Information processing device, service providing method, program, and service providing system

Abstract

An information processing device (1) comprises: an acquisition means (2) for acquiring, at a communication terminal, a first received signal strength of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of beacon transmitters that are installed in a plurality of areas arranged along a path; an identification means (3) for identifying, on the basis of the first received signal strength, a first area among the plurality of areas, in which the user using the communication terminal is located, and user's area movement history; and a control means (4) for determining, on the basis of the first area and the area movement history, whether or not service is to be provided to the communication terminal.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, a service providing method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and a service providing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Services using user location information are being considered (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). Patent Document 1 discloses determining whether or not a game can be played based on a user's situation including the user's location information. Patent Document 2 discloses a content distribution system that displays content related to the location of a mobile terminal on the screen of the mobile terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 225115 [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-160846 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, services that use user location information, such as services that provide a UX (User Experience) according to the user's location, have been considered. However, a UX experience according to the user's location may not necessarily match the user's movement status, so there is a demand to provide a UX experience that takes the user's movement status into account.

[0005] One of the objectives of the present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and is to provide an information processing device, a service providing method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and a service providing system that are capable of providing services according to a user's movement status. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device according to the present disclosure includes: an acquisition means for acquiring a first received signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along a route; a determination means for determining, based on the first received signal strength, a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user; The communication terminal includes a control means for determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

[0007] The service providing method according to the present disclosure includes: Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; The service providing method determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

[0008] The non-transitory computer readable medium according to the present disclosure comprises: Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; The non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a program that causes a computer to execute a process to determine whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

[0009] The service providing system according to the present disclosure comprises: A plurality of beacon transmitters are disposed in a plurality of areas along the route; An information processing device, The information processing device includes: Obtaining a first received signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the plurality of beacon transmitters; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; The service providing system determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information processing device, a service providing method, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and a service providing system capable of providing a service according to a user's movement status. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a flowchart showing a configuration example of an information processing device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining an example of the arrangement of beacon transmitters and the relationship between areas and beacon groups. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a beacon group determination process. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an area determination process. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a service providing process. [Figure 8]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a service provision determination table. [Figure 9] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a service providing system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a communication device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. In addition, in each of the following drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) A configuration example of the information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. The information processing device 1 may be a server device or a communication terminal. The information processing device 1 includes an acquisition unit 2, an identification unit 3, and a control unit 4.

[0014] The acquisition unit 2 acquires a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter (not shown) arranged in each of a plurality of areas arranged along a route. The communication terminal is configured to be able to receive beacon signals transmitted from the plurality of beacon transmitters, and receives a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the plurality of beacon transmitters. The beacon signals transmitted from the plurality of beacon transmitters are signals compatible with BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy).

[0015] When the information processing device 1 is a server device, the acquisition unit 2 acquires the first received signal strength by receiving from a communication terminal (not shown) a first received signal strength of a beacon signal received by the communication terminal. When the information processing device 1 is the above-mentioned communication terminal, the acquisition unit 2 receives a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter and acquires the first received signal strength.

[0016] The identification unit 3 identifies a first area in which a user using the communication terminal is present among a plurality of areas arranged along the route, based on the acquired first received signal strength, and the area movement history of the user. The area movement history is information indicating areas through which the user using the communication terminal has moved. The control unit 4 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the identified first area and the identified area movement history.

[0017] Next, an operation example of the information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information processing device according to the first embodiment. The acquiring unit 2 acquires a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter arranged in each of a plurality of areas arranged along a route (step S1).

[0018] The identification unit 3 identifies a first area among a plurality of areas arranged along the route, in which a user using a communication terminal is present, and the area movement history of the user, based on the acquired first received signal strength (step S2). The control unit 4 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the identified first area and the identified area movement history (step S3).

[0019] As described above, the information processing device 1 identifies the first area where the user is located and the area movement history of the user based on the first received signal strength of the beacon signal, and determines whether or not to provide a service based on the first area and the area movement history. In other words, the information processing device 1 determines whether or not to provide a service using not only the area where the user is located but also the area movement history indicating how the user moved between areas. Therefore, according to the information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a service according to not only the user's location but also the user's movement status.

[0020] (Embodiment 2) Next, a description will be given of embodiment 2. Embodiment 2 is an embodiment in which embodiment 1 is made more specific. <Example of service provision system configuration> A configuration example of the service providing system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the service providing system according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 3, the service providing system 100 includes beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N (N: an integer equal to or greater than 5), a communication terminal 20, and a server device 30. Note that while the service providing system 100 includes N beacon transmitters, it is sufficient that the service providing system includes at least four beacon transmitters.

[0021] The beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N transmit beacon signals that are signals compatible with BLE. The beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N are arranged, for example, along a route along which people can move. The route along which people can move may be a route provided indoors or may be a route provided outdoors. A plurality of areas are arranged consecutively along the route. Note that the areas may be referred to as beacon detection areas because they are areas identified by detecting beacon signals.

[0022] Each of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N is placed in one of a plurality of areas. In each of the plurality of areas, two or more non-overlapping beacon transmitters among the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N are placed, and the two or more beacon transmitters form a beacon group. That is, a plurality of areas are set along a route, and a beacon group is placed in each area, and each beacon group is formed by two or more beacon transmitters.

[0023] Here, an example of the arrangement of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N and the relationship between the areas and the beacon groups will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the arrangement of the beacon transmitters and the relationship between the areas and the beacon groups. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a part of the above-mentioned route viewed vertically from above. For the sake of convenience, Fig. 4 illustrates only the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_4, and omits the illustration of the beacon transmitters 10_5 to 10_N.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 4, beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_4 are arranged along a route R. A plurality of areas, such as areas 1 and 2, are set consecutively along the route R. Note that, although Fig. 4 shows only areas 1 and 2, adjacent areas are set consecutively within each of area 1 and area 2.

[0025] In each area, two or more beacon transmitters among the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N are arranged. In an example shown in Fig. 4, beacon transmitters 10_1 and 10_2 are arranged in area 1, and beacon transmitters 10_3 and 10_4 are arranged in area 2. Note that, in Fig. 4, two beacon transmitters are arranged in each area (area 1 and area 2), but three or more beacon transmitters may be arranged in each area.

