Information processing device, safety confirmation system, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

An information processing device according to one aspect of this invention comprises a position detection unit, a notification unit, and a safety response unit. The position detection unit detects the current position of the information processing device. The notification unit issues, upon receiving a safety confirmation request including a disaster occurrence position via a communication network, a notification indicating that the safety confirmation request is received. The safety response unit replies with a predetermined safety status if the disaster occurrence position included in the safety confirmation request is at a distance equal to or greater than a threshold distance from the current position.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] One aspect of the present invention relates to an information processing device, a safety confirmation system, an information processing method, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, earthquakes exceeding a seismic intensity of 6+ have occurred frequently in Japan and other countries, increasing the opportunities for registering safety status. In response to this, various safety confirmation systems have been proposed and are currently in operation, which send registration requests to all users registered in the system through various channels and enable confirmation of responses from users (see, for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 to 4). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Ryosuke Aoki, Akihiro Miyata, et al., "Safety confirmation system that simultaneously performs inquiries and self-registration of safety status," Multimedia, Distributed, Cooperative and Mobile (DICOMO2013) Symposium, pp. 1922-1929, (2013) [Non-patent document 2] Yu Koyama, Akihiro Mizumoto, et al., "Proposal of a DTN-based disaster safety confirmation system linked to disaster databases and Twitter," Proceedings of Multimedia Communications and Distributed Processing Workshop 2011, pp.89-93, 2011-09-28, (2011) [Non-patent document 3] “L-Alert Overview”, [Online], Internet<URL:https: / / www.soumu.go.jp / main_content / 000650512.pdf> [Non-patent document 4] “[Comparison Table] 14 Safety Confirmation Systems Compared! Which Ones Can Be Used Everyday?” [Online] [Searched November 8, 2022], Internet<URL:https: / / www.aspicjapan.org / asu / article / 1224> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, as remote work becomes more common, an increasing number of users are located in remote areas that are obviously not affected when a disaster occurs. Therefore, even if a user is far away from the disaster area and is not in a safety-critical position, they must respond to all safety confirmation requests issued in Japan. Furthermore, users are expected to respond promptly, even if there is a time difference or it is late at night.

[0005] Furthermore, the administrator who is responsible for the safety confirmation must individually check the safety of each user by other means, such as telephone, until a response is received, and must promptly confirm the safety of all users. Users who are far away from the disaster site often tend to receive delayed responses to safety confirmation requests regarding disasters that do not concern them, so this individual confirmation is a heavy burden for both users and administrators.

[0006] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a technology that can achieve both user convenience and comprehensive and rapid safety confirmation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a location detection unit, a notification unit, and a safety response unit. The location detection unit detects the current location of the information processing device. When the notification unit receives a safety confirmation request including a disaster location via a communication network, it notifies the user that the safety confirmation request has been received. When the disaster location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location, the safety response unit replies with a specified safety status. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, if the location of a disaster is farther than a threshold distance from the current location, a safety status is automatically replied to a safety confirmation request, thereby providing a technology that can achieve both user convenience and comprehensive and rapid safety confirmation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a safety confirmation system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a safety management device as a first information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the safety management device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a safety information table stored in the safety information storage unit of the safety management device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a user terminal as the second information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the user terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and content of the safety management process executed by the control unit of the safety management device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure and processing content of a safety response process executed by the control unit of the user terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of display of the safety statuses compiled on the safety manager terminal as the third information processing device in the safety confirmation system. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a safety management device as a first information processing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a user terminal as a second information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the safety management processing executed by the control unit of the safety management device in the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing contents of a safety reply process executed by the control unit of the user terminal as the second information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a safety management device as a first information processing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the safety management processing executed by the control unit of the safety management device in the third embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing contents of a safety reply process executed by the control unit of the user terminal as the second information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [First embodiment] (Configuration example) (1) System FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a safety confirmation system SYS according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The safety confirmation system SYS of the first embodiment includes a safety management device 1 as a first information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The safety confirmation system SYS enables communication between the safety management device 1 and a plurality of user terminals 2 as second information processing devices according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a safety manager terminal 3 as a third information processing device via a communication network NW. The communication network NW includes multiple types of networks, such as an IP (Internet Protocol) network constituting the Internet, Ethernet (registered trademark) constituting a LAN (Local Area Network), and other transmission networks. Any network capable of transmitting information data may be used as the communication network NW. In addition, a disaster information reporting device AR that issues disaster information such as L-Alert is connected to the communication network NW.

[0013] In this safety confirmation system SYS, when the safety management device 1 receives disaster information from the disaster information reporting device AR via the communication network NW, it simultaneously transmits a safety confirmation request via the communication network NW to multiple user terminals 2. Then, when each user terminal 2 replies to the safety confirmation request with its safety status via the communication network NW, the safety management device 1 tallys up the safety statuses and transmits the tally of safety statuses to the safety manager terminal 3 via the communication network NW, and the safety manager terminal 3 displays the tally of safety statuses.

