Virtual home sharing system, virtual home sharing device and program

Abstract

To provide a virtual house sharing system, a virtual house sharing device and a program that enable people who live apart to experience living together in a virtual space. [Solution] The virtual home sharing system 100 acquires user information including the location within the home of a home user who lives in the family home H, among multiple users within a group, generates a virtual home in a virtual space where the users within the group can communicate, places an avatar of the home user at a position in the generated virtual home that corresponds to the location of the acquired user information related to the home user, detects access to the virtual space from a terminal 3 by a user within the group, and, on the condition that access from terminal 3 is detected, outputs an image of the virtual home including the placed avatar to terminal 3.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a virtual home sharing system, a virtual home sharing device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Families usually live together in the same house, but sometimes they live apart due to work, school, or other reasons. When family members live apart, it is more difficult for them to communicate with each other than when they live together. For this reason, chat, for example, is used as a means of communication between family members (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6728190 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In chats such as those described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult for people living apart to understand each other's current situation. Chats are also used for conversations between friends as well as family members, but among family members, simply knowing that the other person is at home can give a sense of security even without conversation. Furthermore, it would be convenient if those who are already family members, as well as those who are planning to become family members, could have a simulated experience of living together without actually living together.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual home sharing system, a virtual home sharing device, and a program that allow people who live far apart to experience living together in a virtual space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a virtual home sharing system comprising: a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including the location within the home of a home user who lives in one of the home users, which is a group of multiple users; a virtual home generation means for generating a virtual home in a virtual space where the home users communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the home user at a location in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means corresponding to the location of the user information related to the home user acquired by the user acquisition means; an access detection means for detecting access to the virtual space from a terminal by the home user; and an image output means for outputting an image of the virtual home including the avatar placed by the avatar placement means to the terminal, on the condition that the access detection means detects access from the terminal.

[0007] In the virtual house sharing system, the virtual house generation means may generate the virtual house having the same floor plan as the one house.

[0008] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the user acquisition means may further acquire user information including the virtual position of the out-of-home user in the virtual home, input from the terminal by an out-of-home user among the users in the group other than the in-home user, and the avatar placement means may place the avatar of the out-of-home user corresponding to the user information acquired by the user acquisition means at the virtual position of the virtual home.

[0009] In addition, the virtual home sharing system may be provided with a notification means for notifying the in-home user of the access when the access detection means detects access to the virtual space from the terminal by the out-of-home user.

[0010] In addition, in a virtual home sharing system, the notification means may notify the in-home user corresponding to the avatar, on the condition that the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the location of the avatar of the in-home user are in the same section of the floor plan.

[0011] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the image output means may output an image of the virtual home from a viewpoint of the remote user's virtual position to the remote user's terminal.

[0012] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the virtual home generation means generates the virtual home of a home with a layout desired by the multiple users, different from the first home, the user acquisition means further acquires user information including a location within the home of an away-home user living in another home different from the first home, and the avatar placement means may further place an avatar of the away-home user at a location in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means corresponding to the location included in the user information related to the away-home user acquired by the user acquisition means.

[0013] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the image output means may output an image of the virtual home from a viewpoint at the position of the avatar to the terminal of the user corresponding to the avatar.

[0014] In addition, the virtual home sharing system may be provided with a notification means for notifying the in-home user and the out-of-home user when the virtual location of the out-of-home user in the virtual home and the virtual location of the in-home user in the virtual home are in the same section of the floor plan.

[0015] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the user acquisition means may acquire the user information using a wearable device worn by the user.

[0016] In addition, in the virtual home sharing system, the user acquisition means may acquire the user information including the status of the user, and the avatar placement means may place the avatar reflecting the status of the user.

[0017] The present invention also relates to a virtual home sharing device comprising: a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including the location within the home of a home user living in one of the home users, which is a group of multiple users; a virtual home generation means for generating a virtual home in a virtual space where the home users communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the home user at a location in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means corresponding to the location of the user information related to the home user acquired by the user acquisition means; an access detection means for detecting access to the virtual space from a terminal by the home user; and an image output means for outputting an image of the virtual home including the avatar placed by the avatar placement means to the terminal, on the condition that the access detection means detects access from the terminal.

[0018] The present invention also relates to a program for causing a computer to function as a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including the location within a home of a home of a home user among multiple users within a group; a virtual home generation means for generating a virtual home in a virtual space where the users within the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the user within the home at a location in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means corresponding to the location of the user information related to the user within the home acquired by the user acquisition means; an access detection means for detecting access to the virtual space from a terminal by the user within the group; and an image output means for outputting an image of the virtual home including the avatar placed by the avatar placement means to the terminal, on the condition that the access detection means detects access from the terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a virtual home sharing system, a virtual home sharing device, and a program that allow people who live far away to experience living together in a virtual space. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a virtual house sharing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a virtual house shared server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group storage unit of the virtual house shared server according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the wearable device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing an image generation process of the virtual house shared server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual house generated according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 5 is a flowchart showing user information processing of the virtual house shared server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual house in which an avatar is placed according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 5 is a flowchart showing a house sharing process of the virtual house sharing server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] This is a continuation of Figure 10. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a display example on a terminal corresponding to the state of a parent's home according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example on a terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is an overall schematic diagram of a virtual house sharing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a virtual house shared server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of association by a virtual house shared server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing a house sharing process of a virtual house sharing server according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, this is merely an example, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this example. (First embodiment) [Overall configuration of the virtual home sharing system 100] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a virtual house sharing system 100 according to the first embodiment. The virtual home sharing system 100 shown in Figure 1 is a system that allows a person living in a residence D away from the family home H to check what family members are doing at the family home H. The virtual home sharing system 100 is also a system that allows the family members at the family home H and the person living in the residence D to communicate as if they were at the family home H. Here, the members of a family are also referred to as in-group users, and among them, those who live in the family home H are also referred to as in-home users, and those who live in the residence D are also referred to as out-of-home users.