[0026] The beacon transmitters arranged in each area are arranged, for example, facing each other across the route R. In an example shown in FIG. 4, the beacon transmitters 10_1 and 10_2 arranged in the area 1 are arranged facing each other across the route R, with the beacon transmitter 10_1 arranged on a wall W1 that is a side wall of the route R, and the beacon transmitter 10_2 arranged on a wall W2 that is a side wall of the route R. Similarly, the beacon transmitters 10_3 and 10_4 arranged in the area 2 are arranged facing each other across the route R, with the beacon transmitter 10_3 arranged on the wall W1, and the beacon transmitter 10_2 arranged on the wall W2. In this way, the beacon transmitters arranged in each area are arranged facing each other across the route R. Therefore, for example, even if there is another user between the user U who uses the communication terminal 20 and the beacon transmitter 10_2, the communication terminal 20 used by the user U can receive the beacon signal of the beacon transmitter 10_1. Therefore, even if there is another user between the user U and the beacon transmitter 10_2, the area in which the user U is located can be identified with a high probability by the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 used by the user U.

[0027] In addition, in FIG. 4, the beacon transmitters arranged in each area are described as being arranged on the walls W1 and W2, which are the side walls of the route R, but they may be arranged opposite to each other with the line C, which is the center line of each area, as a reference. Therefore, the beacon transmitters arranged in each area may be arranged, for example, on the ceiling of the route R or on the ground surface of the route R. Even if the beacon transmitters are arranged in this manner, the area where the user U is located can be identified with a high probability by the beacon signal from the beacon transmitters arranged in each area.

[0028] Beacon transmitters arranged in each area form a beacon group. As shown in Fig. 4, beacon transmitters 10_1 and 10_2 arranged in area 1 form a beacon group 1, which is a first beacon group. Beacon transmitters 10_3 and 10_4 arranged in area 2 form a beacon group 2, which is a second beacon group.

[0029] The beacon transmitter arranged in the first area and the beacon transmitter arranged in the second area and adjacent to the beacon transmitter are arranged, for example, at a distance of tens of centimeters or more. Specifically, the beacon transmitter 10_1 arranged in the area 1 and the beacon transmitter 10_3 arranged in the area 2 and adjacent to the beacon transmitter 10_1 arranged in the area 1 are arranged at a distance of tens of centimeters or more. Similarly, the beacon transmitter 10_2 and the beacon transmitter 10_4 are also arranged at a distance of tens of centimeters or more. Note that the distance between the beacon transmitter arranged in the first area and the beacon transmitter arranged in the second area and adjacent to the beacon transmitter may be, for example, 10 m, and can be adjusted as appropriate.

[0030] Returning to Fig. 3, the communication terminal 20 will be described. The communication terminal 20 is, for example, a communication terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a mobile phone. The communication terminal 20 is a communication terminal used by a user U shown in Fig. 4. The communication terminal 20 connects to and communicates with the server device 30 via a network N. The network N may be a wired network, a wireless network, or a network in which a wired network and a wireless network are combined.

[0031] The communication terminal 20 is configured to be able to receive beacon signals transmitted from the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N. The communication terminal 20 receives at least one beacon signal among the beacon signals transmitted from the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N. The communication terminal 20 acquires, from the received beacon signal, identification information of the beacon transmitter that transmitted the beacon signal and the received signal strength of the beacon signal. The communication terminal 20 transmits the acquired identification information and the acquired received signal strength to the server device 30. The communication terminal 20 also acquires the time when the beacon signal was received, and transmits the acquired time to the server device 30.

[0032] The identification information of the beacon transmitter may be a beacon ID (Identifier) ​​for identifying the beacon transmitter, an identification number for identifying the beacon transmitter, or a name for identifying the beacon transmitter. The beacon ID may be a combination of a universally unique identifier (UUID), major, and minor used in iBeacon (registered trademark). The received signal strength may be a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a reference signal received power (RSRP). In the following description, the identification information of the beacon transmitter is the beacon ID, and the received signal strength is the RSSI.

[0033] The server device 30 corresponds to the information processing device 1 according to the first embodiment. The server device 30 acquires the beacon ID and RSSI of the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and the time at which the beacon signal was received by the communication terminal 20 by receiving the beacon ID and RSSI of the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and the time at which the beacon signal was received from the communication terminal 20. The server device 30 identifies an area where a user U using the communication terminal 20 is located, based on the beacon ID and RSSI acquired from the communication terminal 20.

[0034] The server device 30 stores the area where the user using the communication terminal 20 is located and the areas where the user has been in the past as an area movement history list, and specifies the area movement history based on the area movement history list. The server device 30 decides whether to provide a service to the communication terminal 20 based on the area where the user using the communication terminal 20 is located and the area movement history. The area movement history list will be described later.

[0035] <Server device configuration example> Next, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the server device 30. The server device 30 includes an acquisition unit 31, a specification unit 32, a control unit 33, and a storage unit .

[0036] The acquisition unit 31 also functions as a communication unit, and connects to and communicates with the communication terminal 20 via the network N. The acquisition unit 31 acquires information on a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 from the communication terminal 20. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the RSSI at the communication terminal 20 of a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter among the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N, by receiving the RSSI from the communication terminal 20. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the beacon ID by receiving from the communication terminal 20 a beacon ID that identifies a beacon transmitter that is a source of a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter, by receiving the beacon ID. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the time when the communication terminal 20 received a beacon signal from the communication terminal 20.

[0037] The identification unit 32 identifies an area in which the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located among the multiple areas arranged along the route R shown in FIG. 4, based on the beacon ID and RSSI acquired by the acquisition unit 31. The identification unit 32 identifies the area movement history of the user U, based on the area in which the user U is located and the area where the user U was located. The area movement history is information indicating the areas through which the user U using the communication terminal 20 has moved. The identification unit 32 identifies from which area to which the user U has moved. The identification unit 32 identifies the area in which the user U is located and the area movement history by performing a beacon reception history list update process, a beacon group determination process, and an area determination process.

[0038] <Beacon reception history list update process> When the acquisition unit 31 acquires information related to a beacon signal from the communication terminal 20, the identification unit 32 performs a beacon reception history list update process based on the acquired information related to the beacon signal. When the acquisition unit 31 acquires a beacon ID, an RSSI, and a time from the communication terminal 20, the identification unit 32 performs a beacon reception history list update process. The identification unit 32 performs a beacon reception history list update process using the beacon ID, the RSSI, and the time acquired by the acquisition unit 31 and a beacon reception history list stored in the storage unit 34 described later.

[0039] The identifying unit 32 determines whether the beacon signal having the beacon ID and the RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 is the beacon signal to be determined. If the beacon signal having the beacon ID and the RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 is the beacon signal to be determined, the identifying unit 32 updates the beacon reception history list.

[0040] The beacon reception history list is a list of beacon signals received by the communication terminal 20, and is a list for managing the reception history of beacon signals acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the communication terminal 20. In the beacon reception history list, a beacon ID, a timestamp, a raw RSSI, and a corrected RSSI are set in association with each other.

