Information providing device, information providing method, and information providing program

Abstract

To recommend coordination in consideration of a relation between users.SOLUTION: An information providing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention acquires, in a registered schedule, a coordination of a second user indicating a meeting with a first user at a predetermined date and time. The information providing apparatus 10 generates coordination combined with clothing owned by the first user and corresponding to the coordination of the second user. The information providing apparatus 10 presents the generated coordination to the first user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for recommending fashion coordination according to a user's attributes using a probabilistic model is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-167759 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional techniques have a problem in that it is sometimes difficult to recommend coordinations taking into account the relationships between users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the information providing device is characterized by having an acquisition unit that acquires the coordination of a second user who is indicated in a registered schedule as being scheduled to meet a first user at a specified date and time, a generation unit that generates a coordination that combines clothing items owned by the first user and is different from the coordination of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit, and a presentation unit that presents the coordination generated by the generation unit to the first user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to recommend coordinates taking into consideration the relationships between users. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information providing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schedule registration screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a coordinate recommendation screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a coordinate recommendation screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the information providing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer that executes an information providing program. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and an information providing program according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0009] [Configuration of the first embodiment] First, the configuration of the information providing system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information providing system according to the first embodiment.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system 1 includes an information providing device 10, a terminal 20, and a clothing sales server 30.

[0011] The information providing system 1 generates a coordinate and provides the generated coordinate to the user. The coordinate is information on a combination of clothing items. The clothing items include clothes, accessories, shoes, etc.

[0012] The information providing device 10 is connected to a terminal 20 and a clothing sales server 30 so as to be able to perform data communication via a network N. The information providing device 10 is, for example, a server.

[0013] The information providing device 10 provides the user with a closet function, a coordinate recommendation function, and a social function.

[0014] The closet function is a function for managing clothing owned by a user. For example, the user registers information about clothing owned or purchased by the user in the information providing device 10 via the terminal 20.

[0015] The coordinate recommendation function is a function that generates coordinates by combining clothing items managed by the closet function and presents the generated coordinates to the user.

[0016] The social function is a function for providing a social networking service (SNS) to multiple users.

[0017] The SNS provided by the information providing device 10 allows users to register close users as friends and send comments to their friends.

[0018] Furthermore, the information providing device 10 can cooperate with an application used by the user.

[0019] For example, the information providing device 10 works in conjunction with an application that manages the user's schedule (hereinafter referred to as a schedule application), an application that provides information about the weather (hereinafter referred to as a weather application), and an application that allows the user to make payments when purchasing clothing (hereinafter referred to as a payment application).

[0020] Furthermore, the information providing device 10 executes an application (hereinafter, referred to as a fashion application) for providing the user with services using the above-mentioned closet function, coordinate recommendation function, and social function.

[0021] Furthermore, each application may be an application that operates online via a web server or the like, or an application that operates in an offline environment.

[0022] The terminal 20 is operated by a user. The terminal 20 is, for example, a smartphone. The terminal 20 can execute various applications.

[0023] For example, the terminal 20 executes the schedule application, the weather application, the payment application, and the fashion application described above.

[0024] For example, the terminal 20 can execute a schedule application to register and refer to the user's schedule.

[0025] For example, the terminal 20 can run a weather app to view the weather forecast for a given location.

[0026] For example, the terminal 20 can execute a payment application to make a payment when purchasing clothing.

[0027] Furthermore, the terminal 20 executes a fashion application to perform processing related to the closet function. The terminal 20 can register information about clothing items owned by the user in the information providing device 10 and can refer to information about clothing items already registered in the information providing device 10.

[0028] Terminal 20 may execute the processing related to the closet function using a closet management application (mini-application) separate from the fashion application.

[0029] Furthermore, the terminal 20 executes a fashion application and executes processing related to the coordination recommendation function. The terminal 20 can display information related to the coordination presented by the information providing device 10.

[0030] Furthermore, the terminal 20 executes a fashion application and executes processes related to social functions. The terminal 20 can register users as friends, send comments to friends, and view comments from friends.

