Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

The present invention is an information processing device comprising: a provider candidate determination unit which determines one or a plurality of candidates of a provider who provides information for a request from a user; and a price determination unit which determines the price of rewards for the candidates of the provider for providing information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present technology relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the spread and evolution of the Internet, there has been an increase in the number of services using the Internet to support matching between people, providing information, searching, collecting, and exchanging information (Patent Document 1).

[0003] By using the Internet, a wide variety of information can be obtained from a variety of sources. However, because the sources are anonymous and the information is not personalized for the user, the information is not necessarily reliable or useful to the user. In particular, when making important decisions, such as purchasing expensive items or choosing a school or job, having a trustworthy, experienced person with the necessary experience and information plays an important role in making the decision.

[0004] There are services that allow users to search for experienced people with useful information and request support after paying a fee, but in order to do so, the experienced people first have to make their attribute information, such as what they can do, publicly available in a searchable format.In addition, they have to estimate and submit their own fee, so not everyone can register easily. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-35344 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] User matching based on personality match or mismatch is based on the premise that people with similar personalities are more compatible. However, this does not necessarily extract the person who has the most useful information for you. For example, if there is a good information provider for a certain user, reversing the roles does not necessarily result in a good match. Therefore, user matching based on personality match or mismatch cannot be applied directly to information provision.

[0007] The present technology has been developed in consideration of these points, and aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can present people who are likely to be able to provide appropriate information to users who wish to receive information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first technology includes a provider candidate determination unit that determines one or more provider candidates who will provide information in response to a request from a user, and a price of compensation for the information provision of the provider candidates, The number of provider attributes that match the provider criteria selected by the user and a price determination unit that determines the price based on the price.

[0009] The second technology determines one or more candidate providers who will provide information in response to a request from a user, and calculates a price of compensation for the information provided by the candidate providers. The number of provider attributes that match the provider criteria selected by the user An information processing method that makes decisions based on the above.

[0010] Furthermore, the third technology determines one or more candidate providers who will provide information in response to a request from a user, and calculates a price of compensation for the information provision from the candidate providers, The number of provider attributes that match the provider criteria selected by the user The program causes a computer to execute an information processing method for determining the value of a parameter based on the above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 10. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of information provided by a communication system 10. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a provider terminal device 100. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user-side terminal device 200. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server device 400. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing device 300. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing processing in the communication system 10. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart showing processing in the communication system 10. [Figure 9] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200. [Figure 10] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200. [Figure 11] 10 is an example of a UI in a provider terminal device 100. [Figure 12] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200. [Figure 13] 10 is an example of a UI in a provider terminal device 100. [Figure 14] FIG. 14A is an example of a UI for evaluation in the provider terminal device 100, and FIG. 14B is an example of a UI for evaluation in the user terminal device 200. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of information provision in a specific example. [Figure 16] 10 is an example of a UI in a provider terminal device 100 in a specific example. [Figure 17] 10 is an example of a UI in a provider terminal device 100 in a specific example. [Figure 18] 10 is an example of a UI in a provider terminal device 100 in a specific example. [Figure 19] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200 in a specific example. [Figure 20] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200 in a specific example. [Figure 21] 10 is an example of a UI in a user terminal device 200 in a specific example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings. The description will be made in the following order. <1. Embodiment> [1-1. Configuration of Communication System 10] [1-2. Configuration of the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200] 1-3. Configuration of Information Processing Device 300 and Server Device 400 [1-4. Processing in communication system 10] <2. Specific examples of implementation> <3. Modifications>

[0013] <1. Embodiment> [1-1. Configuration of Communication System 10] First, the configuration of a communication system 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The communication system 10 is composed of a provider terminal device 100 used by a person who provides information (referred to as a provider), a user terminal device 200 used by a person who requests information provision and receives information from a provider (referred to as a user), and an information processing device 300 that determines provider candidates and sets prices as compensation for information provision. In this embodiment, a user requests information provision from a provider in the form of a question, and the provider provides information by answering the question. The information processing device 300 matches the user with a provider who can provide the best answer to the user's question.

[0014] The provider terminal device 100 and the information processing device 300 are connected via a network, and the user terminal device 200 and the information processing device 300 are also connected via a network. Although three provider terminal devices 100 and three user terminal devices 200 are shown in Fig. 1, in reality, many provider terminal devices 100 and many user terminal devices 200 are connected to the information processing device 300 via the network.

[0015] The provider terminal device 100 is used by the provider to register various information for providing information, send messages to the user terminal device 200, send videos, and so on.

[0016] The user terminal device 200 is used by the user to send information requests to the information processing device 300, to send messages to the provider terminal device 100, and to receive and display images sent from the provider terminal device 100.

[0017] The information processing device 300 determines candidate providers to be presented to a user who has made a request for information provision, estimates the price to be paid for the information provision, and so on.

[0018] Here, an overview of information provision realized by the communication system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0019] The provider uses the provider terminal device 100 to register attribute information such as his / her own profile in the information processing device 300 in advance.

[0020] When a user has a question, the user inputs the question into the user terminal device 200 to transmit the question to the information processing device 300 .

[0021] When the information processing device 300 receives a question from the user terminal device 200, it determines candidate providers who are estimated to be best suited to answer (provide information) the question. The user terminal device 200 then displays the candidate providers to present to the user. At this point, the price of compensation for the information provided by the candidate providers is also presented to the user.