[0041] In the beacon ID, the beacon ID of the beacon transmitter that is the transmission source of the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and that is acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the communication terminal 20 is set.

[0042] The time stamp is set to the time when the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon transmitter to which the beacon ID is assigned is received by the communication terminal 20, and the time acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the communication terminal 20 is set.

[0043] In Raw RSSI, the RSSI of a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon transmitter to which a beacon ID is assigned, and the RSSI at the time when the communication terminal 20 receives the beacon signal, is set. In the corrected RSSI, an RSSI obtained by correcting the RSSI set in the Raw RSSI is set.

[0044] When the acquisition unit 31 acquires a beacon ID and RSSI from the communication terminal 20, the identification unit 32 checks the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 judges whether a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon transmitter having the acquired beacon ID was received during the beacon judgment time, which is X seconds (X: an integer equal to or greater than 1) before the current time. When a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon transmitter to which the acquired beacon ID is assigned was received during the beacon judgment time, the identification unit 32 judges that the beacon signal is the beacon signal to be judged.

[0045] When the beacon signal corresponding to the beacon ID acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is the beacon signal to be determined, the determination unit 32 corrects the RSSI acquired by the acquisition unit 31 and calculates a corrected RSSI. The determination unit 32 uses a median filter to calculate the median value of the RSSI of the past several beacon signals transmitted from the beacon transmitter of the acquired beacon ID. The determination unit 32 calculates an RSSI from which large noise has been removed by performing a calculation using the median filter. The determination unit 32 calculates a further corrected RSSI using a low-pass filter to which an adjusted cutoff frequency, an adjusted time constant, and an adjusted sampling frequency are set. The determination unit 32 uses a low-pass filter to further correct the RSSI calculated using the median filter, thereby calculating an RSSI from which fine noise has been removed. The determination unit 32 regards the RSSI calculated using the median filter and the low-pass filter as a corrected RSSI.

[0046] The identification unit 32 adds information about the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and acquired by the acquisition unit 31 from the communication terminal 20 to the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 adds the beacon ID, timestamp, RSSI, and calculated RSSI acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to the beacon reception history list, and updates the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 sets the beacon ID acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to the beacon ID in the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 sets the time acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to the timestamp in the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 sets the RSSI acquired by the acquisition unit 31 to the Raw RSSI in the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 sets the RSSI calculated using the median filter and the low-pass filter to the corrected RSSI in the beacon reception history list.

[0047] <Beacon group determination process> After performing the beacon reception history list update process, the specification unit 32 performs a beacon group determination process to determine a beacon group having the strongest RSSI by using the beacon reception history list. In the following description, the "beacon group determination process" may be simply referred to as "determination process."

[0048] The identifying unit 32 uses the beacon reception history list to calculate the RSSI for each beacon group, and determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI based on the RSSI for each beacon group.

[0049] Here, the beacon group determination process will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the beacon group determination process. In the beacon group determination process, the identification unit 32 performs the process in order from the left in Fig. 5 to determine the beacon group with the strongest RSSI.

[0050] The identification unit 32 uses the beacon reception history list to acquire the RSSI of each beacon transmitter at the RSSI judgment time. Specifically, the identification unit 32 acquires from the beacon reception history list the beacon IDs and corrected RSSIs whose timestamps in the beacon reception history list are included in the period from the present to Y seconds (Y: an integer of 1 or more) ago, which is the RSSI judgment time, from the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 acquires the maximum value of the corrected RSSI for each beacon ID, and determines it as the RSSI of each beacon transmitter. Note that the RSSI judgment time may be the period from B seconds (B: a decimal point of 0.1 or more) to (B+Y) seconds ago.

[0051] Here, it is assumed that the communication terminal 20 does not continuously receive beacon signals from all beacon transmitters during the RSSI judgment time from the present to Y seconds ago. Therefore, the identification unit 32 counts the number of times a beacon signal is received from each beacon transmitter during the RSSI judgment time from the present to Y seconds ago. Then, the identification unit 32 sets the RSSI value of a beacon transmitter whose reception count during the RSSI judgment time is less than the reception count threshold to a dummy RSSI value.

[0052] Specifically, the identification unit 32 acquires from the beacon reception history list beacon IDs and corrected RSSIs whose timestamps in the beacon reception history list are included in the period from the present to Y seconds ago, which is the RSSI judgment time. The identification unit 32 counts the number of acquired beacon IDs or the number of acquired corrected RSSIs as the number of times a beacon signal is received. The identification unit 32 sets the RSSI value of a beacon transmitter corresponding to a beacon ID whose number of times of reception is less than a reception number threshold at the RSSI judgment time as a dummy RSSI value. The dummy RSSI value may be the minimum RSSI value at which the communication terminal 20 can recognize a beacon signal, or may be a value lower than the normally acquired RSSI, such as -100 dBm.

[0053] Next, the identification unit 32 calculates the average value of the RSSI of the beacon transmitters included in each beacon group, and calculates it as the RSSI for each beacon group. The identification unit 32 compares the RSSI for each beacon group, and determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI based on the comparison result. In other words, the identification unit 32 determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI based on the RSSI of the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 during the RSSI judgment time from the present to Y seconds ago.

[0054] Here, it is assumed that the beacon group with the strongest RSSI may be a beacon group arranged in an area far from the area where the communication terminal 20 is actually located. Therefore, the identification unit 32 judges whether the RSSI of the beacon group with the strongest RSSI is equal to or greater than the RSSI threshold. If the RSSI of the beacon group with the strongest RSSI is equal to or greater than the RSSI threshold, the identification unit 32 determines the determined beacon group as the beacon group with the strongest RSSI. When the identification unit 32 determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI, it updates the beacon group history list.

[0055] The beacon group history list is a list for managing a beacon group having the strongest RSSI as a history. In the beacon group history list, a beacon group, a first timestamp, and a latest timestamp are set in association with each other.

[0056] In the case where the beacon group having the strongest RSSI determined by the determination unit 32 is different from the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, information for identifying the beacon group determined by the determination unit 32 is set in the beacon group. The information for identifying the beacon group may be the number of the beacon group or may be an ID for identifying the beacon group.

[0057] In the case where the beacon group with the strongest RSSI determined by the identifying unit 32 is different from the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the time when the beacon group determination process was performed is set in the first time stamp.

[0058] In the case where the beacon group having the strongest RSSI determined by the identifying unit 32 is the same as the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the time when the determination process was performed is set as the latest timestamp.

