. Specifically, the display control unit 350 causes the display device of the terminal device 300 to display the environment setting information received from the status improvement device 200.

[0070] Furthermore, the environmental device 500 includes a communication unit 510, an information acquisition unit 520, and an operation control unit 530.

[0071] The communication unit 510 controls communication between the environmental equipment 500 and the external device 265. Specifically, the communication unit 510 controls communication between the environmental equipment 500 and the condition improvement device 200.

[0072] The information acquisition unit 520 acquires environment setting information for adjusting the user's surrounding environment. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 520 acquires environment setting information received from the state improvement device 200 via the communication unit 510.

[0073] The operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the environmental adjustment function of the environmental device 500. Specifically, the operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the environmental adjustment function so that the surrounding environment of a user that has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement becomes an environment that improves the user's state, according to the environmental setting information received from the state improvement device 200.

[0074] For example, if the environmental device 500 is an air conditioning device, the operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the air conditioning device to adjust the air environment, such as temperature, humidity, or airflow, around the user, which has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement. For example, if the environmental device 500 is a lighting device, the operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the lighting device to adjust the lighting environment, such as illuminance, around the user, which has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement.

[0075] For example, if the environmental device 500 is an audio device, the operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the audio device to adjust ambient sounds such as background music around the user that have been determined to be in a state requiring improvement. Alternatively, if the environmental device 500 is a video device, the operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the video device to adjust ambient video around the user that has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement.

[0076] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the condition improvement system according to the first embodiment.

[0077] In step S701, the information acquisition unit 340 of the terminal device 300 acquires the user's biometric information from the wearable terminal 400. In step S702, the communication unit 330 of the terminal device 300 transmits the acquired user's biometric information to the state improvement device 200. The terminal device 300 transmits the biometric information in association with the user ID associated with the terminal device 300 to the state improvement device 200.

[0078] In step S703, the input receiving unit 241 of the state improvement device 200 receives biometric information input from the terminal device 300. The storage control unit 243 associates the biometric information received by the input receiving unit 241 with the user ID and stores it in the storage location indicated by the biometric information storage location in the user DB 220.

[0079] In step S704, the state estimation unit 244 of the state improvement device 200 estimates the user's state using biometric information. In step S705, the necessity determination unit 245 of the state improvement device 200 determines whether the estimated state requires improvement or not. Details of the processing of the state estimation unit 244 and the necessity determination unit 245 will be described later.

[0080] Figure 7 shows the operation of the condition improvement system 100 when, in step S705, it is determined that the estimated user's condition requires improvement.

[0081] If the estimated user status is determined to be a status requiring improvement, the environment setting selection unit 246 of the status improvement device 200 selects environment setting information based on the estimated user status in step S706. Details of the processing of the environment setting selection unit 246 will be described later. In step S707, the environment setting acquisition unit 247 of the status improvement device 200 acquires the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246 from the environment setting DB 210.

[0082] In step S708, the environmental equipment control unit 248 of the condition improvement device 200 transmits the acquired environmental setting information to the environmental equipment 500 and controls the environmental equipment 500. The environmental equipment control unit 248 may also edit the acquired environmental setting information into control data suitable for controlling the environmental equipment 500 and transmit it.

[0083] In step S709, the information acquisition unit 520 of the environmental device 500 receives environmental setting information from the condition improvement device 200. The operation control unit 530 controls the operation of the environmental adjustment function of the environmental device 500 according to the environmental setting information received from the condition improvement device 200.

[0084] The environmental device 500 controls the operation of the environmental adjustment function according to the environmental setting information received from the condition improvement device 200, thereby adjusting the surrounding environment of a user that has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement to an environment that improves the user's condition.

[0085] In step S710, the performance recording unit 249 of the condition improvement device 200 stores history information in the history DB 230, which includes the estimation result by the condition estimation unit 244, the determination result by the necessity determination unit 245, and the selection result by the environment setting selection unit 246. In other words, the condition improvement device 200 records in the history DB 230 the results of controlling the environmental equipment 500 according to the environment setting information. If environment setting information is not transmitted to the environmental equipment 500, the performance recording unit 249 stores history information in the history DB 230, which includes the estimation result by the condition estimation unit 244 and the determination result by the necessity determination unit 245.