[0022] The virtual home sharing system 100 includes a virtual home sharing server 1 (virtual home sharing device), a terminal 3, and a wearable device 4. Data communication is possible between the virtual home sharing server 1, the terminal 3, and the wearable device 4 via a data communication network N. The terminal 3 and the wearable device 4 are connected to the data communication network N via a repeater 9 such as a router, for example. Note that Figure 1 shows an example of one family. The family shown in Figure 1 has in-home users (user PA to user PC) living in the family home H, and a remote user (user PD) living in a different residence D. In this example, user PA is the father, user PB is the mother, and user PC is the younger sister (eldest daughter). User PD is the older brother (eldest son). The older brother, user PD, is a university student and lives in the area where his school is located. In the virtual home sharing system 100, multiple terminals 3 and wearable devices 4 owned by multiple families are actually connected to a data communication network N via repeaters 9, etc., and are connected to the virtual home sharing server 1 in a manner that allows communication therebetween.

[0023] [Virtual Home Shared Server 1] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the virtual house shared server 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the group storage unit 22 of the virtual house shared server 1 according to the first embodiment. The virtual home sharing server 1 is owned by a company that provides a service related to the sharing of a virtual home between family members (hereinafter referred to as a "virtual home sharing service"), which is realized by the virtual home sharing system 100. Companies that provide the virtual home sharing service include, for example, home builders that actually provide homes, and companies that provide a platform for the service.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, the virtual house shared server 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, and a data communication IF (interface) 29. The control unit 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls the entire virtual house shared server 1. The control unit 10 appropriately reads and executes the OS (Operating System) and application programs stored in the storage unit 20, thereby cooperating with the above-mentioned hardware and executing various functions. Before describing the control unit 10, the storage unit 20 will be described.

[0025] The storage unit 20 is a storage area such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, etc. required for the control unit 10 to execute various processes. The storage unit 20 stores a program storage unit 21, a group storage unit 22, a virtual house storage unit 23, and an avatar storage unit 24. The program storage unit 21 is a storage area that stores application programs for executing various functions performed by the control unit 10, which will be described later.

[0026] The group storage unit 22 is a storage area for storing information about a group, with members who communicate with each other being treated as one group. 3 shows an example of the group storage unit 22. The group storage unit 22 stores information related to users in a group, for example, with a family as one group, using a group ID (IDentification) as a key. The group ID is identification information for identifying a group. The control unit 10 may assign unique identification information to the group ID when registering a family member who will use the service. The user ID is identification information that identifies a user within a group. An example of an attribute is family relationship. The location indicates whether the person lives in the parent's home H (inside the home) or in a place other than the parent's home H (outside the home). The group storage unit 22 may also store an avatar ID for identifying an avatar, a user name, and the like. The example of the group ID "G01" in the group storage unit 22 shown in FIG. 3 relates to the family shown in FIG.

[0027] The virtual home storage unit 23 is a storage area for storing data relating to the virtual home. The virtual home storage unit 23 stores image data of the virtual home, for example, using a group ID as a key. The avatar storage unit 24 is a storage area for storing various avatars. The avatar storage unit 24 stores image data of the avatars, for example, using an avatar ID that identifies the avatar as a key. Note that the data stored in the storage unit 20 is not limited to the above. The items in the group storage unit 22 shown in Fig. 3 are merely examples, and for example, other items or items that replace the items may be present.

[0028] Next, the control unit 10 will be described. The control unit 10 includes a virtual house generation unit 11 (virtual house generation means), a position association unit 12, a user information acquisition unit 13 (user acquisition means), an avatar placement unit 14 (avatar placement means), an access detection unit 15 (access detection means), an image output unit 16 (image output means), and a notification unit 17 (notification means).

[0029] The virtual home generation unit 11 generates a virtual home in a virtual space as a place for family members to communicate. The virtual home generation unit 11 generates a virtual home with the same floor plan as the parent's home H (first home) where the in-home user lives, for example. The position associating unit 12 associates the position of the parent's house H where the in-home user lives with the position of the virtual home. Here, the position associating unit 12 may associate the position of the parent's house H with the position of the virtual home at an approximate position. For example, the position of one section of the parent's house H may be associated with the position of one section of the virtual home. Here, a section refers to, for example, a living room, dining room, bathroom, master bedroom, children's room, etc.

[0030] The user information acquisition unit 13 acquires user information of the home user received from the wearable device 4 worn by the home user. Here, the user information of the home user includes information about the home user's location in the parent's home H. The user information of the home user also includes information about the home user's state in the parent's home H. The home user's state may be, for example, sleeping, eating, relaxing, etc. The user information acquisition unit 13 also acquires user information including a virtual position in the virtual home of the away-home user input from the terminal 3. The away-home user can, for example, move their own avatar using the terminal 3, thereby changing their own location in the virtual home. The user information acquisition unit 13 then receives and acquires the user information including information related to the avatar's position from the terminal 3.

[0031] The avatar placement unit 14 places an image of an avatar corresponding to the in-home user at a position in the virtual house corresponding to the position of the in-home user acquired by the user information acquisition unit 13. The avatar placement unit 14 also places an avatar of the out-of-home user corresponding to the user information of the out-of-home user acquired by the user information acquisition unit 13 at a virtual position in the virtual house. The access detection unit 15 detects access to the virtual space from the terminal 3 by a user in the group.