[0059] If the determined beacon group is different from the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the identifying unit 32 sets the determined beacon group to the beacon group in the beacon group history list. Furthermore, the identifying unit 32 sets the time when the determination process was performed to the initial timestamp of the beacon group history list. On the other hand, if the determined beacon group is the same as the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the identifying unit 32 sets the time when the determination process was performed to the latest timestamp of the beacon group history list.

[0060] <Area determination process> The identification unit 32 uses the beacon group history list to determine the area where the user U is located and performs a determination process to identify the area movement history. The identification unit 32 may perform the area determination process asynchronously with the beacon reception history list update process and the beacon group determination process. Alternatively, the identification unit 32 may perform the area determination process synchronously with the beacon reception history list update process and the beacon group determination process.

[0061] The area determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the area determination process. The identification unit 32 creates a time chart as shown in FIG. 6 based on the beacon group, the initial time stamp, and the latest time stamp in the beacon group history list. For example, it is assumed that beacon group 1 is set in the beacon group in the beacon group history list, the initial time stamp is set to a time 2 seconds before the present, and the latest time stamp is set to a time 1.2 seconds before the present. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the identification unit 32 sets beacon group 1 from a time 2 seconds before (−2.0s) the present time (0s) to a time 1.2 seconds before (−1.2s) the present time. In this way, the identification unit 32 creates the time chart shown in FIG. 6 based on the beacon group history list.

[0062] The identification unit 32 determines the time from the current time to Z seconds (Z: an integer of 1 or more) ago as the group judgment time, and calculates how much time each beacon group occupies in the group judgment time. The identification unit 32 determines a beacon group whose ratio of the calculated time to the group judgment time exceeds a threshold. The identification unit 32 determines the area corresponding to the determined beacon group as the area where the user U is located. The judgment time may be the time from C seconds (C: a decimal of 0.1 or more) to (C+Z) seconds ago.

[0063] 6, the group determination time is 1 second, the threshold is 80%, and the time occupied by the beacon group 2 exceeds the threshold of 80% for the group determination time surrounded by the dotted line. Therefore, the identification unit 32 identifies the area 2 corresponding to the beacon group 2 as the area where the user U is located.

[0064] Here, the time between the first timestamp and the latest timestamp can be said to be the duration until the beacon group with the strongest RSSI for each beacon group is changed. Therefore, it can be said that the identification unit 32 determines the area where the user U is located based on the duration, and can also be explained as follows. The identification unit 32 calculates the duration until the beacon group with the strongest RSSI for each beacon group is changed based on the first timestamp and the latest timestamp of the beacon group history list. The identification unit 32 calculates the total duration from the current time to Z seconds ago, which is the group determination time, for each beacon group determined to be the beacon group with the strongest RSSI. The identification unit 32 determines a beacon group whose ratio of the total time to the group determination time exceeds a threshold value. The identification unit 32 identifies the area corresponding to the determined beacon group as the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located.

[0065] Also, the ratio of the total time to the group judgment time can be said to indicate the stability indicating how stable the beacon group with the strongest RSSI is. Therefore, the ratio of the total time to the group judgment time may be called the stability. Also, the group judgment time can be called the judgment time for judging the stability, so it may be called the stability judgment time. Furthermore, the above threshold is a threshold for judging the stability, so it may be called the stability threshold. In other words, it can be said that the identification unit 32 calculates the stability of each beacon group at the stability judgment time based on the beacon group history list, and identifies the area where the user U is located based on the stability and the stability threshold. In the following description, the group judgment time may be referred to as the stability judgment time, the ratio of the total time to the stability judgment time may be referred to as the stability, and the above threshold may be described as the stability threshold.

[0066] Returning to Fig. 3, the description of the identification unit 32 will continue. When the identification unit 32 identifies the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located, the identification unit 32 identifies an area movement history based on the identified area. The identification unit 32 identifies the area movement history of the user U using the communication terminal 20 by using an area movement history list described later. The area movement history list is a list that manages the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located or the area where the user U was located.

[0067] The identification unit 32 compares the area in which the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located before the area determination process is performed with the area identified by the area determination process. That is, the identification unit 32 compares the areas before and after the area determination process. If the two areas do not match, the identification unit 32 determines that the user U using the communication terminal 20 has moved areas, and adds the area after the move to the area movement history list to update the area movement history list. The identification unit 32 identifies the area movement history of the user U using the communication terminal 20 by checking the order in which the areas were added in the area movement history list.

[0068] In addition, the identification unit 32 may identify the area movement history by retaining the area before the movement and the area after the movement when the user U using the communication terminal 20 moves to another area, without using the area movement history list.

[0069] The control unit 33 also functions as a communication unit, and connects to and communicates with the communication terminal 20 via the network N. The control unit 33 decides whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 20 based on the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located, identified by the identification unit 32, and the area movement history. The control unit 33 decides the movement direction of the user U using the communication terminal 20, based on the area movement history. The control unit 33 decides whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 20, based on the determined movement direction and the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located. When the control unit 33 decides to provide a service to the communication terminal 20, it provides the communication terminal 20 with a service according to the movement direction. The service provided to the communication terminal 20 may be a voice service, an advertising service, a video service, a dialogue service such as a chatbot, an electronic stamp, or the like.

[0070] Here, the service provision process performed by the control unit 33 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the service provision process. Fig. 7 corresponds to Fig. 4, and is a diagram of the route R viewed vertically from above. Fig. 7 illustrates case 1 showing that a user U using the communication terminal 20 is moving from area 1 to area 2, and case 2 showing that the user U is moving from area 2 to area 1. Note that the communication terminal 20 is not illustrated in Fig. 7.

[0071] <Case 1> For example, a condition is defined such that a voice service is provided when the moving direction is from area 1 to area 2 and user U is in area 2. In this case, when user U using communication terminal 20 is identified as being in area 2 and the moving direction of user U is identified as being from area 1 to area 2 based on the area movement history, control unit 33 decides to provide a service to user U. Control unit 33 provides a voice service that meets the above condition of case 1.

[0072] <Case 2> For example, a condition is defined such that a voice service is provided when the movement direction is from area 2 to area 1 and user U is in area 1. In this case, when user U using communication terminal 20 is identified as being in area 1 and the movement direction of user U is identified as being from area 2 to area 1 based on the area movement history, control unit 33 decides to provide a service to user U. Control unit 33 provides a voice service that meets the above condition of case 2.