[0031] Furthermore, the terminal 20 can allow friends to view the coordination presented by the information providing device 10 and receive comments on the coordination.

[0032] The clothing sales server 30 is a server operated by a company that sells clothing, etc. For example, the clothing sales server 30 provides a clothing sales site. Also, for example, the clothing sales server 30 provides advertising and promotion related to clothing to a fashion app.

[0033] The configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information providing device according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the information providing device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13.

[0034] The communication unit 11 performs data communication with other devices via a network. For example, the communication unit 11 is a network interface card (NIC).

[0035] The storage unit 12 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an optical disk, etc. Note that the storage unit 12 may also be a data-rewritable semiconductor memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, or a non-volatile static random access memory (NVSRAM).

[0036] The storage unit 12 stores an OS (Operating System) and various programs executed by the information providing device 10. For example, the storage unit 12 stores closet information 121, model information 122, and user information 123.

[0037] The closet information 121 is information about clothing items owned by each user, and includes information such as an image, price, size, suitable climate, and suitable occasion for each clothing item.

[0038] The model information 122 is information for constructing a model for generating a coordination. The model is, for example, a trained neural network that takes the weather, the user's physical characteristics, etc. as input and outputs a combination of clothing items, i.e., a coordination.

[0039] The user information 123 is information about a user. The user information 123 includes information for identifying users who have been registered as friends for each user. The user information 123 also includes information about coordinates recommended by the coordinate recommendation function.

[0040] The control unit 13 controls the entire information providing device 10. The control unit 13 is, for example, an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0041] The control unit 13 also has an internal memory for storing programs that define various processing procedures and control data, and executes each process using the internal memory.

[0042] The control unit 13 also functions as various processing units by running various programs. For example, the control unit 13 includes a management unit 131, an acquisition unit 132, a generation unit 133, and a presentation unit .

[0043] The management unit 131 manages information about clothing items owned by the user. The management unit 131 registers and updates information in the closet information 121.

[0044] The management unit 131 also acquires information about clothing purchased by the user based on the user's electronic payment history and manages the acquired information. For example, the management unit 131 cooperates with the payment app and the clothing sales server 30 to add information about clothing purchased by the user to the closet information 121.

[0045] For example, the management unit 131 can use the product name of the clothing item purchased by the user as a key to obtain information such as an image of the clothing item, material, price, suitable climate, and suitable occasion (formal, casual, etc.) from the clothing sales server 30.

[0046] Furthermore, the management unit 131 manages the user information 123. The management unit 131 adds information about users registered as friends by each user to the user information 123. The management unit 131 also adds information about coordination recommended to each user by the information providing device 10 to the user information 123.

[0047] Furthermore, the management unit 131 manages information related to the user's schedule via a schedule application. The management unit 131 may store the information related to the schedule in an external server, or may include the information in the user information 123.

[0048] The management unit 131 displays a schedule registration screen on the terminal 20 used by the user. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the schedule registration screen.

[0049] As shown in Figure 3, the schedule registration screen allows you to register the type of appointment, date and time, color settings, linked calendar, notification timing, whether it should repeat, location, comments, and also the person you will be meeting.

[0050] In the example in Figure 3, the type of appointment is "Cafe," the date and time is "Sunday, June 18th, 11:00 - Sunday, June 18th, 12:00," the color setting is the leftmost color in the list, the linked calendar is "In-app calendar," the notification timing is "10 minutes before the scheduled time," and whether or not it needs to repeat is "No."

[0051] In addition, in the field of the person to meet, the ID or name of a user who is registered as a friend in the SNS provided by the information providing device 10 can be entered.

[0052] The acquisition unit 132 acquires the coordinates of a second user who is scheduled to meet the first user on a predetermined date and time in the registered schedule. The first user and the second user are assumed to be friends with each other.

[0053] The acquisition unit 132 refers to the schedule registered via the schedule registration screen of FIG. 3 to identify friends that the user plans to meet, and acquires the coordinates of the identified friends from the user information 123.

[0054] The friend's coordinates may be manually input by the friend, or may be generated by the information providing device 10.

[0055] The generation unit 133 generates a coordinate that combines clothing items owned by the first user and corresponds to the coordinate of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit 132.