[0086] In step S711, the environment setting update unit 250 of the condition improvement device 200 updates the environment setting information to efficiently improve the user's condition based on the history information stored in the history DB 230. For example, it is thought that there are individual differences in the environment, such as the air environment, lighting environment, ambient sound, or ambient video, which improve the user's condition. The environment setting update unit 250 may also update the environment setting information to reflect individual differences based on the history information stored in the history DB 230.

[0087] For example, the environment setting update unit 250 may update the environment setting information so that changes in the user's surrounding environment become gradual if the user is sensitive to changes in the air environment. Alternatively, the environment setting update unit 250 may update the environment setting information so that changes in the user's surrounding environment become abrupt if the user is not sensitive to changes in the air environment.

[0088] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing by the state estimation unit and the necessity determination unit. Figure 8 shows details of steps S704 and S705 in Figure 7.

[0089] In step S801, the state estimation unit 244 of the state improvement device 200 extracts the user's biometric information acquired from the user DB 220 over a certain period of time. Specifically, for example, the state estimation unit 244 extracts the user's biometric information acquired over a 5-minute period of time.

[0090] In steps S802 to S806, the state improvement unit 240 calculates an index value for each of several items indicating the user's state from the user's biometric information extracted in step S801. In this embodiment, the state estimation unit 244 uses the heart rate included in the biometric information to calculate an index value indicating the degree of the user's state for each item.

[0091] In step S802, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "fatigue" from the extracted biological information. The calculated index value for the item "fatigue" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 calculates the average value of heart rate included in the extracted biological information and compares the calculated average value with the average value from the previous time the heart rate was calculated. The state estimation unit 244 may then calculate the fatigue index value such that the value increases as the average heart rate calculated this time increases compared to the average heart rate calculated last time.

[0092] In step S803, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "tension" from the extracted biometric information. The calculated index value for the item "tension" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 may calculate the user's tension index value according to the heart rate included in the extracted biometric information. The state estimation unit 244 may also calculate the tension index value such that the value increases as the user's tension increases.

[0093] In step S804, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "sleepiness" from the extracted biometric information. The calculated index value for the item "sleepiness" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 may convert the fluctuations in heart rate intervals included in the extracted biometric information into frequencies and calculate the user's sleepiness index value based on the converted frequency fluctuations. The state estimation unit 244 may also calculate the sleepiness index value such that the value increases as the user's sleepiness increases.

[0094] In step S805, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "concentration" from the extracted biometric information. The calculated index value for the item "concentration" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 may calculate the user's concentration index value based on the time-series data of heart rate fluctuations included in the extracted biometric information. The state estimation unit 244 may calculate the concentration index value such that the value increases as the user is more concentrated and decreases as the user is more distracted.

[0095] In step S806, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "looseness" from the extracted biological information. The calculated index value for the item "looseness" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 may convert the fluctuations in heart rate intervals included in the extracted biological information into frequencies, and calculate the user's looseness index value based on the converted frequency fluctuations and the user's posture and movements. The state estimation unit 244 may calculate the looseness index value such that the value increases as the user's posture is seated for a longer period of time or as they repeat monotonous movements for a longer period of time.

[0096] In step S807, the state estimation unit 244 calculates an index value for the item "normal" from the extracted biometric information. The calculated index value for the item "normal" is stored in the history DB 230 by the performance recording unit 249. For example, the state estimation unit 244 may calculate the user's normal index value using the high-frequency and low-frequency components of the heart rate fluctuation time series data included in the extracted biometric information. The state estimation unit 244 may also calculate the normal index value such that the value increases as the user maintains a more normal state.

[0097] Furthermore, the order in which the index values ​​for each item are calculated is not limited to the order shown in Figure 8, and they may be calculated in any order. Also, the method of calculating the index values ​​for each item described above is just one example and is not limited to this. Moreover, the process of calculating the index values ​​for each item may be executed in parallel after the biological information is acquired in step S801.

[0098] Furthermore, the index values ​​for each item in this embodiment may be values ​​that have been processed so that their relative magnitudes can be compared on the same axis.

