Plant evaluation device, plant evaluation method, computer program, and storage medium

Abstract

This allows for the evaluation and selection of plants using a wider range of species and simpler processes and criteria. [Solution] A plant evaluation device for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people comprises: a fractal dimension acquisition unit that acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of a target plant to be evaluated; a relationship storage unit that stores a pre-derived relationship between the fractal dimension of the plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people; and an evaluation unit that uses the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit and the relationship between the two stored in the relationship storage unit to evaluate the relaxing effect of the target plant on people.

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present disclosure relates to a plant evaluation device, a plant evaluation method, a computer program, and a storage medium. 【Background Art】 【0002】 Conventionally, various technologies have been proposed to enhance the comfort of residents through greening of living spaces. For example, in Patent Document 1, a system is disclosed that includes a database storing various information about foliage plants for each plant type. In this system, by inputting the conditions of the living space and selecting foliage plants in the database, the thermal comfort effect, relaxation effect, air purification effect, visual effect, and effect due to image, which are the effects obtained when the selected foliage plant is virtually arranged in the living space, are quantified based on the above various information and visually output. This enables the design of foliage plants and their arrangements according to the living space. 【0003】 Also, in Patent Document 2, a system for appropriately classifying plants according to the influence on humans and a system for appropriately selecting plants that meet human requirements are disclosed. In this system, from the leaves of the plants to be classified, a "first parameter related to the linearity of the leaf shape" and a "second parameter related to the leaf size" are acquired as feature amounts related to the leaves. Then, based on the acquired feature amounts, the plants for which the feature amounts were acquired are classified into stress reduction plant groups, concentration improvement plant groups, vitality improvement plant groups, etc. 【Prior Art Documents】 【Patent Documents】 【0004】 【Patent Document 1】 Japanese Patent No. 5298386 【Patent Document 2】 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022 - 19372 【Summary of the Invention】 【Problems to be Solved by the Invention】 【0005】 However, the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot process plants other than those for which various information is pre-stored in the database. Therefore, if it was desired to process plants other than those for which various information is pre-stored in the database, it was necessary to newly acquire various information about those plants and add it to the database. In this way, it was not easy to expand the range of plants that could be processed, and the range of ornamental plants that could be processed was limited. Furthermore, in the system disclosed in Reference Document 2, it was necessary to acquire "a first parameter related to the linearity of leaf shape" and "a second parameter related to leaf size" as leaf-related features for the plants to be classified, and it was necessary to perform relatively complicated processing based on these features in response to user requests such as stress reduction requests, concentration improvement requests, and vitality improvement requests. For this reason, there was a need for a technology that could target a wider range of plants as a technology for greening living spaces, and that could enable the evaluation and selection of plants with simpler processes and criteria. [Means for solving the problem] 【0006】 This disclosure is made to solve at least some of the problems described above and can be implemented in the following forms. (1) According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plant evaluation device is provided for evaluating the effect of plants on relaxing people. This plant evaluation device comprises: a fractal dimension acquisition unit that acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of a target plant to be evaluated; a relationship storage unit that stores a pre-derived relationship between the fractal dimension of the plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree of the effect of the plant on relaxing people; and an evaluation unit that evaluates the effect of the target plant on relaxing people using the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit and the relationship between the two stored in the relationship storage unit. This type of plant evaluation device pre-stores the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation (the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people). By obtaining the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and using the relationship between the two, the relaxing effect of the target plant is evaluated. In this way, the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaves and the relaxation level is prepared in advance and used in common when evaluating any target plant. Therefore, even when evaluating a new type of plant, the relaxing effect of the plant can be easily evaluated simply by obtaining the fractal dimension of the leaves of that plant, without requiring further analysis of the plant. Furthermore, since only one parameter, the fractal dimension of the leaves, needs to be obtained as the parameter (feature) for the target plant to be evaluated, the relaxing effect of the plant can be evaluated with extremely simple processing. In particular, since the fractal dimension of a leaf is a parameter that only relates to the shape of the leaf, it becomes possible to evaluate the relaxing effect on people for any plant using a simple process, without considering the size of the leaves, the size of the entire plant, or the shape of the entire plant. (2) In the plant evaluation device of the above form, the relationship between the two parties stored in the relationship memory unit may be such that the numerical value representing the relaxation level peaks when the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant is within a specific numerical range. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to evaluate the effect of plants on relaxing people with high accuracy. (3) In the plant evaluation device of the above form, the relationship between the two stored in the relationship memory unit is an approximate formula showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of the plant's leaves and a numerical value representing the degree of relaxation, and the evaluation unit may determine the degree of relaxation by substituting the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit, into the approximate formula. With such a configuration, the effect of plants on relaxing people can be evaluated by a simple method using an approximate formula. (4) In the plant evaluation apparatus of the above form, the fractal dimension acquisition unit may acquire image data of the target plant's leaves from the image creation unit that creates image data of the target plant's leaves, and derive the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves by analyzing the acquired image data. With such a configuration, even when a new plant is used as the target plant, it is only necessary to acquire image data of the leaves of this new plant, and the plant's effect on relaxing people can be evaluated through a simple process. (5) In the plant evaluation device of the above form, the fractal dimension acquisition unit may access a fractal dimension storage unit that stores the fractal dimensions of leaves corresponding to each of a plurality of plant species that have been set in advance as potential target plants, and acquire the fractal dimensions of the leaves of the target plants. With this configuration, for plant species whose leaf fractal dimensions have been stored in the fractal dimension storage unit in advance, evaluation can be performed without requiring further processing related to the acquisition of fractal dimensions, such as acquisition and analysis of image data. (6) Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a plant evaluation method for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people. This plant evaluation method obtains the fractal dimension of the leaves of a target plant to be evaluated and judged, stores in advance in a relation memory the relationship between the fractal dimension of the plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree of the relaxing effect of the plant on people, and evaluates the relaxing effect of the target plant on people using the obtained fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves and the relationship between the two stored in the relation memory. According to this form of plant evaluation method, the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation (the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people) is stored in advance. The fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated is then obtained, and the relaxation effect of the target plant is evaluated by using the relationship between the two. In this way, the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaves and the relaxation effect is prepared in advance and used in common when evaluating any target plant. Therefore, even when evaluating a new type of plant, the relaxation effect of the plant can be easily evaluated simply by obtaining the fractal dimension of the leaves of that plant, without requiring further analysis of the plant. Furthermore, since only a single parameter, the fractal dimension of the leaves, needs to be obtained as a parameter (feature) for the target plant to be evaluated, the relaxation effect of the plant can be evaluated with extremely simple processing. In particular, since the fractal dimension of a leaf is a parameter that only relates to the shape of the leaf, it becomes possible to evaluate the relaxing effect on people for any plant using a simple process, without considering the size of the leaves, the size of the entire plant, or the shape of the entire plant. Furthermore, this disclosure can be implemented in various forms, for example, in the form of a plant evaluation device, a system including a plant evaluation device, a plant evaluation method, a computer program executed in these devices and systems, a server device for distributing the computer program, a non-temporary storage medium storing the computer program, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0007】 [Figure 1] A block diagram functionally illustrating the configuration of a plant evaluation system equipped with a plant evaluation device. [Figure 2] A flowchart illustrating a plant evaluation method. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram showing the experimental plants used in the study. [Figure 4]Explanatory diagram showing the tablet screen used for evaluation. [Figure 5] Explanatory diagram showing the tablet screen used for evaluation. [Figure 6] Explanatory diagram showing the tablet screen used for evaluation. [Figure 7] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the relaxation score. [Figure 8] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the concentration score. [Figure 9] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the vitality score. [Figure 10] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the area of a plant leaf and the relaxation score. [Figure 11] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the width of a leaf and the relaxation score. [Figure 12] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the length of a leaf and the relaxation score. [Figure 13] Explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the circularity of a leaf and the relaxation score. 【Modes for Carrying Out the Invention】 【0008】 A. Configuration of the Plant Evaluation Device: FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing an example of the configuration of a plant evaluation system 100 including a plant evaluation device 10 used for executing a plant evaluation method as an embodiment of the present disclosure. The plant evaluation device 10 is a device for evaluating the effect of a plant on relaxing a person. The plant evaluation device 10 includes a CPU 110, a storage unit 120, a RAM 130, an input interface 140, an output interface 150, and a communication interface 160. These components are interconnected by a bus. Further, the plant evaluation system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes, in addition to the above plant evaluation device 10, an operation unit 170, an image creation unit 180, a display unit 19, and a database 200. 