[0022] When the user selects a provider from among the provider candidates from whom the user wishes to request an answer to the question, the information processing device 300 notifies the selected provider that the user has been selected. The provider who receives the notification can choose to accept, reject, or negotiate the price for answering the question.

[0023] If the provider approves, communication is established between the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200, and the provider provides information (answers to questions) to the user. When the provider has finished providing information to the user, the user pays the provider a fee. Furthermore, the provider evaluates the user, and the user evaluates the provider.

[0024] The above is an overview of information provision by the communication system 10.

[0025] [1-2. Configuration of the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200] Next, the configuration of the provider terminal device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The provider terminal device 100 includes at least a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, an interface 103, an input unit 104, a display unit 105, a camera 106, a microphone 107, and a speaker 108.

[0026] The control unit 101 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The CPU controls the provider terminal device 100 as a whole and each unit by executing various processes and issuing commands according to programs stored in the ROM.

[0027] The storage unit 102 is a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 102 stores various applications and data used by the provider terminal device 100.

[0028] The interface 103 is an interface between the provider terminal device 100 and other devices, the Internet, etc. The interface 103 may include a wired or wireless communication interface. More specifically, the wired or wireless communication interface may include cellular communication such as 3TTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Near Field Communication (NFC), Ethernet (registered trademark), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) (registered trademark), Universal Serial Bus (USB), etc. The interface 103 may also include a bus within the device or a data reference within a program module (hereinafter, these may also be referred to as an interface within the device). Furthermore, if the provider terminal device 100 is realized as being distributed across multiple devices, the interface 103 may include different types of interfaces for each device. For example, the interface 103 may include both a communication interface and an interface within the device.

[0029] The input unit 104 is used by the provider to input information and give various instructions to the provider terminal device 100. When a user inputs information to the input unit 104, a control signal corresponding to the input is generated and supplied to the control unit 101. The control unit 101 then performs various processes corresponding to the control signal. The input unit 104 may be a physical button, a touch panel, a touch screen integrated with a monitor, or the like.

[0030] The display unit 105 is a display device such as a display that displays images / videos, a UI (User Interface) for using the communication system 10, and the like.

[0031] The camera 106 is composed of a lens, an image pickup element, a video signal processing circuit, etc., and is used to capture live video and images to be transmitted from the provider terminal device 100 to the user terminal device 200 when a video call is made.

[0032] The microphone 107 is used by the provider to input voice into the provider terminal device 100. The provider operates the provider terminal device 100 and inputs messages to be sent to the user terminal device 200 using voice input and voice recognition technology. The microphone 107 is also used as a voice input device for voice calls and video calls with the user terminal device 200.

[0033] The speaker 108 is an audio output device that outputs audio.

[0034] The sensor unit 109 is a variety of sensors for acquiring attribute information of the provider. For example, it may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) device that acquires location information of the provider, a thermometer or heart rate monitor that acquires biological information of the provider, etc. The sensor unit 109 may be configured integrally with the provider terminal device 100, or may be a device separate from the provider terminal device 100 (for example, a watch-type wearable device) that transmits acquired sensor information to the provider terminal device 100.

[0035] The provider terminal device 100 is configured as described above. Specific examples of the provider terminal device 100 include a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, a wearable device, etc. A control program for performing processing according to the present technology may be pre-installed in the provider terminal device 100, or may be distributed by download or storage medium, etc., and installed by the provider himself / herself.

[0036] Next, the configuration of the user terminal device 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The user terminal device 200 has at least a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, an interface 203, an input unit 204, a display unit 205, a camera 206, a microphone 207, and a speaker 208. Each unit is the same as that of the provider terminal device 100, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0037] Specific examples of the user terminal device 200 include a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, a wearable device, etc. The control program for performing the processing according to the present technology may be pre-installed in the provider terminal device 100, or may be distributed by download or storage medium, etc., and installed by the user.

[0038] 1-3. Configuration of Information Processing Device 300 and Server Device 400 Next, the configuration of the information processing device 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. The information processing device 300 operates, for example, in a server device 400 shown in Fig. 5. The server device 400 is configured to include at least a control unit 401, a storage unit 402, and an interface 403. These are the same as those included in the provider terminal device 100, so their description will be omitted.

[0039] The information processing device 300 comprises a condition estimation unit 301 , a provider database 302 , a provider candidate determination unit 303 , a price determination unit 304 , a price database 305 , and an approval result database 306 .

[0040] The condition estimation unit 301 performs semantic analysis on a question from a user transmitted from the user-side terminal device 200, and estimates the conditions of a provider required to answer the question. The condition estimation unit 301 classifies the question into parts of speech such as nouns and verbs, and estimates the conditions of a provider from the meaning of each part of speech. For example, if the question is "About the entrance exam for University A," the unit extracts the nouns "University A" and "entrance exam" from the question, and estimates conditions of a provider such as "student of University A," "graduate of University A," "employee of University A," and "experience in entrance exam work."

[0041] The provider database 302 registers the attribute information of the providers transmitted from the provider terminal device 100 in association with each provider. The provider database 302 may be configured in the storage unit 402 of the server device 400.