[0032] On the condition that the access detection unit 15 detects access from the terminal 3, the image output unit 16 outputs an image of the virtual home including an image of the avatar placed by the avatar placement unit 14 to the terminal 3. Here, when the access detection unit 15 detects access from the terminal 3 by a user away from home, the image output unit 16 may output an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the virtual position of the away user to the terminal 3 of the away user. Also, when the access detection unit 15 detects access from the terminal 3 by a user at home, the image output unit 16 may output, for example, an image of the virtual home from a position from which the virtual home can be viewed overhead to the terminal 3 of the user at home. Alternatively, the image output unit 16 may output, for example, an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the position of the avatar corresponding to the user at home to the terminal 3 of the user at home.

[0033] The notification unit 17 notifies the in-home user of the access on the condition that the access detection unit 15 has detected access to the virtual space from the out-of-home user's terminal 3. The notification unit 17 also notifies the in-home user corresponding to the avatar on the condition that the virtual position of the out-of-home user and the position of the in-home user's avatar are in the same section.

[0034] The data communication IF 29 is an interface with the data communication network N. It should be noted that a computer refers to an information processing device equipped with a control unit, a storage device, etc., and the virtual house shared server 1 is an information processing device equipped with a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, etc., and is included in the concept of a computer. Furthermore, the virtual house shared server 1 may be realized by a combination of multiple server devices, rather than by a single server device, or may be a cloud server.

[0035] [Terminal 3] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the terminal 3 according to the first embodiment. 1, the terminal 3 is a terminal used by both a user away from home and a user at home, and is used to display a virtual house and move the user's own avatar. In FIG. 1, the terminal 3 is described as a tablet, but it may also be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, or a notebook personal computer (PC), for example.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal 3 includes a control unit 30, a storage unit 35, a touch panel 38, and a data communication IF 39. The control unit 30 is a CPU that controls the entire terminal 3. The control unit 30 appropriately reads and executes the OS and application programs stored in the storage unit 35, thereby cooperating with the above-mentioned hardware and executing various functions. The control unit 30 includes an operation reception processing unit 31 and an image reception processing unit 32 . The operation reception processing unit 31 receives user operations via the touch panel 38 and transmits data corresponding to the operations to the virtual home shared server 1. More specifically, the operation reception processing unit 31 receives an operation to move the user's own avatar and transmits data related to the movement of the avatar to the virtual home shared server 1. The image reception processing unit 32 receives an image of the virtual house from the virtual house shared server 1 and outputs it to the touch panel 38.

[0037] The storage unit 35 is a storage area such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, etc. required for the control unit 30 to execute various processes. The storage unit 35 stores a program storage unit 36. The program storage unit 36 ​​is a storage area that stores various programs, including a program for executing the functions of the control unit 30 described above. The touch panel 38 functions as an input unit that accepts touch operations by the user, and also functions as a display unit that is configured with a liquid crystal panel or the like. The data communication IF 39 is an interface with the data communication network N.

[0038] [Wearable Device 4] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the wearable device 4 according to the first embodiment. The wearable device 4 is a device that is worn on the arm by the user at home H. 1, the wearable device 4 is illustrated as being a wristwatch type, but is not limited to this. The wearable device 4 may be, for example, a wristband type, a pair of glasses type, a ring type, a clip type, or the like. As shown in FIG. 5, the wearable device 4 includes a control unit 40, a storage unit 45, a sensor 47, a notification unit 48, and a data communication IF 49.

[0039] The control unit 40 is a CPU that controls the entire wearable device 4. The control unit 40 works in cooperation with the above-mentioned hardware to execute various functions by appropriately reading and executing the OS and application programs stored in the storage unit 45. The control unit 40 includes a detection data acquisition processing unit 41 and a signal reception processing unit 42 . The detection data acquisition processing unit 41 acquires detection data from the sensor 47 and transmits user information based on the detection data to the virtual house shared server 1. The signal reception processing unit 42 receives a signal from the virtual house shared server 1 and performs processing to cause the notification unit 48 to make a notification.

[0040] The storage unit 45 is a storage area such as a semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, etc. required for the control unit 40 to execute various processes. The storage unit 45 stores a program storage unit 46. The program storage unit 46 is a storage area that stores various programs, including a program for executing the functions of the control unit 40 described above. The sensor 47 is a device that detects the position and state of the user wearing the sensor 47. The sensor 47 may include, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) for detecting position information. The sensor 47 may also include a device that detects, for example, heart rate, body temperature, posture, etc. The sensor 47 may include multiple devices depending on the object to be detected.

[0041] The notification unit 48 is a device for notifying the user. The notification unit 48 may be, for example, a device that outputs light, or an audio output device such as a speaker that outputs sound. The notification unit 48 may also be a device that generates vibrations or the like, or a display device such as a display. Furthermore, the notification unit 48 may have devices corresponding to multiple means including the examples described above, and may notify by multiple means. The data communication IF 49 is an interface with the data communication network N.

[0042] [Processing Description] Next, the processing in the virtual house sharing system 100 will be described. First, the image generation process performed in advance will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the image generation process of the virtual house shared server 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual house 50 generated according to the first embodiment.

[0043] In step S (hereinafter, "step S" will be simply referred to as "S") 11 in FIG. 6, the control unit 10 (virtual house generation unit 11) of the virtual house shared server 1 generates a virtual house in the virtual space. A family member who wishes to use the virtual home sharing service can, for example, use terminal 3 to send a floor plan of their parents' home H to the virtual home sharing server 1, and the control unit 10 can generate a virtual home using the received floor plan. If the parent's home H is built by a home builder that provides a virtual home sharing service, the home builder may have information about the floor plan and interior. In such a case, the control unit 10 may generate the virtual home using the floor plan and information about the interior stored by the home builder. In this case, a virtual home with the same interior as the parent's home H can be generated. Then, the control unit 10 registers the generated virtual house in the virtual house storage unit 23.