【0009】 The CPU 110 controls the overall operation of the plant evaluation device 10 by expanding the program 122 stored in the storage unit 120 into the RAM 130. An operation unit 170 such as a keyboard or a mouse and an image creation unit 180 are connected to the input interface 140, and a display unit 190 such as a liquid crystal display is connected to the output interface 150. 【0010】 The CPU 110 realizes the functions of the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 and the evaluation unit 114 by executing the program 122 stored in the storage unit 120. 【0011】 The fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated. The evaluation unit 114 evaluates the effect of the target plant on relaxing a person using the fractal dimension acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112. 【0012】 As the storage unit 120, for example, a hard disk, a storage medium, a non-volatile memory, a storage device (SSD) composed of a non-volatile memory, etc. can be used. As described above, the program 122 is stored in the storage unit 120, and a related storage unit 124 is provided. 【0013】 B. Plant evaluation method: FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a plant evaluation method as an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, the plant evaluation method shown in FIG. 2 will be described based on an embodiment of being executed using the plant evaluation system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The plant evaluation method shown in FIG. 2 evaluates the effect of the target plant on relaxing a person using the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated. 【0014】 When evaluating a target plant, the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 first acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated (step T100). The acquisition of the fractal dimension by the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 can be performed, for example, by first creating image data of the target plant's leaves in the image creation unit 180, then having the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 acquire the image data of the target plant's leaves created by the image creation unit 180, and then having the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 analyze the acquired image data to derive the fractal dimension. Alternatively, the function of analyzing the image data of the target plant's leaves to derive the fractal dimension may be provided by the image creation unit 180 instead of the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112, and the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 may acquire the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves derived by the image creation unit 180 from the image creation unit 180. Here, the image creation unit 180 may, for example, be equipped with a scanner that optically reads an image and converts it into a digital signal, and create image data of the target plant's leaves by scanning the leaves of the target plant using the scanner and processing the images. Alternatively, the image creation unit 180 may be equipped with an imaging device such as a camera, and create image data by imaging the leaves of the target plant and processing the images. When analyzing the image data to derive the fractal dimension, it is desirable to create image data of multiple leaves of the target plant, analyze each of the multiple leaf image data to derive the fractal dimension, and use the average of the obtained fractal dimensions as the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves. For example, five leaves may be collected from the target plant, the leaf with the largest area and the leaf with the smallest area may be excluded, and the fractal dimension may be derived using the remaining three leaves. 【0015】 Alternatively, image data of leaves from multiple species of plants that could be the target plant may be acquired in advance and stored in the storage unit 120 of the plant evaluation device 10, or in an image data storage unit provided in a database 200 that is communicatively connected to the plant evaluation device 10, in association with the plant name. In this case, in step T100, the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 can access the aforementioned image data storage unit to acquire image data of the target plant's leaves and derive the fractal dimension by analyzing the image data. In this way, there is no need to use an image creation unit 180 such as an imaging device or scanner, and the process of generating image data is unnecessary. If it is possible to access the image data storage unit that stores the image data of the plant's leaves in association with the plant name, the effect of the target plant on relaxing people can be evaluated. 【0016】 Furthermore, for each of the multiple plant species pre-set as potential target plants, the leaf image data may be analyzed in advance to derive the fractal dimension, and the derived fractal dimension may be stored in association with the plant name in a fractal dimension storage unit provided in the storage unit 120 of the plant evaluation device 10, or in a database 200 that is communicably connected to the plant evaluation device 10. The fractal dimension stored in the fractal dimension storage unit can be, for example, obtained by creating image data of multiple leaves for each of the multiple plant species, analyzing each of the multiple leaf image data to derive the fractal dimension, and then calculating the average value of the obtained fractal dimensions. For example, five leaves can be collected from the target plant, the leaf with the largest and smallest area can be excluded, and the fractal dimension derived using the remaining three leaves can be stored. In this case, in step T100, the fractal dimension acquisition unit 112 can access the fractal dimension storage unit described above to acquire the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves. In this way, for plant species whose leaf fractal dimension is pre-stored in the fractal dimension memory, further processing such as image data acquisition and analysis can be eliminated. 