[0042] The attribute information includes information input by the provider themselves and information acquired by the sensor unit 109. The attribute information input by the provider includes basic personal information that identifies the provider, such as name, sex, address, age, and date of birth, as well as occupation, income, family composition, hobbies, educational background, languages spoken, various licenses obtained, areas of interest, areas of knowledge, and common everyday behaviors. It also includes information about behaviors such as frequently visited places and stores, and location information such as commute, place of employment, and hometown. It also includes information about interests, concerns, and hobbies, such as favorite events, favorite brands, favorite manga, favorite movies, favorite books, and favorite websites.

[0043] Furthermore, the attributes include information about the user's behavior on the Internet, such as their behavioral history, purchase history, viewing history, and the content posted to various SNSs and their friend lists. Such information about the Internet may be automatically acquired by the provider terminal device 100 using an API (Application Programming Interface) or the like and transmitted to the information processing device 300.

[0044] The attribute information acquired by the sensor unit 109 includes location information, travel route, commuting route, etc., which can be acquired by a location information sensor such as a GPS, and biometric information, such as blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate, which can be acquired by a biometric sensor.

[0045] The more attribute information registered in the provider database 302, the higher the probability that the attributes will match various conditions inferred from the question, and therefore the higher the probability of being selected as a candidate provider. Furthermore, by registering attribute information such as occupation and qualifications, the provider is more likely to be able to provide an appropriate answer, and the price of compensation increases.

[0046] The provider candidate determination unit 303 determines, as candidate providers to be presented to the user, providers who have the conditions selected by the user from the conditions estimated by the condition estimation unit 301 and who have some or all of the conditions selected by the user as attributes by referring to the provider database 302.

[0047] The price determination unit 304 determines the price of the information provided by the provider to the user.

[0048] The price database 305 registers information related to the price of compensation, such as the price of compensation that all providers registered in the provider database 302 have received for providing information in the past, the price of compensation offered by providers in past negotiations between providers and users, and the price offered by users. The price database 305 may be configured in the storage unit 402 of the server device 400.

[0049] The approval result database 306 registers the selection results of approval, refusal, and negotiation made by providers in the past in response to requests for information provision from users, and the selection results of users in the past in response to requests for information provision from providers, such as approval, refusal, and negotiation. The approval result database 306 may be configured in the storage unit 402 of the server device 400.

[0050] The information processing device 300 is configured as described above. The information processing device 300 may be configured in, for example, a server device 400, a cloud, or a terminal device such as a smartphone or a personal computer. A control program for performing processing related to the present technology in the information processing device 300 may be installed in advance on a server, a cloud, or a terminal device, or may be distributed by download or a storage medium, and installed by a business providing a service using the information processing device 300, or the like.

[0051] [1-4. Processing in the communication system 10] Next, the use and processing of the communication system 10 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 and the user interfaces of FIGS.

[0052] First, in step S101, a provider inputs attribute information such as his or her own profile into the provider terminal device 100. The input attribute information is transmitted from the provider terminal device 100 to the information processing device 300, and is registered in the provider database 302 in step S102.

[0053] Furthermore, as shown in step S103, sensor information relating to the provider acquired by the sensor unit 109 of the provider terminal device 100 is also transmitted to the information processing device 300 and registered in the provider database 302 as attribute information.

[0054] 9A, the user inputs a question as a request for information provision to the user terminal device 200. The input question is transmitted from the user terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300 and supplied to the condition estimation unit 301.

[0055] Then, as shown in step S105, the condition estimation unit 301 performs semantic analysis on the question to estimate the conditions of the provider candidates. The condition information of the provider candidates is transmitted to the user terminal device 200, and in step S106, as shown in FIG. 9B, it is displayed on the user terminal device 200 and presented to the user. Note that it is preferable for the user to understand the conditions in itemized form, arranged from top to bottom in order of the degree of matching with the question. To determine provider candidates, the information processing device 300 searches for attributes that match the conditions selected by the user from among the presented conditions, but this search may be an AND search or an OR search, and the user may be allowed to select which search method to use.

[0056] Next, in step S107, as shown in FIG. 9C, when an input to select conditions for provider candidates is received from the user, the selected conditions are transmitted from the user-side terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300.

[0057] Next, in step S108, the provider candidate determination unit 303 of the information processing device 300 determines provider candidates by searching the provider database 302 based on the conditions selected by the user. If there is a provider having one or more attributes that match the conditions, the process proceeds from step S109 to step S110 (Yes in step S109).

[0058] Next, in step S110, the price determination unit 304 of the information processing device 300 determines the price of compensation for the information provision for each candidate provider. Details of price determination will be described later. The determined compensation price is associated with each provider and registered in the price database 305. For providers whose compensation price has already been determined, when a new compensation price is determined, the compensation price will be updated.

[0059] Then, the provider candidate information and the price information of the provider candidate are transmitted from the information processing device 300 to the user terminal device 200, and are displayed on the user terminal device 200 as shown in FIG. 10A in step S111 and presented to the user.

[0060] 10A, information on multiple people is displayed as candidate providers along with price information. In this state, the user can select a provider from the candidate providers who they would like to answer the question.

[0061] At this stage, information that can identify individuals, such as names, is not yet displayed. At this stage, information related to the selection criteria selected by the user may be displayed. This allows the user to see which candidate providers match the criteria they selected, and they can use this information to select a provider.