[0056] It is assumed that the acquisition unit 132 has acquired a schedule indicating that the first user plans to meet with a second user who is a friend of the first user at a predetermined date and time.

[0057] In this case, the generation unit 133 can generate an outfit in which at least some of the clothing items are different from the outfit of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit 132.

[0058] This allows the generation unit 133 to avoid overlapping clothing with friends.

[0059] For example, the generation unit 133 generates a coordinated outfit by combining clothing items whose information is managed by the management unit 131, that is, clothing items that have been registered in the closet information 121 as belongings of each user.

[0060] For example, the generation unit 133 inputs weather information obtained through collaboration with a weather app, physical characteristics of the user obtained from the user information 123, and the like into a model constructed from the model information 122, and outputs a coordination.

[0061] Then, if the outputted coordinate and the friend's coordinate are similar, the generation unit 133 excludes the outputted coordinate and generates a new coordinate.

[0062] By repeating this process, the generation unit 133 can obtain a coordinate that does not overlap with the friend's coordinate.

[0063] The generation unit 133 compares the clothing items that make up the two coordinated outfits, and if the number of overlapping clothing items exceeds a certain number, determines that the two coordinated outfits are similar to each other.

[0064] In addition, the generation unit 133 may generate a coordinated outfit that matches the friend's outfit, or may generate a coordinated outfit that matches the friend's outfit in terms of formality (for example, whether it is formal or casual).

[0065] Furthermore, the generation unit 133 can avoid duplication of coordination when a user meets the same friend multiple times for the same purpose.

[0066] For example, the generation unit 133 refers to the coordination when the user met with a friend on a first date and time, and if a meeting is scheduled again on a second date and time after the first date and time, generates the coordination for the second date and time after excluding the coordination recommended on the first date and time.

[0067] This allows the generation unit 133 to prevent the user from wearing the same clothes every time they meet the same friend on different dates and times.

[0068] In this case, the acquisition unit 132 acquires the first coordinate presented to the first user by the presentation unit 134 on the first date and time when the schedule indicates that the first user is scheduled to meet the second user.

[0069] Then, the generation unit 133 generates a second coordinate that is different from the first coordinate. Furthermore, the presentation unit 134 presents the second coordinate to the first user at a second date and time that is after the first date and time and indicates that the first user is scheduled to meet the second user in the schedule.

[0070] Furthermore, the generation unit 133 may avoid generating the same outfit for different dates and times if the friend the user plans to meet has a specific attribute (e.g., lover, colleague, business partner, etc.) or if specific content (e.g., date, business meeting, etc.) is registered in the schedule.

[0071] The presentation unit 134 presents to the first user the coordinates generated by the generation unit 133. The coordinates presented by the presentation unit 134 are displayed via the terminal 20 held by the first user.

[0072] For example, the presentation unit 134 causes the terminal 20 to display a screen 502 for recommending a coordination as shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the coordination recommendation screen.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 4, a screen 502 displays a coordination (recommended coordination) generated by the generation unit 133.

[0074] Furthermore, screen 502 displays images of clothing items that make up the coordinated outfit generated by generation unit 133 and that are owned by the user (clothes you own).

[0075] This allows the user to check the recommended outfits and easily understand which of the clothing items they own should be combined with them.

[0076] Furthermore, the presentation unit 134 may present to the first user the coordinates of a friend (second user) that were referenced when the first user's coordinates were generated.

[0077] Furthermore, presentation unit 134 may present at least a portion of closet information 121 in which friends have registered. In this case, management unit 131 can set whether or not to present each item of information included in closet information 121 and each friend to whom the information is presented, at the user's request.

[0078] For example, the management unit 131 may set it so that information related to payment information cannot be presented. Information related to payment information is, for example, the purchase price of the clothing item, information about the store where the purchase was made, and the like.

[0079] Furthermore, for example, the management unit 131 may set whether or not to present information for each type of clothing item. For example, the management unit 131 can set information about underwear, among other clothing items, to be unpresentable.

[0080] Furthermore, the fashion app's social features allow friends to recommend outfits to each other.