【0017】 For example, in step 100, if the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaf can be obtained from the fractal dimension storage unit, the fractal dimension data stored in the fractal dimension storage unit may be used. If the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaf cannot be obtained from the fractal dimension storage unit, the fractal dimension may be derived by obtaining an image of the target plant's leaf stored in the image data storage unit. If an image of the target plant's leaf cannot be obtained from the image data acquisition unit, the image creation unit 180 may create image data of the target plant's leaf and derive the fractal dimension. In this case, if new image data of the target plant's leaf is obtained in step T100, the image data storage unit that stores the leaf image data may be updated. Also, if a new fractal dimension of the target plant's leaf is derived in step T100, the fractal dimension storage unit that stores the fractal dimension of the plant's leaf may be updated. 【0018】 Next, the evaluation unit 114 uses the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, acquired in step T100, to evaluate the effect of the target plant on relaxing people (step T110). Here, the relationship between the fractal dimension of the plant's leaves and the relaxation level, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people, is stored in the relationship memory unit 124. In step T110, the evaluation unit 114 uses the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, acquired in step T100, and the relationship between the two stored in the relationship memory unit 124 to perform the evaluation. The relationship between the two stored in the relationship memory unit 124 and the evaluation using it will be explained in detail later. 【0019】 After performing the evaluation in process T120, the evaluation unit 114 outputs the evaluation results to the display unit 190 via the output interface 150 (process T190). In addition, in process T190, the evaluation results may be output to a device other than the display unit 190. For example, the evaluation results from process T120 may be output to a device for proposing methods of greening living spaces to customers, in which the relaxing effect of plants on people is used as one of the evaluation items. 【0020】 C. On the relationship between the fractal dimension of plant leaves and relaxation levels: The following describes the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the relaxation level, which are stored in the relational memory unit 124. From the appearance of a plant, various parameters related to its size and shape can be extracted, and it is known that the appearance of a plant has various effects on people. As a result of diligent research, the inventors of this invention have newly discovered a special relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the relaxation level, which is the degree to which it has a relaxing effect on people. 【0021】 Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the experimental plants used in the investigation into the effects of plants described below. Here, we investigated the effects that subjects received from 30 types of houseplants that are widely used indoors. 【0022】 (C-1) Measurement of various parameters related to plant leaves: Regarding the leaves of each experimental plant shown in Figure 3, various parameters, including the fractal dimension, were measured as follows. First, five leaves were collected from each experimental plant. The basic shapes of plant leaves are known to be simple leaves, which consist of one leaflet, and compound leaves, which consist of multiple leaflets. Here, if the leaf shape is simple, it is treated as a single leaf, and if the leaf shape is compound, the entire compound leaf, which is a collection of leaflets, is treated as a single leaf, and the various parameters of the leaf, such as leaf area, leaf width, leaf length, and fractal dimension, were determined. Specifically, digital image data was obtained for each collected leaf using a scanning device (GT-X970, manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation) and image processing software (Photoshop CS2, manufactured by Adobe). Then, the fractal dimension, leaf area, leaf width, leaf length, and leaf circularity of the obtained image data of each leaf were measured using image analysis software (ImageJ, https: / / imagej.nih.gov / ij / ). Here, "leaf length" refers to the longest distance between any two points on the outer circumference of the leaf. "Leaf width" refers to the longest length of the leaf perpendicular to the direction in which the leaf length was measured. 【0023】 The fractal dimension was measured as follows: First, the image data of each leaf obtained as described above was binarized, and the leaf contour was extracted using the image analysis software ImageJ. The obtained contour images were enlarged or reduced to fill a square slide, and the fractal dimension was determined using the box counting method in ImageJ. When measuring the various parameters as described above, for each experimental plant from which five leaves were collected, the leaf with the largest and smallest area were excluded from the analysis, and the average of the measurements obtained from the remaining three leaves was used for the analysis. 【0024】 (C-2) Subjective evaluation of the appearance of plants: Six professionals whose profession involves spatial design using plants were used as subjects to evaluate 30 types of plants shown in Figure 3 using tablets. The evaluation was repeated three times. For each plant, three images were presented on the screen: a photograph of the entire plant, a close-up of the leaves, and a photograph with a human silhouette to indicate the size of the plant. The subjects were then asked to answer questions based on the impression they received from the appearance of the plants. The impression received from the appearance of the plants was evaluated using the following items: "makes me feel calm," "makes me feel relaxed and at ease," "makes me feel alert," "makes me feel focused," "makes me feel active," and "makes me feel positive." Each item was evaluated on a 6-point scale: "strongly agree (6)," "somewhat agree (5)," "somewhat agree (4)," "somewhat disagree (3)," "hardly agree (2)," and "strongly disagree (1)." The numbers in parentheses above indicate the score used to calculate the score for each evaluation item, which will be described later. 