[0062] Also, at this stage, a match rate may be displayed as shown in Fig. 10A. The match rate is an index showing the compatibility between the conditions selected by the user and the attributes of the providers. The match rate is calculated by the provider candidate determination unit 303 based on the number of attributes of providers that match the conditions selected by the user, the results of weighting the conditions, etc.

[0063] The search for attributes that match the conditions selected by the user can be an AND search or an OR search, or the user can choose which method to use. By default, providers that have at least one attribute that matches the conditions selected by the user are selected as candidates and presented to the user.

[0064] When there are multiple provider candidates, it is preferable to display the provider candidates in the display of Figure 10A in descending order of the price of consideration or the match rate. This is because providers with high prices of consideration or candidates with high match rates are considered to be more likely to provide appropriate answers to the user's questions. In addition, when displaying multiple provider candidates, it is preferable to allow the user to sort the provider candidates.

[0065] Furthermore, the user may be allowed to set mandatory conditions from among the selected conditions. If mandatory conditions are set, only providers who have attributes that match the mandatory conditions will be displayed as candidate providers.

[0066] Next, as shown in step S112, when the user terminal device 200 accepts the user's selection of a provider, the provider selection information is transmitted from the user terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300. As a result, as shown in Fig. 10B, a request for information provision (answer to the question) is transmitted to the provider terminal device 100 of the provider selected by the user via the information processing device 300. Note that the user may be allowed to select only one provider from the candidate providers, or may be allowed to select multiple providers.

[0067] Next, in step S113, the information processing device 300 refers to the price database 305 to check whether or not a price has been set for the selected provider.

[0068] If a price has been set for the selected provider, the information processing device 300 transmits a request and a question to the provider terminal device 100 of the selected provider, and in step S114, as shown in FIG. 11A, the provider terminal device 100 displays the request, the question, the price, and other information to present to the potential provider. At this time, the selected conditions may be displayed at the same time to inform the potential provider of the conditions under which the provider was selected. Note that at this stage, information indicating the identity of the user who asked the question is not yet presented to the provider. This is because at this stage, it is not yet known whether the provider will answer the question to the user, and therefore the user's personal information should not be made public.

[0069] Next, in step S115 of Fig. 8, the provider terminal device 100 accepts an input from the provider as to whether or not to approve the request from the user. If the provider approves, the process proceeds from step S115 to step S116 (approval in step S115). If the provider approves, a message indicating that a reply has been sent to the request is displayed on the provider terminal device 100 as shown in Fig. 11B. The result of the provider's selection of approval is registered in the approval result database 306.

[0070] In step S116, the information processing device 300 receives the approval result transmitted from the provider terminal device 100 and transmits the approval result to the user terminal device 200. Then, in step S117, the user terminal device 200 displays the approval result, provider information, etc., as shown in Fig. 12A, and presents them to the user. At this stage, the provider's personal information, such as name, is presented to the user.

[0071] After confirming the notification of the approval result, the user can select whether to approve, reject, or negotiate with the presented provider. If the user approves, the process proceeds from step S118 to step S119 (approval in step S118). The result of the user's selection of approval is registered in the approval result database 306.

[0072] Next, in step S119, the display on the user terminal device 200 transitions to a payment method selection screen as shown in Fig. 12B, and the user can input the payment method. When the user inputs the payment method, the payment method information is sent from the user terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300, and then in step S120 the information processing device 300 performs payment authentication processing. It is preferable that the payment processing can use common payment services such as credit card payment, cashless payment, and smartphone payment.

[0073] When the payment authentication process is completed, the information processing device 300 transmits the reason why the provider was selected to the provider terminal device 100, and in step S121, as shown in Fig. 13, the provider terminal device 100 notifies the provider by displaying that the provider has been selected. This means that the provider has been selected from the candidate providers, and the provider can know that he or she has been selected. In this notification, in addition to the fact that he or she has been selected, the reason (conditions) for his or her selection and information about the user are presented to the provider. It is only at this stage that the provider can check the user's profile, such as the name.

[0074] Then, in step S122, the user terminal device 200 makes a communication request to the provider terminal device 100 via the network, and in step S123 the provider terminal device 100 receives the communication request. This establishes communication between the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200, and the provider can provide information by answering questions from the user.

[0075] Answers to questions can be made in various ways, such as voice calls, video calls, text chats, message communications, and sending and receiving emails, using communications between the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200. These methods may also be used to consult over voice or video calls on other devices, or to make appointments to meet in person.

[0076] After the information provision is completed, the provider terminal device 100 displays a UI for inputting a price evaluation as shown in FIG. 14A, and receives an evaluation of the price of the information provided from the provider as shown in step S124.

[0077] The user terminal device 200 also displays a UI for inputting a price evaluation as shown in FIG. 14B, and receives a price evaluation of the information provided from the user as shown in step S125.

[0078] The evaluation is made by selecting one of three options: high, low, or appropriate as compensation for the provision of information. It is also possible to allow both the provider and the user to input a price that they consider appropriate.

[0079] In addition, in both the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200, the UI for inputting price evaluations should display price information and the time taken to provide the information (such as call time) as reference information for inputting price evaluations.