[0099] In step S808, the state estimation unit 244 determines whether the number of times the index value for each item has been calculated has reached a predetermined number. In other words, the state estimation unit 244 determines whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the acquisition of the user's biometric information began. If the number of times the index value for each item has been calculated is less than the predetermined number, the state estimation unit 244 returns to step S802.

[0100] When the number of times the index value for each item has been calculated reaches a predetermined number, the state estimation unit 244 proceeds to step S809. In step S809, the state estimation unit 244 calculates the average value of each index value. More specifically, the state estimation unit 244 extracts the user's biometric information every 5 minutes and calculates the index value for each item. When the number of times the index value for each item has been calculated reaches 12, it calculates the average value of the 12 index values ​​for each item. In this way, the state estimation unit 244 can calculate the index value for each item indicating the user's state every 60 minutes by calculating the average value of the index value for each item.

[0101] In step S810, the state estimation unit 244 identifies the item among the items indicating the user's state that has the largest average value of the indicator values ​​calculated in step S809, and uses the state indicated by the identified item as the result of estimating the user's state.

[0102] Specifically, for example, the state estimation unit 244 estimates the user's state to be fatigued if the average value of the fatigue index among the average values ​​of the index calculated in step S809 is the largest. Also, the state estimation unit 244 estimates the user's state to be very sleepy if the average value of the drowsiness index among the average values ​​of the index calculated in step S809 is the largest. Also, the state estimation unit 244 estimates the user's state to be normal if the average value of the normal index among the average values ​​of the index calculated in step S809 is the largest.

[0103] In step S811, the state estimation unit 244 determines whether the result of the estimation in step S810 is other than the normal state. In other words, the state estimation unit 244 determines whether the user's state is a state that is subject to the determination of whether improvement is necessary. In this embodiment, the normal state is not subject to the determination of whether improvement is necessary.

[0104] If the estimation result indicates a normal state, the state estimation unit 244 proceeds to step S710 shown in Figure 7. The performance recording unit 249 stores the history information in the history DB 230 where the value of the item "Estimated Result" is "Normal".

[0105] In this embodiment, for example, if the amount of user biometric data acquired in step S801 is insufficient and the average value of the indicator values ​​for each item cannot be calculated, the history information indicating that the estimation result is in a normal state may be stored in the history DB230. In this embodiment, if the amount of user biometric data is insufficient, history information indicating that fact may be generated and stored in the history DB230.

[0106] In step S811, if the estimation result is anything other than a normal state, that is, if the user's state is subject to a determination of whether improvement is necessary, the necessity determination unit 245 of the state improvement device 200 proceeds to step S812. In step S812, the necessity determination unit 245 determines whether the average value of the indicator values ​​of the items identified in step S810 is equal to or greater than a preset threshold.

[0107] Here, the pre-set thresholds may be set for each item by the administrator of the condition improvement device 200, and are used to determine whether the user's condition indicated by each item is a condition that requires improvement. In other words, the necessity determination unit 245 determines whether the user's condition requires improvement.

[0108] If the average value of the indicator values ​​for the items identified in step S810 is less than a preset threshold, the necessity determination unit 245 determines that the user's condition does not require improvement and proceeds to step S710 in Figure 7. In step S710, the performance recording unit 249 stores in the history DB 230 historical information in which the value of the item "Estimated Result" becomes the user's condition estimated in step S810 and the value of the item "Improvement Necessity" is "No".

[0109] If the average value of the indicator values ​​for the items identified in step S810 is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, the necessity determination unit 245 proceeds to step S813. In step S813, the necessity determination unit 245 instructs the environment setting selection unit 246 to select environment setting information, and proceeds to step S706 in Figure 7. In step S706 in Figure 7, the environment setting selection unit 246 performs a process, for example, as shown in Figure 9.

[0110] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing in the environment setting selection section. Figure 9 shows details of step S706 in Figure 7.

[0111] In step S901, the environment setting selection unit 246, instructed by the necessity determination unit 245 to select environment setting information, identifies the item identified in step S810 as an item indicating the user's condition that requires improvement.

[0112] In step S902, the environment setting selection unit 246 reads the index value of the item identified in step S810 from the history DB 230. In step S903, the environment setting selection unit 246 refers to the environment setting DB 210 in Figure 3 and selects environment setting information based on the item indicating the user status requiring improvement identified in step S901 and the index value read in step S902.