【0025】 Figures 4 to 6 are explanatory diagrams showing the tablet screen used for the evaluation described above. Figure 4 shows the display state when the cursor is placed over an image of the entire plant and it is enlarged, Figure 5 shows the display state when the cursor is placed over a close-up image of a leaf and it is enlarged, and Figure 6 shows the display state when the cursor is placed over an image with a human silhouette to indicate the size of the plant and it is enlarged. In this way, the survey was conducted in a manner that allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the impression received from the appearance of the plant, by adding evaluation conditions such as viewing the entire plant and focusing on the parts with dense foliage, as well as making the size of the plant itself a condition that can influence the evaluation. 【0026】 Furthermore, for comparison with the aforementioned survey using experts as subjects (hereinafter also referred to as the "expert survey"), a survey was conducted using the internet with ordinary citizens as subjects, using the same photographs and questionnaires as the expert survey for the 30 types of plants shown in Figure 3 (hereinafter also referred to as the "web survey"). 1,000 people participated in the web survey, ranging in age from 25 to 59 years old. Each age group—20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s—included 250 participants, with an equal number of men and women. 【0027】 In the results of both the expert survey and the web survey, the average score obtained from the items "feeling calm" and "feeling relaxed and at ease" was defined as the "relaxation score," a numerical value representing the relaxation level of the plants. Similarly, the average score obtained from the items "feeling alert" and "feeling focused" was defined as the "concentration score," and the average score obtained from the items "feeling active" and "feeling positive" was defined as the "vitality score." 【0028】 (C-3) Relationship between the fractal dimension of plant leaves and each score: Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of plant leaves (hereinafter also simply referred to as "fractal dimension") and the relaxation score. Specifically, Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the results of plotting the fractal dimension and relaxation score in two dimensions for each of the 30 types of plants shown in Figure 3. Similarly, Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension and the concentration score, and Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the fractal dimension and the vitality score. In Figure 7, the horizontal axis shows the fractal dimension and the vertical axis shows the relaxation score. In Figure 8, the horizontal axis shows the fractal dimension and the vertical axis shows the concentration score. In Figure 9, the horizontal axis shows the fractal dimension and the vertical axis shows the vitality score. In addition, Figures 7(A), 8(A), and 9(A) show the results of expert surveys, and Figures 7(B), 8(B), and 9(B) show the results of web surveys. Figures 7 and 8 show the approximate relationship between the fractal dimension (x) and the relaxation score (y) expressed as a quadratic function, along with the coefficient of determination (R) for both. 2 ) and are shown together. The coefficient of determination (R 2 The variance rate (%) is equal to the squared value of the correlation coefficient (r) and is also called the variance explanation rate (%). It represents the proportion of the variance of the dependent variable (y) that is explained by the explanatory variable (x). 【0029】 As shown in Figure 7, both the expert survey and the web survey revealed a relationship between fractal dimension and relaxation score, specifically indicating that a peak in relaxation score exists at certain fractal dimensions. In both the expert survey and the web survey, relaxation scores were relatively high in the fractal dimension range of 1.2 to 1.5, higher in the fractal dimension range of 1.3 to 1.4, and a peak in relaxation score was observed around a fractal dimension of 1.35. 【0030】 In expert research, an approximate quadratic function, shown in equation (1) below, was obtained for the relationship between the fractal dimension (x) and the relaxation score (y). Its coefficient of determination (R 2The ratio was 0.56 (explained variance of 56%). 【0031】 y = -14.5x 2 +39.2x-21.7 … (1) 【0032】 Although the aforementioned six-point rating scale does not include a neutral "neither agree nor disagree" option, if we hypothetically introduce such an option between "somewhat agree (4)" and "somewhat disagree (3)," the score for "neither agree nor disagree" would be 3.5. Therefore, a rating result greater than 3.5 can be considered a positive evaluation. In the expert survey, the range of fractal dimensions for obtaining a relaxation score of 3.5 or higher was calculated using equation (1) to be 1.1 to 1.65. Furthermore, in the expert survey, the range of fractal dimensions for obtaining a relaxation score of 4 or higher, corresponding to a more positive "somewhat agree," was 1.15 to 1.55. 【0033】 In the web survey, the relationship between the fractal dimension (x) and the relaxation score (y) was approximated by the quadratic function shown in equation (2) below. Its coefficient of determination (R 2 The value was 0.09. 【0034】 y = -2.03x 2 +5.44x+0.15 … (2) 【0035】 In the web survey, the range of fractal dimensions for obtaining a relaxation score of 3.5 or higher was calculated using equation (2) to be 1.0 to 1.7. Furthermore, in the web survey, the range of fractal dimensions for obtaining a more positive relaxation score of 3.7 or higher was 1.15 to 1.55. 【0036】 Regarding these relaxation scores, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, no relationship was observed between the fractal dimension and the concentration or vitality score, similar to the relationship observed between the fractal dimension and the relaxation score. 