[0080] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14B, it is preferable that the user terminal device 200 allows input of an additional payment (tip) in addition to the payment based on the price estimated by the price determination unit 304. This additional payment is used when the user finds the information received from the provider useful and wishes to pay more to the provider. When the additional payment is input, the input content is sent to the information processing device 300, and the payment process is carried out in the same manner as a normal payment method. The price of the additional payment is also registered in the price database 305 and used for subsequent price estimation.

[0081] Then, in step S126, the information processing device 300 receives the ratings from the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200. The information processing device 300 stores the received ratings in the price database 305 and uses them for subsequent price estimation.

[0082] Note that a user's evaluation of the "price is high" means that the content of the provider's response (information provided) was not good and was not worth the price. Therefore, when a certain number of users evaluate the price as "high," the price of the individual provider who received the evaluation will not be reduced, but the estimated prices of all providers who have the attributes of the person who received the evaluation will be reduced.

[0083] Returning to the description of the flowchart, if the provider candidate determination unit 303 of the information processing device 300 determines in step S109 that there is no provider having attributes that match the conditions selected by the user, the process proceeds from step S109 to step S104 (No in step S109).

[0084] Then, in step S104, the user terminal device 200 again accepts input of a question from the user, and steps S104 to S109 are repeated. Note that if the user repeatedly asks the exact same question and selects the same conditions, the result that there is no provider that matches the conditions selected by the user will be repeated, so the user terminal device 200 may display a message urging the user to make the question more detailed, change the content of the question, or change the conditions selected.

[0085] The description proceeds to step S113 in Fig. 7. In step S113, if a price has not been set for the provider candidate selected by the user in step S112, the process proceeds to step S131 (No in step S113).

[0086] In step S131, the user terminal device 200 displays a price input UI as shown in Fig. 10C and accepts input of a desired price from the user. The input price information is transmitted from the user terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300 and registered in the price database 305 in step S132. The process then proceeds to step S115.

[0087] The explanation proceeds to step S115 in Fig. 8. If the provider candidate rejects the request from the user in step S115, the process proceeds to step S141 (rejection in step S115). The result of the rejection by the provider candidate is registered in the approval result database 306.

[0088] Next, in step S141, the information processing device 300 transmits the rejection result received from the provider terminal device 100 to the user terminal device 200, and in step S142, the user terminal device 200 displays the rejection result and notifies the user. Note that since the selected provider candidate has refused to answer the question as a provider, the information processing device 300 suspends processing here.

[0089] If there are multiple provider candidates, the provider candidates that are not selected are considered to have been rejected, and the provider terminal devices 100 of the provider candidates that are not selected are notified of the rejection result in the same manner as in step S152.

[0090] If the user receives a rejection notice, the process between the user and the rejected provider ends. Note that at this point, the user terminal device 200 may display a message prompting the user to select another provider candidate.

[0091] On the other hand, if the provider candidate selects negotiation in step S115, the process proceeds from step S115 to step S143 (negotiation in step S115). The result of the provider candidate selecting negotiation is registered in the approval result database 306. Then, in step S143, the provider terminal device 100 accepts an input of a desired price from the provider candidate and transmits the desired price information to the information processing device 300, as shown in FIG. 11C.

[0092] Next, in step S144, the information processing device 300 registers the desired price information sent from the provider terminal device 100 in the price database 305, and the price determination unit 304 determines a new price for the consideration by adding the desired price input by the provider candidate to the factors. The fact that the provider candidate has selected negotiation is also registered in the approval result database 306.

[0093] The information processing device 300 then transmits the new price of consideration to the user terminal device 200, and in step S145, the user terminal device 200 displays and presents the new price of consideration to the user. The process then proceeds to step S111, where the user terminal device 200 displays the candidate provider information and the candidate provider's new price of consideration and presents it to the user. The user terminal device 200 then accepts the user's selection of a provider. When the candidate provider inputs a desired price in this way, the user is not allowed to accept, reject, or negotiate the desired price, and the candidate provider information and price information are presented to the user again. This is because the desired price input by the candidate provider in step S143 may not necessarily be presented to the user directly by the user terminal device 200. The price determination unit 304 determines the new price of consideration by taking into account the desired price input by the candidate provider. If the user accepts a price different from the desired price input by the candidate provider in step S143, this may be disadvantageous to the candidate provider. Therefore, when the price determination unit 304 determines a new price for the consideration in step S144, the user terminal device 200 displays the information about the candidate provider and the new price for the consideration, and the user is prompted to select a provider again. If the candidate provider for which a new price for the consideration has been determined is selected again by the user, the provider terminal device 100 displays in step S114, as shown in Fig. 11A, a message indicating that a request has been made, a question, the price for the consideration, etc., and presents them to the selected candidate provider.

[0094] The explanation proceeds to step S118. If the user rejects the request in step S118, rejection information is sent from the use-side terminal device 200 to the information processing device 300, and in step S151 the information processing device 300 suspends the processing between the use-side terminal device 200 and the provider terminal device 100. Then, in step S152, the provider terminal device 100 displays a notification that the processing will be suspended due to the user's rejection.