[0073] In addition, in cases 1 and 2, the conditions for providing a service have been described, but the conditions used in case 1 or case 2 may be conditions for deciding not to provide a service. In addition, in cases 1 and 2, the conditions for providing a voice service have been described, but a different service, such as a video service, may be provided. Furthermore, different services may be provided in case 1 and case 2, or the same service may be provided.

[0074] Returning to Fig. 3, the description of the control unit 33 will continue. The control unit 33 uses, for example, a service provision determination table T1 to determine whether or not to provide a service and decides on a service to be provided. An example of the service provision determination table T1 will now be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the service provision determination table. In the example shown in Fig. 8, the service provision determination table T1 has a target area, a movement direction, whether or not a service is provided, and a provided service set therein.

[0075] The target area is set as an area where control as to whether or not to provide a service is triggered. The moving direction is set because a control as to whether or not to provide a service is triggered. Also, the moving direction is set to a moving direction related to the service to be provided.

[0076] In the "service provision availability" field, information is set for the control unit 33 to determine whether or not to provide a service when the target area and movement direction in the service provision determination table T1 match the area where the user U is located and the movement direction of the user U. When "service provision" is set to "yes" and the target area and movement direction in the service provision determination table T1 match the area where the user U is located and the movement direction of the user U, the control unit 33 decides to provide the service. When "service provision" is set to "no" and the target area and movement direction in the service provision determination table T1 match the area where the user U is located and the movement direction of the user U, the control unit 33 decides not to provide the service.

[0077] In the provided service, if a service is provided, a service to be provided to the communication terminal 20 used by the user U is set. Note that, if the service provision status is "no", information indicating that no service is provided may be set.

[0078] The control unit 33 determines whether the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located is included in the target area of ​​the service provision judgment table T1 by searching the target area of ​​the service provision judgment table T1. If an area matching the area where the user U is located is set as the target area of ​​the service provision judgment table T1, the control unit 33 searches whether a moving direction matching the determined moving direction is set as the moving direction of the service provision judgment table T1. If a moving direction matching the determined moving direction is set as the moving direction of the service provision judgment table T1, the control unit 33 checks whether or not the service is provided in the service provision judgment table T1 and determines whether or not the service is provided. If "Yes" is set in the service provision presence / absence of the service in the service provision judgment table T1, the control unit 33 determines to provide the service. If "No" is set in the service provision presence / absence of the service in the service provision judgment table T1, the control unit 33 determines not to provide the service. If the control unit 33 determines to provide the service, the service set in the provided service of the service provision judgment table T1 is provided to the communication terminal 20.

[0079] The storage unit 34 stores a beacon reception history list, a beacon group history list, an area movement history list, and a service provision determination table T1. The storage unit 34 also stores content corresponding to services that can be provided to the communication terminal 20.

[0080] <Server device operation example> Next, an operation example of the server device 30 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9 to Fig. 12. Fig. 9 to Fig. 12 are flowcharts showing an operation example of the server device according to the second embodiment.

[0081] First, the overall operation of the server device 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is executed when the communication terminal 20 receives a beacon signal from any of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N.

[0082] The acquisition unit 31 acquires information on a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 from the communication terminal 20 (step S11). The acquisition unit 31 acquires from the communication terminal 20 the RSSI in the communication terminal 20 of a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter among the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N. The acquisition unit 31 acquires from the communication terminal 20 a beacon ID that identifies a beacon transmitter that is a source of a beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter. The acquisition unit 31 acquires from the communication terminal 20 the time when the communication terminal 20 received a beacon signal.

[0083] The identification unit 32 performs a beacon reception history list update process (step S12) and an area determination process (step S13). By performing the area determination process, the identification unit 32 identifies the area where the user U who uses the communication terminal 20 is located, and identifies the area movement history based on the area where the user U is located. Detailed operation examples of the beacon reception history list update process and the area determination process will be described later.

[0084] 9, the area determination process is described as being executed after the beacon reception history list update process, but the area determination process does not have to be executed after the beacon reception history list update process. In other words, the area determination process may be executed asynchronously with the beacon reception history list update process.

[0085] The control unit 33 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 20 based on the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located and the area movement history (step S14). The control unit 33 determines the movement direction of the user U using the communication terminal 20 based on the area movement history. The control unit 33 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 20 based on the determined movement direction and the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located.

[0086] When the control unit 33 provides the service to the communication terminal 20 (YES in step S14), the control unit 33 provides the service according to the moving direction to the communication terminal 20 (step S15). On the other hand, if the control unit 33 does not provide the service to the communication terminal 20 (NO in step S14), the control unit 33 ends the operation.

[0087] Next, the beacon reception history list update process executed in step S12 in Fig. 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The identifying unit 32 performs the beacon reception history list update process based on information related to the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20.

[0088] The identifying unit 32 judges whether the beacon signal having the beacon ID and RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 is a beacon signal to be judged (step S121). When the acquiring unit 31 acquires the beacon ID and RSSI from the communication terminal 20, the identifying unit 32 checks the beacon reception history list and judges whether the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon transmitter having the acquired beacon ID was received at the beacon judgment time.

[0089] When the identifying unit 32 determines that the beacon signal is the target beacon signal (YES in step S121), the identifying unit 32 corrects the RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 (step S122). When a beacon signal transmitted from a beacon transmitter to which the acquired beacon ID is assigned is received at the beacon determination time, the identifying unit 32 determines that the beacon signal is the target beacon signal. When a beacon signal corresponding to the beacon ID acquired by the acquiring unit 31 is the target beacon signal, the identifying unit 32 corrects the RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 using a median filter and a low-pass filter.

[0090] The identifying unit 32 adds information about the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20 and acquired by the acquiring unit 31 from the communication terminal 20 to the beacon reception history list (step S123). The identifying unit 32 sets the beacon ID acquired by the acquiring unit 31 to the beacon ID in the beacon reception history list. The identifying unit 32 sets the time acquired by the acquiring unit 31 to the timestamp in the beacon reception history list. The identifying unit 32 sets the RSSI acquired by the acquiring unit 31 to the Raw RSSI in the beacon reception history list. The identifying unit 32 sets the RSSI calculated using the median filter and the low-pass filter to the corrected RSSI in the beacon reception history list.

[0091] The identifying unit 32 performs a beacon group determination process to determine the beacon group having the strongest RSSI by using the beacon reception history list (step S124). On the other hand, if the identifying unit 32 does not determine that the beacon signal is the target of determination (NO in step S121), the server device 30 ends the operation.

[0092] Next, the beacon group determination process performed in step S124 of FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The identifying unit 32 acquires the RSSI of each beacon transmitter at the RSSI determination time using the beacon reception history list, and determines the RSSI of each beacon transmitter (step S1241).