[0113] Here, with reference to Figures 3 and 5, the process shown in Figure 9 will be explained in detail. In the example in Figure 5, at 10:35 on December 5, 2022, the item with the largest average index value is "Tension". Therefore, as an estimation result of the state estimation unit 244, "Tension" is stored in the history DB 230. Also, at 10:35 on December 5, 2022, the index value of the item "Tension" which indicates the user's state is "5".

[0114] In step S901 in Figure 9, the environment setting selection unit 246 refers to the history information shown in Figure 5 and identifies the item "Tension," which indicates a user condition requiring improvement. In step S902, the environment setting selection unit 246 reads the index value "5" for the item "Tension," which indicates a user condition requiring improvement.

[0115] In step S903, the environment setting selection unit 246 can refer to the environment setting information shown in Figure 3 and select the environment setting information "Raise the temperature" based on the item "Tension" which indicates the user's condition requiring improvement and the index value "5" for the item "Tension".

[0116] Furthermore, in the example in Figure 5, at 16:00 on December 5, 2022, the item with the largest average index value is "drowsiness." Therefore, as an estimation result of the state estimation unit 244, drowsiness is stored in the history DB 230. Also, at 16:00 on December 5, 2022, the index value for the item "drowsiness," which indicates the user's state, is "5."

[0117] In step S901 in Figure 9, the environment setting selection unit 246 refers to the history information shown in Figure 5 and identifies the item "drowsiness" which indicates a user condition requiring improvement. In step S902, the environment setting selection unit 246 reads the index value "5" for the item "drowsiness" which indicates a user condition requiring improvement.

[0118] In step S903, the environment setting selection unit 246 can refer to the environment setting information shown in Figure 3 and select the environment setting information "Blow cool air" based on the item "Drowsiness" and the index value "5" for the item "Drowsiness," which indicate the user's condition requiring improvement.

[0119] In this embodiment, the accuracy of estimating the user's state can be improved by estimating the user's state using multiple items. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the environment setting update unit 250 updates the environment setting information according to the history information, allowing the environmental equipment 500 to be controlled with environment setting information that is likely to be effective for each individual user. In addition, in this embodiment, the surrounding environment of a user who has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement can be controlled so that the environment becomes an environment that improves the user's state.

[0120] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a user's surrounding environment based on the user's state, and to realize an environment that improves the user's state.

[0121] (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it displays the environment setting information selected by the environment setting selection unit 246 on the terminal device 30 and presents it to the user. In the following description of the second embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be explained, and components having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the first embodiment, and explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0122] Figure 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the condition improvement system according to the second embodiment. The processes in steps S1001 to S1007 in Figure 10 are the same as the processes in steps S701 to S707 in Figure 7, and therefore their explanation is omitted.

[0123] In step S1008, the output unit 242 of the status improvement device 200 transmits the acquired environment setting information to the terminal device 300. The output unit 242 may output the environment setting information to the terminal device 300 as text data in which the acquired environment setting information has been applied to a template of text including the user's status. The terminal device 300 may receive information indicating the user's status and the environment setting information.

[0124] In step S1009, when the display control unit 350 of the terminal device 300 receives the environment setting information from the communication unit 330, it displays the environment setting information on the display device.

[0125] Figure 11 is the first diagram showing an example of the display of the terminal device in the first embodiment. Figure 11 shows the case where the terminal device 300 is a smartphone. The screen 301 shown in Figure 11 has a display area 302. The display area 302 displays a message that includes information indicating the user's status transmitted from the status improvement device 200, "Tension is observed," and environmental setting information, "To alleviate tension, the air conditioning equipment is controlled to raise the temperature."

[0126] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can be made aware of the user's condition which has been determined to require improvement, and the environmental device 500 can be controlled so that the user's surrounding environment becomes an environment that improves the user's condition.

[0127] Note that the display example in Figure 11 is just one example, and the message may also be displayed on the terminal device 300 in a pop-up format. In this embodiment, when the terminal device 300 receives the environment setting information from the status improvement device 200, a notification of receipt of the environment setting information is displayed, and the user can select the notification to display the message in the display area 302. Alternatively, the message may be displayed using, for example, the notification function of an application pre-installed on the terminal device 300.