[0081] At this time, the presentation unit 134 causes the terminal 20 to display a screen 503a that displays the coordination recommended by the friend, as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the coordination recommendation screen.

[0082] Screen 503a displays coordinates recommended by the user's friends, Friend A, Friend B, and Friend C. When an operation such as a tap or swipe is performed on screen 503a, the screen transitions to screen 503b.

[0083] The presentation unit 134 displays on the screen 503b the outfits that were recommended to the user on the day when the user last met with the selected friend. Furthermore, the screen 503b displays the actual outfits worn by the user on the day when the user last met with the selected friend.

[0084] For example, it is assumed that a user can register an image of their own clothes in a fashion app. Furthermore, the management unit 131 manages the images registered in the fashion app in association with the date and time of the image being taken.

[0085] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the information providing device according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, first, the information providing device 10 acquires information about the weather, the user's physical condition, and the user's schedule (step S101).

[0086] Next, the information providing device 10 generates a coordinated outfit by combining clothing items in the closet based on the acquired information (step S102).

[0087] Next, the information providing device 10 acquires the coordinates of the friends who are scheduled to meet on the day (step S103).

[0088] Here, the information providing device 10 compares the generated coordinate with the friend's coordinate (step S104).

[0089] If the generated coordinate and the friend's coordinate are similar (step S105, Yes), the information providing device 10 excludes the generated coordinate (step S106) and returns to step S102.

[0090] On the other hand, if the generated coordination and the friend's coordination are not similar (step S105, No), the information providing device 10 presents the generated coordination (step S107).

[0091] [Advantages of the first embodiment] As described above, the acquisition unit 132 acquires an outfit of a second user who is scheduled to meet the first user on a predetermined date and time in a registered schedule. The generation unit 133 generates an outfit that combines clothing items owned by the first user and corresponds to the outfit of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit 132. The presentation unit 134 presents the outfit generated by the generation unit 133 to the first user.

[0092] In this way, the information providing device 10 can present coordinates that match the person the user is meeting. As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible to recommend coordinates taking into consideration the relationship between users.

[0093] For example, the information providing device 10 can work in conjunction with a schedule application or the like to automatically acquire information about users registered as friends, thereby preventing the user from wearing the same clothes as the friend, or from being at a different level of formality.

[0094] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 132 acquires a first coordinate presented to the first user by the presentation unit 134 at a first date and time indicated in the schedule when the first user is scheduled to meet with the second user. The generation unit 133 generates a second coordinate different from the first coordinate. The presentation unit 134 presents the second coordinate to the first user at a second date and time indicated in the schedule that is after the first date and time and when the first user is scheduled to meet with the second user.

[0095] This prevents the user from wearing the same clothes every time they meet the same person on different dates and times.

[0096] Furthermore, the generation unit 133 generates an outfit in which at least some clothing items are different from the outfit of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit 132. This allows the information providing device 10 to prevent the second user from wearing the same outfit as a friend.

[0097] The management unit 131 manages information about clothing items owned by the first user. The generation unit 133 generates a coordination by combining clothing items whose information is managed by the management unit 131. This allows the information providing device 10 to present coordination that can be achieved by the user.

[0098] The management unit 131 also acquires information about clothing items purchased by the first user based on the first user's electronic payment history and manages the acquired information, allowing the information providing device 10 to automatically acquire information about clothing items owned by the user from the user's payment history, etc.

[0099] [System configuration, etc.] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are functional concepts and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. Furthermore, all or any part of the processing functions performed by each device can be realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or can be realized as hardware using wired logic. Note that the program may be executed not only by the CPU but also by other processors such as a GPU.

[0100] Furthermore, among the processes described in this embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method.In addition, the information including the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified.

[0101] [program] In one embodiment, the information providing device 10 can be implemented by installing an information providing program that executes the above-described information providing process as package software or online software on a desired computer. For example, by executing the above-described information providing program on an information processing device, the information processing device can function as the information providing device 10. The information processing device referred to here includes desktop and notebook personal computers. In addition, the information processing device also includes mobile communication terminals such as smartphones, mobile phones, and PHS (Personal Handyphone Systems), as well as slate terminals such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).