[0093] The identification unit 32 acquires beacon IDs and corrected RSSIs whose timestamps in the beacon reception history list are included in the period from the present to Y seconds ago, which is the RSSI judgment time, from the beacon reception history list. The identification unit 32 acquires the maximum corrected RSSI value for each beacon ID and determines it as the RSSI of each beacon transmitter. In addition, the identification unit 32 counts the number of times a beacon signal is received from each beacon transmitter during the period from the present to Y seconds ago, which is the RSSI judgment time. The identification unit 32 sets the RSSI value of a beacon transmitter whose reception count at the RSSI judgment time is less than the reception count threshold value as a dummy RSSI value.

[0094] The identification unit 32 calculates the RSSI of the beacon group based on the RSSI of each beacon transmitter (step S1242). For each beacon group, the identification unit 32 calculates an average value of the RSSI of the beacon transmitters included in the beacon group, and calculates it as the RSSI for each beacon group.

[0095] The identifying unit 32 determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI (step S1243). The identifying unit 32 compares the RSSI of each beacon group, and determines the beacon group with the strongest RSSI based on the comparison result.

[0096] The identifying unit 32 determines whether the RSSI of each beacon group determined in step S1243 is equal to or greater than the RSSI threshold (step S1244). If the RSSI of the beacon group with the strongest RSSI is less than the RSSI threshold value (NO in step S1244), the server device 30 ends the operation.

[0097] On the other hand, if the RSSI of the beacon group with the strongest RSSI is equal to or greater than the RSSI threshold (YES in step S1244), the identifying unit 32 determines whether the determined beacon group is different from the beacon group determined previously (step S1245). The identifying unit 32 determines whether the determined beacon group is different from the beacon group determined in the previous beacon group determination process.

[0098] If the determined beacon group is different from the beacon group determined previously (YES in step S1245), the identifying unit 32 adds the determined beacon group to the beacon group history list (step S1246). If the determined beacon group is different from the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the identifying unit 32 sets the determined beacon group to the beacon group in the beacon group history list. Furthermore, the identifying unit 32 sets the time when the determination process was performed to the initial timestamp in the beacon group history list.

[0099] On the other hand, if the determined beacon group is the same as the beacon group determined previously (NO in step S1245), the identifying unit 32 updates the latest timestamp of the beacon group history list (step S1247). If the determined beacon group is the same as the beacon group determined in the previous determination process, the identifying unit 32 sets the time when the determination process was performed to the latest timestamp of the beacon group history list.

[0100] Next, the area determination process executed in step S13 in Fig. 9 will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Note that the area determination process may be executed asynchronously with the beacon reception history list update process, or may be executed periodically.

[0101] The identification unit 32 calculates the stability of each beacon group during the stability determination time (step S131). Based on the initial timestamp and the latest timestamp of the beacon group history list, the identification unit 32 calculates the duration until the beacon group with the strongest RSSI for each beacon group is changed. The identification unit 32 calculates the total duration during the stability determination time for each beacon group determined to be the beacon group with the strongest RSSI. The identification unit 32 calculates the ratio of the total time to the stability determination time as the stability of each beacon group during the stability determination time.

[0102] The identifying unit 32 determines a beacon group whose calculated stability exceeds the stability threshold (step S132). The identifying unit 32 compares the calculated stability with the stability threshold, and determines a beacon group whose stability exceeds the stability threshold.

[0103] The identification unit 32 identifies the area where the user U is located based on the determined beacon group (step S133). The identification unit 32 identifies the area where the determined beacon group is placed, and identifies the identified area as the area where the user U who uses the communication terminal 20 is located.

[0104] The identification unit 32 determines whether the area corresponding to the determined beacon group is different from the area determined previously (step S134). The identification unit 32 identifies the area in which the determined beacon group is arranged, and determines whether the area is different from the area in which the beacon group was arranged in the area determination process performed previously.

[0105] If the area corresponding to the determined beacon group is different from the area determined previously (YES in step S134), the identification unit 32 identifies the area movement history of the user (step S135). If the area corresponding to the determined beacon group is different from the area determined previously, the identification unit 32 adds the area identified in step S132 to the area movement history list. The identification unit 32 identifies the area movement history of the user U who uses the communication terminal 20 based on the area movement history list.

[0106] On the other hand, if the area corresponding to the determined beacon group is the same as the area determined previously (NO in step S134), the server device 30 ends the area determination process.

[0107] As described above, the server device 30 identifies the area where the user U using the communication terminal 20 is located, based on information related to the beacon signal received by the communication terminal 20. If the identified area is different from the area identified in the previous area determination process, the server device 30 updates the area movement history and identifies the area movement history of the user U using the communication terminal 20. The server device 30 decides whether to provide a service based on the area where the user U is located and the area movement history. The area movement history can also be considered as information indicating the user's movement status. Therefore, the server device 30 according to the second embodiment can provide a service according to not only the user's location but also the user's movement status.

[0108] Furthermore, the server device 30 determines the moving direction of the user U based on the area movement history, and when providing a service, determines a service to be provided based on the area where the user U is located and the moving direction of the user U, and provides the determined service to the communication terminal 20. Therefore, the server device 30 according to the second embodiment can provide a service according to the user's moving situation.

[0109] (Variation 1) In the second embodiment, the control unit 33 has been described as providing a service according to the location of the user U using the communication terminal 20 and the moving direction of the user U, but the service may be provided by taking into consideration the situation of the route R. In the case where the control unit 33 provides a service when the user U moves from the area 1 to the area 2, and the route R branches toward the moving direction of the user U, the control unit 33 may provide the communication terminal 20 with a service when the route R branches. In this case, the control unit 33 can realize this by holding information on areas that are candidates for the user U to be able to move toward the moving direction. In this way, the server device 30 can provide a service that takes into consideration not only the moving situation of the user but also the situation of the route R. In other words, the server device 30 can provide a service that takes into consideration not only the moving situation of the user but also the situation of the area where the user is located.

[0110] (Variation 2) In the second embodiment, the control unit 33 has been described as providing a service according to the location of the user U using the communication terminal 20 and the moving direction of the user U, but the control unit 33 may provide a service according to the area to which the user U has moved. Specifically, the control unit 33 may identify the area to which the user U using the communication terminal 20 has moved based on the area movement history list, and change the service according to the combination of the areas before and after the user U's movement.