[0095] The explanation proceeds to step S118. If the user selects negotiation in step S118, the process proceeds to step S161 (negotiation in step S118). Next, in step S161, the user terminal device 200 accepts input of a desired price from the user, as shown in FIG. 12C. The user's desired price information is sent to the information processing device 300, registered in the price database 305 in step S162, and further sent from the information processing device 300 to the provider terminal device 100. Then, in step S163, the provider terminal device 100 displays the user's desired price and presents it to the provider. The process then proceeds to step S115, where the selected provider candidate selects approval, rejection, or negotiation.

[0096] The above process is repeated until the provider and user mutually approve the answer to the question, or until one of them rejects the other and the process between the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200 is interrupted.

[0097] Here, the price estimation in step S110 will be explained. The price determination unit 304 estimates an appropriate price to be offered to the user for each of the provider candidates searched by the provider candidate determination unit 303. The price estimation is performed comprehensively based on multiple pieces of information such as the following:

[0098] The first example of information is the number of attributes of a provider that match the conditions of the provider selected by the user. A provider that has more attributes that match the conditions required to answer the user's question is more likely to be able to provide a useful answer, and therefore the price of the provider will increase.

[0099] Another example of information is the rarity and importance of attributes required for an answer. Each attribute possessed by a provider is weighted according to its rarity and importance. For example, for a Japanese user, the attribute "being able to speak Japanese" is an essential attribute, but it is not rare. Similarly, for a question about health, the attribute "holding a medical license" can be said to be in high demand and rare. Therefore, even the same attribute has different value depending on the user's question. Therefore, the rarity and importance of the attributes possessed by the provider are also used as a reference for estimating the price, and providers who possess rare and important attributes to a question are more likely to be able to provide a more useful answer, and therefore the price they are paid is higher.

[0100] Another example of information is the prices and valuations of past information offers. Similar questions with more matching attributes, or the prices and valuations of past offers by providers with similar attributes, can be used as references for price estimation.

[0101] Other examples of information include approval history and desired prices entered during negotiation. Similar questions with more matching attributes, or the selection of approval, rejection, or negotiation in past information provided by providers with similar attributes, the price when rejection was selected, and the desired price entered when negotiation was selected, can be used as references for price estimation.

[0102] Other examples of information include various certificates that certify attributes. For example, there is an electronic certificate that certifies the identity of an experienced person as an attribute. Examples of certificates include certificates of various qualifications, and certificates that certify enrollment, grades, etc. in organizations such as a company or school to which the person belongs. By issuing such certificates and registering them in the information processing device 300, the reliability of the provider is improved, and the price of compensation increases.

[0103] Another example of information is the amount of attributes registered by the experienced person. The more information a provider registers as attributes that identify the individual, such as name, face photo, and organization, the more trustworthy the provider becomes, and the higher the price of compensation.

[0104] Another example of information is the amount of sensor information that the provider has permitted to be used. By enabling the sensor unit 109, such as a GPS or a camera, and registering personal information useful to the user acquired by the sensor unit 109 as an attribute, the reliability of the provider increases, and the price of compensation increases.

[0105] Another example of information is various types of information related to the provider's use of the Internet. Examples of such information include browsing history, purchase history, and comments and posts on social media and e-commerce sites. The more of this information registered as attributes, the more trustworthy the provider becomes, and the higher the price of compensation. Note that the more images and videos posted on social media are viewed or the more ratings such as "likes" are received, the more trustworthy the provider becomes, and the higher the price of compensation may be.

[0106] Another example of information is location information, such as whether the provider is in a place related to the user's question or frequently visits that place. If the user's question is about a place such as a country, region, shop, school, or other facility, the price of the consideration increases if the provider is currently in that place, as it is more likely that the provider can provide an appropriate answer. Also, if the provider frequently visits that place, the price of the consideration increases as it is more likely that the provider can provide an appropriate answer.

[0107] Note that the above information is merely an example, and the price estimation of the present technology is not limited to that based on the above information. Any information about the provider can be used as a reference for price estimation.

[0108] The processing of this technology is performed as described above. With this technology, when a user requests information in the form of a question, providers with the necessary experience and qualifications to provide an answer can be presented to the user. By simply entering a question, the user can connect with a reliable and helpful provider, helping to resolve their doubts and make a decision.

[0109] In addition, the price to be paid for providing information can be automatically calculated and presented to users and providers. Because the price is determined automatically, providers can discover new value in themselves by being presented with the price of their own value, which they may not have been aware of.

[0110] In addition, this technology evaluates questions and their answers based on three criteria: whether the price of the payment is high, low, or appropriate. This makes it possible to provide an objective and easy-to-understand evaluation, unlike criteria such as the compatibility between the user and provider, which is difficult to accurately grasp.

[0111] The price of the information provided is calculated automatically, so providers do not need to set their profile or price in advance. In addition, providers can know in advance how much their information can be sold for, which motivates them to provide information.

[0112] The provider does not need to disclose irrelevant personal information until the provider is approved by the user, so personal information can be appropriately protected.

[0113] Although determining compatibility between people can be ambiguous, compensation calculated from attributes can quantitatively evaluate people and can therefore be used as learning data.

[0114] <2. Specific examples of implementation> Next, a case where the present technology is applied to a real estate transaction, which is a specific example of information provision, will be described. First, an outline of the processing when the communication system 10 is applied to a real estate transaction will be described with reference to FIG.