[0102] The information providing device 10 may also be implemented as a server device that provides a service related to the information providing process to a client terminal device used by the user. For example, the server device may be implemented as a server device that receives input of information identifying the user's schedule and the person to be met, and outputs a coordination that avoids overlapping with the person's clothing. In this case, the server device may be implemented as a web server, or may be implemented as a cloud that provides a service related to the information providing process by outsourcing.

[0103] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes an information provision program. The computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010 and a CPU 1020. The computer 1000 also includes a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. These components are connected by a bus 1080.

[0104] The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1012. The ROM 1011 stores a boot program such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1090. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1100. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1100. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to a mouse 1110 and a keyboard 1120, for example. The video adapter 1060 is connected to a display 1130, for example.

[0105] The hard disk drive 1090 stores, for example, an OS 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. That is, a program that defines each process of the information providing device 10 is implemented as a program module 1093 in which computer-executable code is written. The program module 1093 is stored, for example, in the hard disk drive 1090. For example, a program module 1093 for executing processes similar to those of the functional configuration of the information providing device 10 is stored in the hard disk drive 1090. The hard disk drive 1090 may be replaced with an SSD (Solid State Drive).

[0106] Furthermore, setting data used in the processing of the above-described embodiment is stored as program data 1094, for example, in the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090. Then, the CPU 1020 reads the program module 1093 or the program data 1094 stored in the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090 into the RAM 1012 as necessary, and executes the processing of the above-described embodiment.

[0107] The program module 1093 and program data 1094 are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1090, but may also be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and read by the CPU 1020 via the disk drive 1100 or the like. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 may be stored in another computer connected via a network (such as a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)). The program module 1093 and program data 1094 may then be read by the CPU 1020 from the other computer via the network interface 1070. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] N Network 1 Information provision system 10 Information provision device 11 Communications Department 12 Storage section 13 Control Unit 20 terminals 30 Clothing sales server 121 Closet Information 122 Model Information 123 User Information 131 Management Department 132 Acquisition Department 133 Generation part 134 Presentation section

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires a coordinate of a second user who is scheduled to meet the first user at a predetermined date and time in a registered schedule; a generation unit that generates a coordinated outfit combining clothing items owned by the first user, the coordinated outfit being in accordance with the coordinated outfit of the second user acquired by the acquisition unit; a presentation unit that presents the coordinate generated by the generation unit to the first user; and the acquisition unit acquires a first coordinate presented to the first user by the presentation unit at a first date and time indicated in the schedule that the first user is scheduled to meet the second user; the generation unit generates a second coordinate that is different from the first coordinate when the second user has a specific attribute; The presentation unit presents the second coordinate to the first user at a second date and time that is after the first date and time and indicates that the first user is scheduled to meet the second user in the schedule. An information providing device characterized by:

2. The information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the generating unit generates an outfit in which at least some clothing items are different from the outfit of the second user acquired by the acquiring unit.

3. The system further includes a management unit that manages information about clothing items owned by the first user, 3. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates a coordinated outfit by combining clothing items whose information is managed by the managing unit.

4. The information providing device according to claim 3, characterized in that the management unit acquires information about clothing purchased by the first user based on the first user's electronic payment history, and manages the acquired information.

5. An information providing method executed by an information providing device, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a coordinate of a second user who is scheduled to meet the first user at a predetermined date and time in the registered schedule; a generating step of generating a coordinated outfit combining clothing items owned by the first user, the coordinated outfit being in accordance with the coordinated outfit of the second user acquired by the acquiring step; a presentation step of presenting the coordinate generated by the generation step to the first user; Including, The acquiring step acquires a first coordinate presented to the first user by the presenting step at a first date and time when the first user is scheduled to meet the second user in the schedule; the generating step generates a second coordinate that is different from the first coordinate when the second user has a specific attribute; The presenting step presents the second coordinate to the first user at a second date and time that is after the first date and time and indicates that the first user is scheduled to meet the second user in the schedule.

10. An information providing method comprising:

6. An information providing program for causing a computer to function as the information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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