【0037】 (C-4) Relationship between various parameters and relaxation score: Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the area of ​​a plant leaf and its relaxation score. Specifically, Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the results of plotting the leaf area and relaxation score in two dimensions for each of the 30 types of plants shown in Figure 3. Similarly, Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between leaf width and relaxation score, Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between leaf length and relaxation score, and Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between leaf circularity and relaxation score. In Figure 10, the horizontal axis shows the leaf area and the vertical axis shows the relaxation score. In Figure 11, the horizontal axis shows the leaf width and the vertical axis shows the relaxation score. In Figure 12, the horizontal axis shows the leaf length and the vertical axis shows the relaxation score. In Figure 13, the horizontal axis shows the leaf circularity and the vertical axis shows the relaxation score. 【0038】 As shown in Figures 10 to 13, no peak relationship was observed between the relaxation score and leaf parameters (features) other than the leaf's fractal dimension, similar to the relationship observed between the leaf's fractal dimension and the relaxation score. 【0039】 (C-5) Method of evaluating the degree of relaxation: The evaluation method performed in step T110 in Figure 2 can be any method that utilizes the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaf and the relaxation level, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people, and various methods can be adopted. For example, an approximate formula derived in advance as the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaf and the relaxation score can be stored in the relationship memory unit 124, and the fractal dimension of the leaf obtained in step T100 for the target plant can be substituted into the above approximate formula to calculate the relaxation score as a numerical value representing the relaxation level. 【0040】 As previously mentioned, both the expert survey and the web survey showed a similar effect, with relaxation scores peaking within a similar numerical range for the fractal dimension of the leaves. However, when evaluating the target plants, it is desirable to use the results of the expert survey, which show a clearer peak. The clearer peak observed in the results of the expert survey suggests that experts whose profession involves spatial design using plants are able to make more objective and stable judgments about plants, suppressing the influence of factors other than the impression received from the plant itself (for example, the subject's mental and physical state during evaluation, or the influence of the environment during evaluation), compared to the general public. As a result, they were able to evaluate the influence of the fractal dimension of the leaves with greater accuracy. Therefore, when implementing the evaluation method shown in Figure 2, it is considered more desirable to use the results of the expert survey to evaluate the plants. In other words, when storing and using an approximate formula representing the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaves and the degree of relaxation in the relation memory unit 124, it is desirable to use the approximate formula of equation (1) described above, which was obtained from the results of the expert survey. 【0041】 In process T110, when calculating the relaxation score from the fractal dimension of the leaf based on equation (1) as described above, for example, the relaxation score may be pre-ranked in stages, and the evaluation rank obtained from the relaxation score calculated using the approximation formula may be output as the evaluation result in process T120. For example, if the relaxation score calculated using the approximation formula of equation (1) is 4.5 or higher, it can be ranked as S; if it is 4.0 or higher but less than 4.5, it can be ranked as A; if it is 3.5 or higher but less than 4.0, it can be ranked as B; and if it is less than 3.5, it can be ranked as C. 【0042】 Alternatively, instead of storing and using an approximate formula in the relation memory unit 124 that shows the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaf and the relaxation score, a map that associates the fractal dimension of the leaf with the evaluation rank may be stored in the relation memory unit 124, and the evaluation may be performed without going through the relaxation score calculation process. For example, a map may be stored in the relation memory unit 124 to determine that if the fractal dimension of the leaf is in the numerical range of 1.15 or more and 1.55 or less, corresponding to a relaxation score of 4 or more, it is rank A; if it is in the range of 1.1 or more and less than 1.15, and above 1.55 and below 1.65, corresponding to a relaxation score of 3.5 or more and less than 4, it is rank B; and if it is below 1.1 and above 1.65, corresponding to a relaxation score of less than 3.5, it is rank C. 【0043】 Alternatively, in step T120, the relaxation score calculated using the aforementioned approximation formula may be output directly from the plant evaluation device 10 as the evaluation result without ranking. In this case, for example, another device that receives the evaluation results from the plant evaluation device 10 may use the relaxation score along with other conditions related to the living space that is the target of greening to make an overall judgment and make suggestions regarding ornamental plants to be placed to improve the livability of the living space. 【0044】 The plant evaluation device 10 and plant evaluation method of this embodiment described above can be used, for example, by businesses that sell houseplants or interior design businesses. They can be used to determine the relaxation level of potential plants to propose to customers and to recommend houseplants to customers. 【0045】 The plant evaluation device 10 and plant evaluation method of this embodiment, configured as described above, pre-stores the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaves and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people. By acquiring the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and using the relationship between the two, the effect of the target plant on people is evaluated. In this way, the relationship between the fractal dimension of the leaves and the degree of relaxation is prepared in advance and used in common when evaluating any target plant. Therefore, even when evaluating a new type of plant, the degree of relaxation can be easily evaluated simply by acquiring the fractal dimension of the leaves of that plant, without requiring further analysis of that plant. Furthermore, with the plant evaluation device 10 and plant evaluation method of this embodiment, since only the fractal dimension of the leaves, which is a single parameter, needs to be acquired as a parameter (feature) for the target plant to be evaluated, the effect of plants on people on people can be evaluated with extremely simple processing. 