[0115] A provider who wants to sell or rent a real estate property registers property information and his / her own attributes in advance in the information processing device using the provider terminal device 100. A user inputs information about a property that he / she wants to buy or rent using the user terminal device 200. The information about the property corresponds to the question (request for information) in the embodiment.

[0116] Next, the information processing device 300 determines candidate providers who will provide information about the property and presents them to the user. When the user selects a candidate provider from whom they would like to receive information, and the candidate provider agrees, the provider who will provide information about the property to the user is determined.

[0117] Then, as in the embodiment, the provider provides information to the user, pays the user for payment, and evaluates the information.

[0118] 16 to 18 show examples of a registration UI in the provider terminal device 100 of a provider that is selling or renting real estate. The registration UI is used to input and register property information corresponding to the provider's attributes in the embodiment. The property information may be registered in the provider database 302 together with the provider's attributes, or may be registered in a separate property information database. Note that the configurations and input items of the registration UIs shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 are merely examples, and the present technology is not limited to the contents of the figures.

[0119] First, in the first state of the registration UI shown in Figure 16A, the provider can select the type of property (condominium, apartment, house, etc.) and the transaction type (rental or sale). In addition, the provider can also specify the price and size of the property. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the registration UI to the second state.

[0120] In the second state of the registration UI shown in FIG. 16B, the provider's family structure and family attribute information (e.g., age, relationship to the provider, etc.) are entered. The property address (prefecture, area such as city or ward, etc.) is also entered. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the registration UI to the third state.

[0121] In the third state of the registration UI shown in Figure 17A, the provider inputs the layout, age, structure, years of residence, and residential history of their property. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the registration UI to the fourth state.

[0122] In the fourth state of the registration UI shown in Figure 17B, the provider can enter other information about the property. This information includes the distance to various facilities such as stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets, whether there is a bus tray, whether there is parking, and whether there is underfloor heating. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the registration UI to the fifth state.

[0123] In the fifth state of the registration UI shown in Figure 18A, you can register images and videos of the exterior, interior, each room, etc. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the registration UI to the sixth state.

[0124] In the sixth state of the registration UI shown in Fig. 18B, the provider can select whether to allow questions from users, and if questions are allowed, the method for receiving the questions (telephone, email, etc.). Furthermore, the provider can select whether to allow visits from users, and if visits are allowed, the provider can select whether to allow photography, audio recording, etc. during the visit.

[0125] When a question is permitted, the price of the consideration determined by the price determination unit 304 varies depending on the method of receiving the question. Also, when a user's visit is permitted, the more actions such as audio recording, photography, and video recording are permitted, the higher the price of the consideration determined by the price determination unit 304 becomes.

[0126] Then, when the "Register" button is pressed, the information entered up to that point is sent to the information processing device 300 and registered in the provider database 302 as the provider's attributes.

[0127] 19 to 21 are examples of a search UI in the user terminal device 200 of a user who is buying or renting real estate. Note that the configurations and input items of the search UIs shown in Figs. 19 to 21 are merely examples, and the present technology is not limited to the contents of the figures.

[0128] First, in the first state of the search UI shown in Figure 19A, the user can select the type of property (condominium, apartment, house, etc.) and the transaction type (rental or purchase). In addition, the user can also specify the budget and property size. If the budget and property size are not entered, they will be displayed as "Not specified." Pressing the "Next" button transitions the UI to the second state.

[0129] In the second state of the search UI shown in Figure 19B, you enter your own and your family's composition and family attribute information (e.g., age, relationship to the user, etc.). You can also enter the property address (prefecture, city, ward, etc.). Pressing the "Next" button transitions the UI to the third state.

[0130] In the third state of the search UI shown in Figure 20A, the user can input the desired property's floor plan, age, structure, years of residence, residential history, etc. Pressing the "Next" button transitions the UI to the fourth state.

[0131] In the fourth state of the search UI shown in Figure 20B, the user can enter other desired conditions, such as the distance to various facilities such as stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets, whether there is a bus tray, whether there is parking, and whether there is underfloor heating.

[0132] When the user presses the "Search" button, the information processing device 300 searches for properties that meet the conditions entered by the user from among the properties registered by the provider based on the input content up to that point. The search results are presented to the user in the presentation UI shown in Fig. 21A. The presentation UI displays the search results, such as the address, an image showing the exterior, an image showing the interior, and other images and videos showing information about the property.

[0133] Furthermore, if a user wants to know more about a property, the present technology allows the user to ask a provider a question. The content entered in the search UI corresponds to the user's question in the embodiment, and the condition estimation unit 301 of the information processing device 300 estimates the provider's conditions from the content entered in the search UI. The estimated conditions are displayed on the user-side terminal device 200 and presented to the user, as shown in FIG. 21B . Then, when the user selects a condition, candidate providers having attributes matching the condition are presented to the user, and the user can select a provider from among them to receive information.

[0134] The UIs of the provider terminal device 100 and the user terminal device 200 when this technology is applied to real estate transactions are configured as described above. In real estate transactions, there are cases where a buyer wants to buy, sell, rent, or borrow a property that is still occupied, but cannot show the actual property due to privacy concerns, etc. By using this technology in such cases, even if the buyer cannot enter the property, the buyer can obtain information about the property in the form of questions and answers, which can be used as reference for real estate transactions.