[0044] FIG. 7 is an example of a generated virtual house 50. The virtual house 50 is, for example, image data of the family home H where the family actually lives, created using 3DCG (three-dimensional computer graphics). The virtual house 50 shown in FIG. 7 is an example of an image of the first floor of the family home H. If the virtual house 50 is a multi-story building, the control unit 10 may display an image of each of the multiple floors. The virtual house 50 may also have furniture and the like laid out in the same way as the family home H. The user P can arrange the furniture and the like by editing the generated virtual house 50 using tools or the like. In this way, the virtual house 50 can become similar to the family home H.

[0045] 6, the control unit 10 (position association unit 12) associates the position of the generated virtual house with the position of the parent's house H. For example, when a family member at the parent's house H moves using the wearable device 4 and specifies the position of the virtual house relative to the position of the wearable device 4 using the terminal 3, the control unit 10 can associate the position of the generated virtual house with the position of the parent's house H.

[0046] In S13, the control unit 10 generates avatars for the family members. For example, the family members at the parent's home H may use the terminal 3 to send photos of the family members to the virtual home sharing server 1, and the control unit 10 may generate avatars corresponding to each user from the received photos. Alternatively, the virtual home sharing server 1 may prepare avatars according to the attributes of the family members in advance and store them in the storage unit 20, and, for example, one of the family members at the parent's home H may use the terminal 3 to associate the user with the avatar. The control unit 10 registers the avatars of the family members in the avatar storage unit 24. In S14, the control unit 10 associates the wearable device 4 with the avatar. For example, a family member at the parent's house H may use the terminal 3 to associate an identification code for identifying the wearable device 4 with the avatar. The association is stored in the storage unit 20. Thereafter, the control unit 10 ends this process.

[0047] Next, processing using a virtual house will be described. First, the process of reflecting user information in the virtual house will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing user information processing by the virtual house shared server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual house 50 in which an avatar 51 according to the first embodiment is placed.

[0048] In S21 of FIG. 8, the control unit 10 (user information acquisition unit 13) of the virtual home shared server 1 determines whether or not user information has been acquired. For example, in the wearable device 4 worn by the user in the home, the control unit 40 (detection data acquisition processing unit 41) acquires detection data by the sensor 47 and transmits user information based on the acquired detection data to the virtual home shared server 1 as needed. In this way, the control unit 10 acquires user information. If user information has been acquired (S21: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S22. On the other hand, if user information has not been acquired (S21: NO), the control unit 10 remains in this process until user information is acquired.

[0049] In S22, the control unit 10 (avatar placement unit 14) places an avatar based on the acquired user information at the position of the generated virtual house, and then the control unit 10 shifts the process to S21. FIG. 9 shows an example of a virtual house 50 in which an avatar 51 is placed. The avatar 51-A corresponds to the user PA (see FIG. 1), the avatar 51-B corresponds to the user PB, and the avatar 51-C corresponds to the user PC.

[0050] As a result of this processing, when the home user is wearing the wearable device 4 and is at the parent's home H, the avatar corresponding to the home user is placed in the same section of the virtual home as the section of the parent's home H. Furthermore, when the home user moves around the house, the avatar corresponding to the home user moves around the virtual home in the same way. Furthermore, the state of the home user is reflected in the avatar. For example, if the home user is sleeping, the avatar is displayed as sleeping. Therefore, the displayed virtual home can reflect the home user's lifestyle.

[0051] Next, a process for communication between family members using a virtual house will be described. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the house sharing process of the virtual house sharing server 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a display example on the terminal 3 corresponding to the state of the parent's house H according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example on the terminal 3 according to the first embodiment.

[0052] In S31 of FIG. 10, the control unit 10 (access detection unit 15) of the virtual house shared server 1 detects access from the terminal 3. In S32, the control unit 10 (access detection unit 15) determines whether the access is from a home user's terminal 3. For example, when a home user logs in to the virtual home shared server 1, the control unit 10 can detect access to the virtual space from the home user's terminal 3. If the access is from the home user's terminal 3 (S32: YES), the control unit 10 transfers the process to S33. On the other hand, if the access is not from the home user's terminal 3 (S32: NO), the control unit 10 transfers the process to S35.

[0053] In S33, the control unit 10 (image output unit 16) outputs an image of the virtual home to the in-home user's terminal 3. The image of the virtual home output here is an image of an avatar arranged by the processing of FIG. 8. The control unit 10 may output the image of the virtual home to the terminal 3 as, for example, either an image from a position where the virtual home can be overlooked, or an image from the viewpoint of the position of the avatar corresponding to the in-home user. Furthermore, the control unit 10 (image output unit 16) may switch between the images and output them in response to a switching instruction from the terminal 3. In this way, the control unit 30 (image reception processing unit 32) of the terminal 3 displays the received image on the touch panel 38.

[0054] In S34, the control unit 10 determines whether or not access from the terminal 3 is being detected. If access is being detected (S34: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S33. On the other hand, if access from the terminal 3 is no longer detected (S34: NO), for example, because the in-home user has logged out of the virtual home shared server 1, the control unit 10 ends this process.