【0046】 In particular, the fractal dimension of a leaf is a parameter that relates only to the shape of the leaf. Therefore, according to the plant evaluation device 10 and plant evaluation method of this embodiment, it becomes possible to evaluate the degree of relaxation of any plant through a simple process, without considering the size of the plant's leaves, the size of the entire plant, or the shape of the entire plant. 【0047】 In this embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 3, the relationship between the two is derived in advance using a large number of plants, specifically 30 types of houseplants widely used indoors. Thus, in this embodiment, a sufficiently large number of plant species—25 at the genus level and 14 at the family level—are targeted, which are relatively likely to be used as target plants, and the relationship between the effect of plants on humans and various parameters related to plants is generalized and extracted. As a result, it was found that the fractal dimension of the leaves can be used alone as a parameter (feature) for evaluating the degree of the relaxing effect of plants on humans. Therefore, even when evaluating new plants different from the 30 types of plants used to derive the relationship between the two, it is considered that accurate evaluation results regarding the relaxing effect of plants on humans can be obtained. 【0048】 This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-mentioned problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-mentioned effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. 【0049】 This disclosure can also be implemented in the following forms: [Application Example 1] A plant evaluation device for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people, A fractal dimension acquisition unit that acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated, A relational memory unit stores a pre-determined relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people. An evaluation unit evaluates the effect of the target plant on relaxing people, using the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit and the relationship between the two stored by the relationship memory unit. A plant evaluation device equipped with the following features. [Application Example 2] The plant evaluation device described in Application Example 1, The relationship between the two entities stored in the relationship memory unit is such that when the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant falls within a specific numerical range, the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation peaks. Plant evaluation device. [Application Example 3] A plant evaluation device as described in Application Example 1 or 2, The relationship between the two entities stored in the relationship memory unit is an approximate formula showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation. The evaluation unit substitutes the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, obtained by the fractal dimension acquisition unit, into the approximation formula to determine the degree of relaxation. Plant evaluation device. [Application Example 4] A plant evaluation device described in any one of the application examples 1 to 3, The fractal dimension acquisition unit acquires image data of the target plant's leaves from the image creation unit that creates image data of the target plant's leaves, and derives the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves by analyzing the acquired image data. Plant evaluation device. [Application Example 5] A plant evaluation device described in any one of the application examples 1 to 3, The fractal dimension acquisition unit accesses a fractal dimension storage unit that stores the fractal dimensions of leaves corresponding to each of a plurality of plant species pre-set as potential target plants, and acquires the fractal dimensions of the leaves of the target plant. Plant evaluation device. [Application Example 6] A method for evaluating plants to assess their relaxing effect on people, Obtain the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and judged. The relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation (the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people) is pre-stored in the relational memory. The fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves obtained and the relationship between the two, stored in the relationship memory unit, are used to evaluate the effect of the target plant on relaxing people. Plant evaluation methods. [Application Example 7] The plant evaluation method described in Application Example 6, The relationship between the two parties is such that when the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant falls within a specific numerical range, the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation peaks. Plant evaluation methods. [Application Example 8] A plant evaluation method described in Application Example 6 or 7, The relationship between the two is an approximate formula showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation. The fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, obtained from the analysis, is substituted into the approximation formula to determine the relaxation level, and the effect of the target plant on relaxing people is evaluated. Plant evaluation methods. [Application Example 9] A plant evaluation method described in any one of the application examples 6 to 8, The fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant is obtained by analyzing image data of the leaves of the target plant. Plant evaluation methods. [Application Example 10] A plant evaluation method described in any one of the application examples 6 to 8, The fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant is obtained by accessing a fractal dimension storage unit that pre-stores the fractal dimension of the leaves for each of the multiple plant species that have been