[0111] For example, in the case where a service is provided when the user U is in area 1, the control unit 33 identifies that the user U is in area 1. Furthermore, the control unit 33 also identifies the area where the user U was before area 1 based on the area movement history list. The control unit 33 may provide a first service when the user U1 was in area 2 before area 1, and may provide a second service when the user U was in area 3 before area 1. In this way, the control unit 33 may provide a service according to not only the location of the user U using the communication terminal 20, but also the combination of areas to which the user U has moved. In this way, the server device 30 can provide a service that takes into further consideration the movement status of the user U than in the second embodiment.

[0112] (Variation 3) In the second embodiment, the control unit 33 determines whether or not to provide a service and the service to be provided based on the area where the user U is located and the moving direction. The control unit 33 may determine whether or not to provide a service and the service to be provided based on the area where the user U is located and the area movement history without determining the moving direction of the user U. For example, when the user U moves to area 1, area 2, and area 3 in this order, the control unit 33 may provide the first service, and when the user U moves to area 1, area 3, and area 2 in this order, the control unit 33 may provide the second service. In this case, it can be realized by replacing the moving direction in the service provision determination table T1 shown in FIG. 8 with the area movement history. In this way, the server device 30 can provide a service that takes into consideration the moving situation of the user U more than in the second embodiment by using the area movement history as a condition for providing a service, and the service to be provided to the communication terminal 20 can be set more flexibly.

[0113] (Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the server device 30 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 20, but in the present embodiment, the communication terminal determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal. Since the third embodiment is basically the same as the second embodiment, a common description will be omitted as appropriate. Note that the first to third variations of the second embodiment may be applied to the present embodiment.

[0114] <Example of service provision system configuration> A configuration example of a service providing system 200 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a service providing system according to the third embodiment. The service providing system 200 includes beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N and a communication terminal 40.

[0115] The service providing system 200 has a configuration in which the communication terminal 20 according to the second embodiment is replaced with a communication terminal 40. The service providing system 200 does not include the server device 30 according to the second embodiment, and the communication terminal 40 includes the configuration of the server device 30 according to the second embodiment. Note that the configurations of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N are the same as those of the second embodiment, and therefore will not be described.

[0116] <Example of communication terminal configuration> Next, a description will be given of an example of the configuration of the communication terminal 40. The communication terminal 40 includes an acquisition unit 41, a specification unit 42, a control unit 43, an output unit 44, and a storage unit 45.

[0117] The acquiring unit 41 is also configured as a receiving unit that receives a beacon signal, and is configured to be able to receive the beacon signal transmitted from the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N. The acquiring unit 41 receives a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N, and acquires a beacon ID and an RSSI. The acquiring unit 41 also acquires the time when the beacon signal is received.

[0118] The identifying unit 42 corresponds to the identifying unit 32 in the second embodiment. The identifying unit 42 has a similar configuration to the identifying unit 32 according to the second embodiment, and executes the process performed by the identifying unit 32 according to the second embodiment.

[0119] The control unit 43 corresponds to the control unit 33 in the second embodiment. The control unit 43 has a similar configuration to the control unit 33 in the second embodiment, and executes the processing performed by the control unit 33 in the second embodiment.

[0120] The control unit 43 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 40 based on the area where the user U using the communication terminal 40 is located and the area movement history. The control unit 43 determines the movement direction of the user U using the communication terminal 40 based on the area movement history. The control unit 43 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 40 based on the determined movement direction and the area where the user U using the communication terminal 40 is located. When the control unit 43 determines to provide a service to the communication terminal 40, it outputs the service according to the movement direction to the output unit 44.

[0121] The output unit 44 is configured to include an output device such as a display, a speaker, etc. The output unit 44 outputs the service to the output device in response to the service output from the control unit 43. The output unit 44 may be configured to include an input device such as a microphone, etc. If the service provided by the control unit 43 is an interactive service, the output unit 44 may input the voice of a user who uses the communication terminal 40 to realize the interactive service.

[0122] The storage unit 45 corresponds to the storage unit 34 in the second embodiment. The storage unit 45 stores a beacon reception history list, a beacon group history list, an area movement history list, and a service provision determination table T1. The storage unit 45 also stores content corresponding to a service that can be provided to the communication terminal 40.

[0123] <Example of communication terminal operation> Next, an example of the operation of the communication terminal 40 will be described. The communication terminal 40 is basically similar to the example of the operation of the server device 30 in the second embodiment, but the operation in Fig. 9 is partially different. Therefore, the example of the operation performed by the communication terminal 40 will be described with reference to Fig. 9.

[0124] The acquisition unit 41 acquires information about a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N (step S11). The acquisition unit 41 receives a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the beacon transmitters 10_1 to 10_N, and acquires a beacon ID and an RSSI from the received beacon signal. The acquisition unit 41 acquires the time when the beacon signal is received.

[0125] The identifying unit 42 performs a beacon reception history list update process (step S12), and performs an area determination process (step S13).

[0126] The control unit 43 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 40 based on the area where the user U using the communication terminal 40 is located and the area movement history (step S14). The control unit 43 determines the movement direction of the user U using the communication terminal 40 based on the area movement history. The control unit 43 determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal 40 based on the determined movement direction and the area where the user U using the communication terminal 40 is located.

[0127] When the control unit 43 provides a service to the communication terminal 40 (YES in step S14), the control unit 43 outputs a service according to the moving direction to the output unit 44 (step S15). On the other hand, if the control unit 43 does not provide the service to the communication terminal 40 (NO in step S14), the communication terminal 40 ends the operation.

[0128] In this way, even if the communication terminal 40 has the configuration of the server device 30 according to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

[0129] (Other embodiments) Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 1, the server device 30, and the communication terminals 20 and 40 (hereinafter referred to as information processing device 1, etc.) described in the above-mentioned embodiment. Referring to Fig. 14, the information processing device 1, etc. includes a network interface 1201, a processor 1202, and a memory 1203. The network interface 1201 is used to communicate with other communication devices included in the service providing system.

[0130] The processor 1202 reads out and executes software (computer programs) from the memory 1203 to perform the processing of the information processing device 1 and the like described using the flowcharts in the above-mentioned embodiment. The processor 1202 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 1202 may include multiple processors.

[0131] The memory 1203 is configured by a combination of volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The memory 1203 may include storage located remotely from the processor 1202. In this case, the processor 1202 may access the memory 1203 via an I / O interface (not shown).

[0132] 14, the memory 1203 is used to store a group of software modules. The processor 1202 reads out and executes the group of software modules from the memory 1203, thereby performing the processing of the information processing device 1 and the like described in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0133] As described with reference to FIG. 14, each of the processors included in the information processing device 1 etc. executes one or more programs including a group of instructions for causing a computer to execute the algorithm described with reference to the drawings.