[0055] On the other hand, in S35, the control unit 10 (notification unit 17) notifies the in-home user of the access. Here, the processing of S35 is performed when the detected access is from the terminal 3 of the out-of-home user. Therefore, more specifically, the control unit 10 transmits a signal for notification to the wearable device 4 of the in-home user. As a result, in the wearable device 4 of the home user, the control unit 40 (signal reception processing unit 42) receives the signal and performs processing to cause the notification unit 48 to issue a notification. Therefore, the home user can be notified by the notification unit 48 that the away-from-home user has entered the virtual space. This notification gives the home user the feeling that the away-from-home user has returned to the parent's house H. As an example of the notification, for example, a voice saying "I'm home" may be output. If the voice of the user away from home is registered in advance, the notification can be made with more realism.

[0056] In S36, the control unit 10 (image output unit 16) outputs an image of the virtual home to the terminal 3. The image of the virtual home output here has an image of an avatar arranged therein. The control unit 10 outputs an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the virtual position of the user outside the home as the image of the virtual home to be output to the terminal 3. Thereafter, the control unit 10 proceeds to S41 in FIG. 11.

[0057] FIG. 12(A) shows the state of user PB, the mother, who is actually in the kitchen of her parents' home H. FIG. 12(B) shows an image 60 of the kitchen position of the virtual house 50 as seen from the virtual position of the user outside the home. In the image 60 of FIG. 12(B), the avatar 51-B is placed in the kitchen. In this way, the user away from home can view image 60 of virtual house 50 from the viewpoint of the user away from home's virtual position. Therefore, from image 60 of avatar 51-B in virtual house 50, the user away from home can see the state of parent's house H, with his mother in the kitchen.

[0058] 11, the control unit 10 determines whether data relating to an avatar movement operation corresponding to the remote user has been received. The remote user can move their own avatar in the virtual home displayed on the touch panel 38 by operating the touch panel 38. In doing so, the control unit 30 (operation reception processing unit 31) of the terminal 3 receives the operation and transmits data corresponding to the operation to the virtual home shared server 1. If data related to a movement operation has been received (S41: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S42. On the other hand, if data related to a movement operation has not been received (S41: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S46. In S42, the control unit 10 performs a process of moving the avatar in accordance with the received data.

[0059] In S43, the control unit 10 determines whether the virtual location of the out-of-home user is in the same zone as the in-home user as a result of the movement. If they are in the same zone (S43: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S44. On the other hand, if they are not in the same zone (S43: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S46. In S44, the control unit 10 determines whether or not notification has been made. This process is performed so that if notification that the user is in the same section has been made once, the control unit 10 will not make another notification while the user is in the same section. If notification has been made (S44: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S46. On the other hand, if notification has not been made (S44: NO), the control unit 10 proceeds to S45.

[0060] In S45, the control unit 10 (notification unit 17) notifies the in-home user who is in the same section as the virtual position of the out-of-home user. More specifically, the control unit 10 transmits a signal for notification to the wearable device 4 of the in-home user. As a result, in the wearable device 4 of the in-home user, the control unit 40 (signal reception processing unit 42) receives the signal and performs processing to cause the notification unit 48 to issue a notification. This allows the in-home user to be notified that a remote user is in the same section. Note that the notification when the remote user is in the same section may be different from the notification when the remote user enters the virtual home (S35 in FIG. 10). Here, the terminal 3 of the away-home user and the wearable device 4 of the home user who received the notification may be used to start a conversation between the two devices, for example, by activating a function such as voice conversation or chat that each device has. In this way, the away-home user and the home user can communicate as if they were actually in the same area.

[0061] In S46, the control unit 10 determines whether or not access from the terminal 3 is being detected. If access is being detected (S46: YES), the control unit 10 proceeds to S36 in Fig. 10. On the other hand, if access from the terminal 3 is no longer detected (S46: NO), for example, because the remote user has logged out of the virtual home shared server 1, the control unit 10 proceeds to S47.

[0062] In S47, the control unit 10 (notification unit 17) notifies the in-home user. More specifically, the control unit 10 transmits a signal for notification to the in-home user's wearable device 4. After that, the control unit 10 ends this process. As a result, in the wearable device 4 of the home user, the control unit 40 (signal reception processing unit 42) receives the signal and performs processing to cause the notification unit 48 to notify the home user that the out-of-home user has left the virtual space.

[0063] Next, other display examples of the terminal 3 will be described. FIG. 13 shows an image 61 of a user away from home, avatar 51-D, in virtual house 50. In FIG. The image 61 can be displayed, for example, on the in-home user's terminal 3. When the in-home user operates the image of the virtual house 50 output to the terminal 3, the control unit 10 transmits, to the terminal 3, the image 61 of the virtual house 50 including, for example, the position of the out-of-home user's avatar 51-D. By performing such processing, the in-home user can have the feeling that the out-of-home user is at his / her parent's house H.

[0064] As described above, the virtual house sharing system 100 of the first embodiment has the following advantages. (1) The virtual home sharing server 1 acquires user information including the location within the home of the in-home user who lives in the parent's home H among the users within the group, generates a virtual home in the virtual space where the users within the group can communicate, places an avatar of the in-home user at a position in the generated virtual home corresponding to the location of the acquired user information relating to the in-home user, and outputs an image of the virtual home including the placed avatar to the terminal 3 on the condition that access to the virtual space by the user within the group from the terminal 3 is detected. Furthermore, the virtual house sharing server 1 generates a virtual house with the same floor plan as the parent's house H. Therefore, an image of the virtual house 50 in which the avatar of the in-home user at the parent's home H is placed can be output to the terminal 3. Then, the lifestyle at the parent's home H can be reflected in the virtual space as the virtual house 50.