pre-configured as potential target plants. Plant evaluation methods. [Application Example 11] A computer program that runs on a plant evaluation device for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people, The plant evaluation device includes a relationship memory unit that pre-stores the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people. The aforementioned computer program, A function to obtain the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and judged, An evaluation function that uses the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves obtained and the relationship between the two stored in the relationship memory unit to evaluate the effect of the target plant on relaxing people, To cause the computer to execute Computer program. [Application Example 12] It is a storage medium, Store the computer program described in Application Example 11. storage medium. [Explanation of symbols] 【0050】 10... Plant evaluation device 100... Plant evaluation system 110…CPU 112...Fractal Dimension Acquisition Unit 114…Evaluation Department 120...Storage section 122... Program 124...Relationship Memory Unit 130...RAM 140…Input Interface 150…Output Interface 160...Communication Interface 170...Operation unit 180...Image Creation Department 190...Display section 200... Database

Claims

[Claim 1] A plant evaluation device for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people, A fractal dimension acquisition unit that acquires the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated, A relational memory unit stores a pre-determined relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people. An evaluation unit evaluates the effect of the target plant on relaxing people, using the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves acquired by the fractal dimension acquisition unit and the relationship between the two stored by the relationship memory unit. A plant evaluation device equipped with the following features. [Claim 2] A plant evaluation device according to claim 1, The relationship between the two entities stored in the relationship memory unit is such that when the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant falls within a specific numerical range, the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation peaks. Plant evaluation device. [Claim 3] A plant evaluation device according to claim 1, The relationship between the two entities stored in the relationship memory unit is an approximate formula showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation. The evaluation unit substitutes the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, obtained by the fractal dimension acquisition unit, into the approximation formula to determine the degree of relaxation. Plant evaluation device. [Claim 4] A plant evaluation device according to claim 1, The fractal dimension acquisition unit acquires image data of the target plant's leaves from the image creation unit that creates image data of the target plant's leaves, and derives the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves by analyzing the acquired image data. Plant evaluation device. [Claim 5] A plant evaluation device according to claim 1, The fractal dimension acquisition unit accesses a fractal dimension storage unit that stores the fractal dimensions of leaves corresponding to each of a plurality of plant species pre-set as potential target plants, and acquires the fractal dimensions of the leaves of the target plant. Plant evaluation device. [Claim 6] A method for evaluating plants to assess their relaxing effect on people, Obtain the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and judged. The relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation (the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people) is pre-stored in the relational memory. The fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves obtained and the relationship between the two, stored in the relationship memory unit, are used to evaluate the effect of the target plant on relaxing people. Plant evaluation methods. [Claim 7] A plant evaluation method according to claim 6, The relationship between the two parties is such that when the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant falls within a specific numerical range, the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation peaks. Plant evaluation methods. [Claim 8] A plant evaluation method according to claim 6, The relationship between the two is an approximate formula showing the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant leaf and the numerical value representing the degree of relaxation. The fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves, obtained from the analysis, is substituted into the approximation formula to determine the relaxation level, and the effect of the target plant on relaxing people is evaluated. Plant evaluation methods. [Claim 9] A plant evaluation method according to claim 6, The fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant is obtained by analyzing image data of the leaves of the target plant. Plant evaluation methods. [Claim 10] A plant evaluation method according to claim 6, The fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant is obtained by accessing a fractal dimension storage unit that pre-stores the fractal dimensions of leaves corresponding to each of a plurality of plant species that are pre-set as potential target plants. Plant evaluation methods. [Claim 11] A computer program that runs on a plant evaluation device for evaluating the relaxing effect of plants on people, The plant evaluation device includes a relationship memory unit that pre-stores the relationship between the fractal dimension of a plant's leaf and the degree of relaxation, which is the degree to which the plant has a relaxing effect on people. The aforementioned computer program, A function to obtain the fractal dimension of the leaves of the target plant to be evaluated and judged, An evaluation function that uses the fractal dimension of the target plant's leaves obtained and the relationship between the two stored in the relationship memory unit to evaluate the effect of the target plant on relaxing people, To cause the computer to execute Computer program. [Claim 12] It is a storage medium, A computer program according to claim 11 is stored. storage medium.

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