[0128] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown in the above embodiments, including combinations with other elements. These aspects can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention and can be appropriately determined according to their application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0129] 100 Condition Improvement System 200 Condition Improvement Device 210 Environment Configuration DB 220 User Database 230 History DB 240 Condition Improvement Unit 242 Output section 244 State Estimation Unit 245 Necessity judgment part 246 Environment Settings Selection Section 248 Environmental Equipment Control Unit 249 Performance Records Department 250 Environment settings update section 300 terminal devices 400 wearable devices 500 Environmental equipment

Claims

1. A condition improvement system comprising a terminal device, environmental equipment, and a condition improvement device connected to the terminal device and the environmental equipment via a network, The aforementioned condition improvement device is An input receiving unit that receives input of biometric information acquired from a user linked to the aforementioned terminal device, If the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is determined to be a state requiring improvement, the environmental device control unit controls the environmental device according to the environmental setting information selected from the environmental setting information stored in the storage unit based on the user's state, It has, The aforementioned environmental equipment is The environment surrounding the user, which has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement, operates according to the environment setting information so that it becomes an environment that improves the user's state. Condition improvement system.

2. The aforementioned condition improvement device is The system further includes an output unit that outputs the environment setting information selected based on the user's status to the terminal device. The aforementioned terminal device is The environmental setting information acquired from the condition improvement device is displayed on the display device. The condition improvement system according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned condition improvement device is A state estimation unit estimates the user's state based on a plurality of items indicating the user's state and corresponding index values ​​calculated based on the aforementioned biometric information, A necessity determination unit that determines whether the user's condition requires improvement using the estimated items indicating the user's condition and corresponding index values, The condition improvement system according to claim 1, further comprising the above.

4. The aforementioned condition improvement device is An environment setting selection unit selects environment setting information from the environment setting information stored in the storage unit to improve the user's state, based on the estimated state of the user. The condition improvement system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the above.

5. The environmental equipment control unit provides feedback control to the environmental equipment according to the environmental setting information selected based on the user's state, until it is determined that the estimated user's state does not require improvement. A condition improvement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The aforementioned condition improvement device is A performance recording unit records in the storage unit historical information including information indicating the surrounding environment of the user when the estimated user's state changed from a state requiring improvement to a state not requiring improvement, An environment setting update unit updates the environment setting information to improve the user's status based on the aforementioned history information, A condition improvement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, having the following characteristics:

7. The state improvement device selects environment setting information from the environment setting information stored in the storage unit to improve the user's state, based on the estimated user's state and external information other than the biometric information. A condition improvement system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. The aforementioned environmental equipment is air conditioning equipment, lighting equipment, audio equipment, or video equipment. The condition improvement system according to claim 1 or 2.

9. A condition improvement method using a condition improvement system that includes a terminal device, environmental equipment, and a condition improvement device connected to the terminal device and the environmental equipment via a network, The aforementioned condition improvement device, The terminal device accepts input of biometric information obtained from the user linked to the terminal device. If the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is determined to be a state requiring improvement, the environmental equipment is controlled according to the environmental setting information selected from the environmental setting information stored in the storage unit based on the user's state. The aforementioned environmental equipment, The environment surrounding the user, which has been determined to be in a state requiring improvement, operates according to the environment setting information so that it becomes an environment that improves the user's state. Methods for improving the condition.

10. A condition improvement device that is connected to terminal devices and environmental equipment via a network, An input receiving unit that receives input of biometric information acquired from a user linked to the aforementioned terminal device, If the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is determined to be a state requiring improvement, the environmental device control unit controls the environmental device according to the environmental setting information selected from the environmental setting information stored in the storage unit based on the user's state, A device for improving the condition of a state.

11. A condition improvement device connected to terminal devices and environmental equipment via a network, An input reception step that receives input of biometric information obtained from a user linked to the aforementioned terminal device, If the user's state estimated based on the biometric information is determined to be a state requiring improvement, an environmental device control step is taken to control the environmental device according to the environmental setting information selected from the environmental setting information stored in the storage unit based on the user's state. A state improvement program to enable execution.

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