[0065] (2) The virtual home sharing server 1 further acquires user information including the virtual location of the out-of-home user in the virtual home, which is input from the terminal 3 by the out-of-home user among the users in the group, and places the avatar of the out-of-home user corresponding to the acquired user information at the virtual location of the virtual home. Therefore, for example, an in-home user can refer to the terminal 3 and see how a remote user is in a virtual home.

[0066] (3) When the virtual home shared server 1 detects an access to the virtual space from the terminal 3 by a user outside the home, it notifies the user inside the home of the access. Therefore, the in-home user who receives the notification can feel as if the out-of-home user is present.

[0067] (4) The virtual home sharing server 1 notifies the in-home user corresponding to the avatar, provided that the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the location of the in-home user's avatar are in the same section of the floor plan. This can provide an opportunity for a user at home to talk to a user away from home.

[0068] (5) The virtual home shared server 1 outputs an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the virtual position of the remote user to the terminal 3 of the remote user. Therefore, the user away from home can view an image of the virtual house as if they were at their parents' home H.

[0069] (6) The virtual home sharing server 1 acquires user information using the wearable device 4 worn by the user. Therefore, the user can simply wear the wearable device 4 and be in the parent's home H, and the user's avatar can be reflected in the virtual house.

[0070] (7) The virtual home shared server 1 acquires user information including the user's status, and places an avatar that reflects the user's status. Thus, the user's avatar can also indicate the user's status.

[0071] (Second embodiment) In the second embodiment, a virtual home can be used to experience living together with people who are not family, such as lovers or friends. In the following description, parts that perform the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals or have the same reference numerals at the end, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

[0072] [Overall configuration of the virtual home sharing system 200] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a virtual house sharing system 200 according to the second embodiment. The virtual house sharing system 200 shown in FIG. 14 is a system that allows couples, friends, or other people who are not family members to have a simulated experience of living together. Here, among those who wish to live together (users within a group) and have a simulated experience of communal living, those who live in house X (one house) are also called users PX (in-home users), and those who live in house Y (another house) different from house X are also called users PY (out-of-home users). The virtual house sharing system 200 includes a virtual house sharing server 201 (virtual house sharing apparatus), a terminal 3, and a wearable device 4. The terminal 3 and the wearable device 4 are connected to a data communication network N via a repeater 9 such as a router.

[0073] [Virtual Home Shared Server 1] FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram of a virtual house shared server 201 according to the second embodiment. The virtual house shared server 201 includes a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a data communication IF 29. The control unit 210 includes a virtual house generation unit 211 , a position association unit 212 , a user information acquisition unit 213 , an avatar placement unit 214 , an access detection unit 215 , an image output unit 216 , and a notification unit 217 .

[0074] The virtual home generation unit 211 generates a virtual home in a virtual space for the applicant to have a simulated experience. The virtual home generation unit 211 generates a virtual home with a layout desired by the applicant, for example. The position associating unit 212 associates the position of house X where user PX lives with the position of the virtual house. The position associating unit 212 also associates the position of house Y where user PY lives with the position of the virtual house. Here, the position associating unit 212 may associate the positions of house X and house Y with the position of the virtual house in approximate positions.

[0075] The user information acquisition unit 213 acquires the user information of the user PX and the user PY received from the wearable devices 4 worn by the user PX and the user PY. The avatar placement unit 214 places the images of the avatars corresponding to the users PX and PY at positions in the virtual house corresponding to the positions of the users PX and PY acquired by the user information acquisition unit 213, respectively.

[0076] The image output unit 216 outputs an image of the virtual house including an image of the avatar placed by the avatar placement unit 214 to the terminal 3, on the condition that the access detection unit 15 detects access from the terminal 3. Here, the image output unit 216 may output an image of the virtual house from the viewpoint of the virtual position of each user (user PX or user PY) to the terminal 3 of each user. The notification unit 217 notifies the user PX and the user PY when the virtual position of the user PX and the virtual position of the user PY are in the same section.

[0077] The storage unit 220 stores a program storage unit 221, a group storage unit 222, a virtual house storage unit 23, and an avatar storage unit 24. The program storage unit 221 is a storage area that stores application programs for executing the various functions performed by the control unit 210 described above. The group storage unit 222 stores, for example, users who wish to live together in one virtual house as one group, and stores user IDs and the like as information related to users in the group using the group ID as a key.

[0078] [Processing Description] Next, the processing in the virtual house sharing system 200 will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of association by the virtual house shared server 201 according to the second embodiment. The image generation process performed in advance is the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 6). As a process corresponding to S11 in Figure 6, a couple who wants to use the virtual home sharing service, for example, uses terminal 3 to send a floor plan of the desired home to virtual home sharing server 201, and the control unit 210 (virtual home generation unit 211) of virtual home sharing server 201 generates a virtual home using the received floor plan.

[0079] 6, the control unit 210 (position associating unit 212) of the virtual home shared server 201 associates the position of the generated virtual home with the position of home X. In addition, the control unit 210 (position associating unit 212) of the virtual home shared server 201 associates the position of the generated virtual home with the position of home Y. As a process corresponding to S13 in FIG. 6, the control unit 210 of the virtual house shared server 201 generates avatars for the user PX and the user PY. In S14 of FIG. 6, the control unit 210 of the virtual house shared server 201 associates the wearable device 4 with the avatar.

[0080] FIG. 16 shows an example of the association. FIG. 16 shows a floor plan 271 of a house X where a user PX lives, and a floor plan 272 of a house Y where a user PY lives. 16 also shows floor plan 275 of the house desired by user PX and user PY. Once the association is established, floor plan 275 shows avatar 251-X corresponding to user PX and avatar 251-Y corresponding to user PY in the same section. Note that floor plan 275 has more rooms than floor plan 271 of house X and floor plan 272 of house Y. In such a case, when associating the positions of the virtual house with the real house, the real house may be divided into areas, and each area may be associated with a room in the virtual house.