[0134] In the above example, the program can be stored and provided to the computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. The non-transitory computer readable media includes various types of tangible storage media. Examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives) and magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks). Further, examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include CD-ROM (Read Only Memory), CD-R, and CD-R / W. Further, examples of the non-transitory computer readable media include semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory includes, for example, mask ROM, PROM (Programmable ROM), EPROM (Erasable PROM), flash ROM, and RAM (Random Access Memory). The program may also be provided to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of the transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The temporary computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire or an optical fiber, or via a wireless communication path.

[0135] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure may be implemented by appropriately combining the respective embodiments.

[0136] Furthermore, some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix 1) an acquisition means for acquiring a first received signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; a determination means for determining, based on the first received signal strength, a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user; and a control means for determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history. (Appendix 2) A beacon group including two or more beacon transmitters is arranged in each of the plurality of areas; The information processing device described in Appendix 1, wherein the identification means calculates a second received signal strength indicating a received signal strength for each beacon group based on the first received signal strength, identifies the first area based on the second received signal strength, and identifies the area movement history based on the identified area. (Appendix 3) The information processing device described in Appendix 2, wherein the identification means determines a beacon group having the strongest second received signal strength, calculates a duration until the beacon group having the strongest second received signal strength is changed, and identifies the first area based on the duration. (Appendix 4) The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein the identification means calculates a total time of the duration in a first determination time, and identifies the first area based on a ratio of the total time to the first determination time. (Appendix 5) The information processing device according to any one of appendices 2 to 4, wherein the identification means counts the number of times a beacon signal is received during a second judgment time for each of the beacon transmitters included in the beacon group, and calculates the second received signal strength by setting the value of the received signal strength of a beacon transmitter whose number of times of reception is less than a first threshold value as a dummy received signal strength value. (Appendix 6) The information processing device according to any one of appendix 2 to 5, wherein the beacon transmitters included in the beacon group are arranged opposite each other across the path. (Appendix 7) The information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6, wherein the control means determines the user's direction of movement based on the area movement history, and determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the direction of movement. (Appendix 8) The information processing device according to claim 7, wherein the control means, when providing a service to the communication terminal, provides the communication terminal with a service according to the moving direction. (Appendix 9) The information processing device described in Appendix 7 or 8, wherein, when providing a service to the communication terminal, the control means changes the service to be provided to the communication terminal depending on whether the route branches toward the direction of movement, based on a second area in which the user was located before the first area. (Appendix 10) The information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 9, wherein, when providing a service to the communication terminal, the control means identifies a second area in which the user was located before the first area based on the area movement history, and provides the communication terminal with a service corresponding to the combination of the first area and the second area. (Appendix 11) The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the control means, when providing a service to the communication terminal, provides the communication terminal with a service according to the area movement history. (Appendix 12) Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; A service providing method comprising: determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history. (Appendix 13) Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a process of determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history. (Appendix 14) A plurality of beacon transmitters are disposed in a plurality of areas along the route; An information processing device, The information processing device includes: Obtaining a first received signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the plurality of beacon transmitters; identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; a service providing system that determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history. (Appendix 15) A beacon group including two or more beacon transmitters among the plurality of beacon transmitters is arranged in each of the plurality of areas, The service providing system described in Appendix 14, wherein the information processing device determines a second received signal strength indicating a received signal strength for each beacon group based on the first received signal strength, identifies the first area based on the second received signal strength, and identifies the area movement history based on the identified area. [Explanation of symbols]

[0137] 1. Information processing device 2 Acquisition part 3 Specific part 4. Control section 10_1~10_1N Beacon transmitter 20, 40 Communication terminal 30 Server device 31, 41 Acquisition Department 32, 42 Specific part 33, 43 Control section 34, 45 Storage section 44 Output section 100, 200 Service provision system

Claims

1. an acquisition means for acquiring a first received signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; a determination means for determining, based on the first received signal strength, a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user; and a control means for determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

2. A beacon group including two or more beacon transmitters is arranged in each of the plurality of areas; 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the identification means calculates a second received signal strength indicating a received signal strength for each beacon group based on the first received signal strength, identifies the first area based on the second received signal strength, and identifies the area movement history based on the identified area.

3. 3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the identification means determines a beacon group in which the second received signal strength is strongest, calculates a duration until the beacon group in which the second received signal strength is strongest is changed, and identifies the first area based on the duration.

4. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein the identification means calculates a total time of the duration within a first determination time, which is a unit period for identifying the area in which the user is located, and identifies the first area based on a ratio of the total time to the first determination time.

5. The information processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the identification means counts the number of times a beacon signal is received during a second judgment time, which is a unit period for determining the beacon group in which the second received signal strength is the strongest, for each beacon transmitter included in the beacon group, and calculates the second received signal strength as a dummy received signal strength value for a beacon transmitter whose number of times of reception is less than a first threshold value.

6. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the beacon transmitters included in the beacon group are arranged opposite each other across the path.

7. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control means determines the user's direction of movement based on the area movement history, and determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the direction of movement.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the control means, when providing a service to the communication terminal, provides the communication terminal with a service according to the moving direction.

9. The information processing device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein when providing a service to the communication terminal, the control means changes the service provided to the communication terminal depending on whether the route branches toward the direction of movement based on a second area in which the user was located before the first area.

10. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, when providing a service to the communication terminal, the control means identifies a second area in which the user was located before the first area based on the area movement history, and provides the communication terminal with a service corresponding to the combination of the first area and the second area.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means, when providing a service to the communication terminal, provides the communication terminal with a service according to the area movement history.

12. A service providing method executed by an information processing device, comprising: Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; Identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; A service providing method comprising: determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

13. Obtaining a first received signal strength at the communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one beacon transmitter disposed in each of a plurality of areas disposed along the route; Identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; A program that causes a computer to execute a process of determining whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history.

14. A plurality of beacon transmitters are disposed in a plurality of areas along the route; An information processing device, The information processing device includes: acquiring a first reception signal strength at a communication terminal of a beacon signal transmitted from at least one of the plurality of beacon transmitters; Identifying a first area among the plurality of areas in which a user using the communication terminal is present, and an area movement history of the user, based on the first received signal strength; a service providing system that determines whether or not to provide a service to the communication terminal based on the first area and the area movement history;

15. A beacon group including two or more beacon transmitters among the plurality of beacon transmitters is arranged in each of the plurality of areas, The service providing system of claim 14, wherein the information processing device determines a second received signal strength indicating a received signal strength for each beacon group based on the first received signal strength, identifies the first area based on the second received signal strength, and identifies the area movement history based on the identified area.

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