[0135] <3. Modifications> Although the embodiments of the present technology have been specifically described above, the present technology is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications based on the technical concept of the present technology are possible.

[0136] This technology can be used for a variety of purposes other than real estate sales and purchases. For example, users can find and consult with their own personal advisors who have the knowledge, knowledge, and experience they need.

[0137] Specific examples include property viewings (questions about residents' experiences, the neighborhood, children's living environment, traffic volume, public safety, etc.), construction estimates (water heater malfunction, repainting the exterior walls, whether repairs are really necessary, whether the estimate is reasonable), medical consultations (medical interviews, whether to go to the hospital, second opinions, nursing care), legal consultations (advice about registration, guarantees, inheritance, etc.), and accounting consultations (about tax returns, insurance products, financial products).

[0138] Users can also find people with experience that they can only get by actually experiencing the situation, and obtain information.Specific examples include job-hunting advice (workplace experiences, how friendly the coworkers are, how busy they are, the number of complaints, whether staff meals are provided, etc.), information about hospitals where people are admitted (reviews of doctors, hospital food, the condition of hospital rooms, etc.), considering travel destinations (hotel conditions, the surrounding area, tourist information, local information, etc.), choosing a classroom (reviews of teachers, what lessons are like, the atmosphere among students, what equipment is like, etc.), and advice on further education (what the school is like, entrance exam advice, study methods, what classes are like, etc.).

[0139] This technology is not limited to providing information in the form of questions and answers as described in the embodiments, but can be applied to a wide variety of services that can be realized through communication, such as providing opportunities for meeting people and providing conversation partners.

[0140] The present technology can also be configured as follows. (1) a provider candidate determination unit that determines one or more provider candidates who will provide information in response to a request from a user; a price determination unit that determines a price for the information provided by the candidate provider; An information processing device comprising: (2) The information processing device according to (1), further comprising a condition estimation unit that performs semantic analysis on the request and estimates one or more conditions of the provider that are necessary for providing information. (3) The information processing device according to (2), wherein the conditions are presented to the user and selected by the user. (4) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein attribute information indicating attributes of the provider is registered in advance. (5) The information processing device according to (4), wherein the provider candidate determination unit determines, as candidates, the providers who have the conditions selected by the user as the attributes. (6) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the candidates are presented to the user together with the price of the consideration determined by the price determination unit. (7) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on attributes of the provider. (8) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on a price established in a past information provision. (9) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on a desired price input by the user and / or the provider. (10) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (9), which receives an evaluation of the information provided by the provider from the user and / or the provider. (11) The information processing device according to (10), wherein the evaluation is performed based on whether the price of the consideration is high, low, or appropriate. (12) The information processing device according to (11), wherein the evaluation is further carried out by an additional payment from the user to the provider. (13) The information processing device according to (11), wherein the price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on the evaluation. (14) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (13), wherein the request for information from the user is made as a question, and the information provided by the provider is made as a response to the question. (15) The information processing device according to (4), wherein the attribute information is information input by the provider. (16) The information processing device according to (4), wherein the attribute information is information acquired by a sensor. (17) The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (16), wherein the information provided by the provider is information about real estate. (18) determining one or more candidate providers to provide information in response to a request for information from a user; Determine the price of compensation for providing information about the candidate providers Information processing methods. (19) determining one or more candidate providers to provide information in response to a request for information from a user; Determine the price of compensation for providing information about the candidate providers A program that causes a computer to execute an information processing method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 300 Information processing device 301...Condition estimation unit 303...Provider candidate determination department 304 Pricing Department

Claims

1. a provider candidate determination unit that determines one or more provider candidates who will provide information in response to a request from a user; a price determination unit that determines a price of compensation for the information provision of the candidate provider based on the number of attributes of the provider that match the conditions of the provider selected by the user; An information processing device comprising:

2. a condition estimation unit that performs semantic analysis on the request and estimates one or more conditions of the provider that are necessary for providing information; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The conditions are presented to the user The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. Attribute information indicating the attributes of the provider is registered in advance. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. The provider candidate determination unit determines, as a candidate, the provider having the condition selected by the user as the attribute. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

6. The candidates are presented to the user together with the price of the consideration determined by the price determination unit. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on the price established in the past provision of information. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on the desired price input by the user and / or the provider. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. Accepting evaluations of the information provided by the provider from the user and / or the provider. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. The evaluation is based on whether the price of the consideration is high, low, or fair. The information processing device according to claim 9 .

11. The evaluation is further made by an additional payment from the user to the provider. The information processing device according to claim 10.

12. The price determination unit determines the price of the consideration based on the evaluation. The information processing device according to claim 10.

13. The request for information from the user is made as a question, and the information provided by the provider is made as an answer to the question. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

14. The attribute information is information input by the provider. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

15. The attribute information is information acquired by a sensor. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

16. The information provided by the provider is information about real estate. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

17. determining one or more candidate providers to provide information in response to a user request; A price for the provider candidate to provide information is determined based on the number of attributes of the provider that match the conditions of the provider selected by the user. Information processing methods.

18. determining one or more candidate providers to provide information in response to a user request; A price for the provider candidate to provide information is determined based on the number of attributes of the provider that match the conditions of the provider selected by the user. A program that causes a computer to execute an information processing method.

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