[0081] Next, processing using a virtual house will be described. The user information processing for reflecting the user information in the virtual house is the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 8). This section explains communication between people who wish to live together using a virtual house. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the house sharing process of the virtual house sharing server 201 according to the second embodiment. 17, the control unit 210 (access detection unit 15) of the virtual house shared server 201 determines whether or not access from the terminal 3 has been detected. If access from the terminal 3 has been detected (S231: YES), the control unit 210 proceeds to S232. On the other hand, if access from the terminal 3 has not been detected (S231: NO), the control unit 210 proceeds to S233.

[0082] In S232, the control unit 210 (image output unit 216) outputs an image of the virtual house to the terminal 3. The control unit 210 outputs an image of the virtual house from the viewpoint of the virtual position of the user of the terminal 3 as the image of the virtual house to be output to the terminal 3. In S233, the control unit 210 determines whether the virtual positions of the users are in the same section. If they are in the same section (S233: YES), the control unit 210 proceeds to S234. On the other hand, if they are not in the same section (S233: NO), the control unit 210 proceeds to S236. In S234, the control unit 210 determines whether or not the notification has been made. If the notification has been made (S234: YES), the control unit 210 proceeds to S236. On the other hand, if the notification has not been made (S234: NO), the control unit 210 proceeds to S235.

[0083] In S235, the control unit 210 (notification unit 217) notifies each user whose avatar is in the same section. More specifically, the control unit 210 transmits a notification signal to the wearable device 4 of each user. As a result, in each user's wearable device 4, the control unit 40 (signal reception processing unit 42) receives the signal and performs processing to cause the notification unit 48 to notify the user. This allows each user to be notified that the other user is in the same section, facilitating smooth communication thereafter. In S236, the control unit 210 determines whether or not access from the terminal 3 is being detected. If access is being detected (S236: YES), the control unit 210 shifts the process to S232. On the other hand, if access from the terminal 3 is no longer being detected (S236: NO), the control unit 210 shifts the process to S233.

[0084] As described above, the virtual house sharing system 200 of the second embodiment has the following advantages. (1) The virtual home sharing server 201 generates virtual homes that are different from a single home and have floor plans desired by multiple users, and further acquires user information including the locations within the homes of out-of-home users who live in the other homes that are different from the single home.The server 201 further places avatars of the out-of-home users at locations in the generated virtual home that correspond to the locations included in the acquired user information relating to the out-of-home users. Therefore, the avatars of user PX who lives in house X and user PY who lives in house Y can be placed in the virtual houses of their choice. Therefore, the virtual home allows prospective residents to experience living in the home of their choice.

[0085] (2) The virtual home shared server 201 outputs an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the avatar's position to the terminal 3 of the user corresponding to the avatar. This allows the user to feel as if they are living in a virtual home.

[0086] (3) The virtual home shared server 201 notifies the in-home user and the out-of-home user when the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the virtual location of the in-home user are in the same section of the floor plan. Therefore, when people are in the same area, they can feel that each other is nearby.

[0087] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the effects described in the embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments. Note that the above-described embodiments and the modified embodiments described below can be used in appropriate combinations, but detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0088] (Variations) (1) In each embodiment, an example has been described in which a wearable device 4 is used to acquire user information, but this is not limiting. For example, a sensor may be attached to each room, and the location of family members may be acquired using the sensor. In this case, it is not possible to know who is there, but it is possible to know where someone is. Alternatively, for example, a camera may be used. Camera images can provide more detailed information about the user, but may raise privacy concerns.

[0089] (2) In the first embodiment, an example of the parent's home H and the other residence D is described in which a university student lives away from the parent's home H, but this is not limiting. For example, the case may be one in which the father is working away from home. Also, the case may be one in which a foreign worker has come to Japan to work.

[0090] (3) In the first embodiment, for user PD in a residence D different from the parental home H, the family of the parental home H views an avatar operated by user PD placed in a virtual residence with the same floor plan as the parental home H. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a virtual residence with the same floor plan as the residence D in which user PD lives may be generated, user information of user PD may be acquired, and an avatar may be reflected in the virtual residence with the same floor plan as residence D, so that the PC can be viewed from user PA in the parental home H. Furthermore, both the avatar operated by user PD placed in the virtual residence with the same floor plan as the parental home H and the avatar placed in the virtual residence with the same floor plan as residence D may be viewed.

[0091] (4) In the second embodiment, the example of people wishing to live together is described as a man and a woman, but this is not limiting. For example, people of the same sex may also be present. In the second embodiment, the service provider of the virtual home sharing service may periodically change the home where the avatar is to be placed, which can be used as a reference when choosing a home to buy or rent when actually living together.

[0092] (5) The systems described in the embodiments may be, for example, systems that are implemented by launching an application, or may be web-based systems. (6) In each embodiment, various types of information are stored in the storage unit, but this is not limiting. Various types of information may be stored in an external device connected to the virtual home shared server. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1,201 Virtual Home Shared Server (Virtual Home Shared Device) 3. Terminal 4. Wearable devices 10, 30, 40, 210 Control unit 11,211 Virtual House Generation Unit 12,212 Location association section 13,213 User Information Acquisition Department 14,214 Avatar placement section 15 Access detection unit 16,216 Image output unit 17,217 Notification Department 20,35,45,220 Storage section 21, 36, 46, 221 Program memory section 22,222 Group Memory 23 Virtual House Memory Department 24 Avatar Memory Unit 38 Touch Panel 47 Sensors 48 Information Department 50 Virtual House 51-A, 51-B, 51-C, 51-D, 251-X, 251-Y Avatar 60,61 images 100,200 Virtual Home Sharing System 271, 272, 275 Floor plan D,X,Y Housing H's parents' home N Data communication network PA, PB, PC, PD, PX, PY users

Claims

1. a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including a location within a home of a home user who resides in one of the home users, the home user being a plurality of users within the group; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the in-home user at a position in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that corresponds to the position of the user information related to the in-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; Equipped with the user acquisition means further acquires the user information input from a terminal by an out-of-home user among the users in the group, excluding the in-home user, including a virtual position of the out-of-home user in the virtual home; A virtual home sharing system further comprising a notification means for notifying the in-home user corresponding to the avatar, on the condition that the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the location of the avatar of the in-home user are in the same section of the specified floor plan.

2. In the virtual home sharing system described in claim 1, The avatar placement means further places an avatar of the remote user corresponding to the user information acquired by the user acquisition means at a virtual location in the virtual home.

3. 2. The virtual home sharing system of claim 1, the virtual house generation means generates, as the virtual house with the predetermined floor plan, the virtual house having the same floor plan as the one house; access detection means for detecting access to the virtual space from a terminal by the user in the group; an image output means for outputting to the terminal an image of the virtual house including the avatar placed by the avatar placement means, on condition that the access detection means detects access from the terminal; A virtual home sharing system comprising:

4. 4. The virtual home sharing system according to claim 3, The notification means notifies the in-home user of the access when the access detection means detects access to the virtual space from the terminal by the out-of-home user.

5. 4. The virtual home sharing system according to claim 3, The image output means outputs an image of the virtual home from the viewpoint of the remote user's virtual position to the remote user's terminal.

6. A user acquisition means for acquiring user information including the location within a home of an in-home user residing in one of the plurality of in-group users, and user information including the location within a home of an out-of-home user residing in another home different from the one home; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing avatars of the in-home user and the out-of-home user at positions in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that correspond to the positions in the user information of the in-home user and the out-of-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; a notification means for notifying the in-home user and the out-of-home user when the virtual location of the out-of-home user in the virtual home and the virtual location of the in-home user in the virtual home are in the same section of the predetermined floor plan; A virtual home sharing system comprising:

7. In the virtual home sharing system according to claim 6, the virtual home generation means generates, as the virtual home with the predetermined floor plan, virtual homes with floor plans desired by the plurality of users, different from the one home; access detection means for detecting access to the virtual space from a terminal by the user in the group; an image output means for outputting to the terminal an image of the virtual house including the avatar placed by the avatar placement means, on condition that the access detection means detects access from the terminal; A virtual home sharing system comprising:

8. 8. The virtual home sharing system according to claim 7, The image output means outputs an image of the virtual home from a viewpoint at the position of the avatar to the terminal of the user corresponding to the avatar.

9. 9. A virtual house sharing system according to claim 1, A virtual home sharing system, wherein the user acquisition means acquires the user information using a wearable device worn by the user.

10. In the virtual home sharing system according to claim 9, the user information acquisition means acquires the user information including the status of the user; The avatar placement means places the avatar that reflects the user's status.

11. a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including a location within a home of a home user who resides in one of the home users, the home user being a plurality of users within the group; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the in-home user at a position in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that corresponds to the position of the user information related to the in-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; Equipped with the user acquisition means further acquires the user information input from a terminal by an out-of-home user among the users in the group, excluding the in-home user, including a virtual position of the out-of-home user in the virtual home; A virtual home sharing device further comprising a notification means for notifying the in-home user corresponding to the avatar, on the condition that the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the location of the avatar of the in-home user are in the same section of the specified floor plan.

12. A user acquisition means for acquiring user information including the location within a home of an in-home user residing in one of the group users, which is a plurality of users within a group, and user information including the location within a home of an out-of-home user residing in another home different from the one home; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing avatars of the in-home user and the out-of-home user at positions in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that correspond to the positions in the user information of the in-home user and the out-of-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; a notification means for notifying the in-home user and the out-of-home user when the virtual location of the out-of-home user in the virtual home and the virtual location of the in-home user in the virtual home are in the same section of the predetermined floor plan; A virtual home sharing device comprising:

13. Computer, a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including a location within a home of a home user who resides in one of the home users, the home user being a plurality of users within the group; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing an avatar of the in-home user at a position in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that corresponds to the position of the user information related to the in-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; and make it work, causing the user acquisition means to function to further acquire the user information input from a terminal by an out-of-home user among the users in the group other than the in-home user, the user information including a virtual position of the out-of-home user in the virtual home; A program that causes the computer to further function as a notification means for notifying the in-home user corresponding to the avatar, on the condition that the virtual location of the out-of-home user and the location of the avatar of the in-home user are in the same section of the specified floor plan.

14. A computer, a user acquisition means for acquiring user information including a location within a home of an in-home user residing in one of the in-home users, which is a plurality of users within a group, and user information including a location within a home of an out-of-home user residing in another home different from the in-home user; a virtual house generation means for generating a virtual house having a predetermined floor plan in a virtual space where the users in the group can communicate; an avatar placement means for placing avatars of the in-home user and the out-of-home user at positions in the virtual home generated by the virtual home generation means that correspond to the positions in the user information of the in-home user and the out-of-home user acquired by the user acquisition means; a notification means for notifying the in-home user and the out-of-home user when the virtual location of the out-of-home user in the virtual home and the virtual location of the in-home user in the virtual home are in the same section of the predetermined floor plan; A program to make it function as such.

Images