[0014] (2) Equipment (2-1) Safety management device 1 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration and software configuration of the safety management device 1. As shown in FIG.

[0015] The safety management device 1 is configured, for example, by a server computer installed on the web or on the cloud. Note that the safety management device 1 may also be an information processing device such as a personal computer.

[0016] The safety management device 1 has a control unit 11, to which a memory unit having a program memory unit 12 and a data memory unit 13, a communication interface (hereinafter, the interface will be referred to as I / F) unit 14, and an input / output I / F unit 15 are connected via a bus 16.

[0017] The control unit 11 is a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). For example, the CPU can execute multiple information processes simultaneously by using a multi-core and multi-threaded CPU. The control unit 11 may be equipped with multiple hardware processors.

[0018] An input device 171 and an output device 172 are connected to the input / output I / F unit 15. The input device 171 includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, and operation buttons. The input device 171 is used by the operator of the safety management device 1 to input instructions necessary for the operation of the safety management device 1. The input device 171 may also include a reader device for reading information from a recording medium that stores various types of information such as programs and data. The output device 172 includes, for example, a display, and displays various types of information to the operator of the safety management device 1.

[0019] The communication I / F unit 14, under the control of the control unit 11, transmits information between the user terminal 2 and the safety manager terminal 3 using a communication protocol defined by the communication network NW. Note that the input of information to the safety management device 1 and the display of information can also be performed by this communication I / F unit 14 via the communication network NW on an information terminal, which is another information processing device (not shown), used by the operator of the safety management device 1. Therefore, the input device 171 and output device 172 are optional, and the safety management device 1 does not need to have at least one of them.

[0020] The program storage unit 12 is configured by combining, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) that can be written to and read from as needed as a storage medium, with a nonvolatile memory such as a read-only memory (ROM). The program storage unit 12 stores middleware such as an operating system (OS) as well as application programs necessary for information processing according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the OS and each application program will be collectively referred to as a program.

[0021] The data storage unit 13 is, for example, a combination of a nonvolatile memory such as an HDD or SSD, which can be written to and read from as needed, and a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), as a storage medium. The data storage unit 13 includes a user information storage unit 131 and a safety information storage unit 132 in its storage area as main storage units required to implement the first embodiment of the present invention. The user information storage unit 131 stores user information related to users of multiple user terminals 2. The user information may include information such as user identification information (ID), user name, address, and destination of a safety confirmation request. The safety information storage unit 132 stores safety information returned from multiple user terminals 2.

[0022] The control unit 11 includes, as processing function units necessary for implementing the first embodiment, a disaster information receiving function unit 111, a safety confirmation request transmitting function unit 112, a response receiving function unit 113, a safety status tallying function unit 114, and a safety status transmitting function unit 115. All of these processing function units 111 to 115 are realized by causing the hardware processor of the control unit 11 to execute an information processing program for the first information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is stored in the program storage unit 12.

[0023] In addition to storing the above information processing program in advance in the program memory unit 12, it may also be downloaded when necessary from another information processing device, such as an information terminal (not shown) used by the operator of the safety management device 1, or from a program server (not shown), and stored in the program memory unit 12.

[0024] Furthermore, at least some of the processing functions of at least one of the processing function units 111 to 115 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field-programmable gate array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) instead of being realized by an information processing program and a hardware processor of the control unit 11.

[0025] The disaster information receiving function unit 111 receives disaster information issued by the disaster information issuing device AR via the communication I / F unit 14. The disaster information includes the time of disaster occurrence, the location of the disaster occurrence (e.g., longitude and latitude), the type of disaster, the scale of the disaster (e.g., magnitude), etc. The disaster information receiving function unit 111 transmits the location of the disaster occurrence included in this received disaster information to the safety confirmation request transmitting function unit 112.

[0026] The safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112 generates a safety confirmation request including the location of the disaster, and transmits the generated safety confirmation request simultaneously from the communication I / F unit 14 to multiple user terminals 2 via the communication network NW based on the destination of each user stored in the user information storage unit 131.

[0027] The reply receiving function unit 113 receives the safety status transmitted from each user terminal 2 via the communication network NW from the communication I / F unit 14 and stores it in the safety information storage unit 132 .

[0028] The safety status collecting function unit 114 collects the safety status from each user terminal 2 stored in the safety information storage unit 132. The safety status collecting function unit 114 transmits the collected safety status to the safety status transmission function unit 115.

[0029] The safety status transmission function unit 115 transmits the collected safety status from the communication I / F unit 14 to the safety manager terminal 3 via the communication network NW.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a safety information table 1321 stored in the safety information storage unit 132. The response receiving function unit 113 can store the safety status from each user terminal 2 in the safety information storage unit 132, for example, in the form of the safety information table 1321. As shown in Fig. 4, the safety information table 1321 stores information on each item of user ID, response, situation, and response time as a record for each user.

[0031] The user ID corresponds to the user information stored in the user information storage unit 131, and when the safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112 transmits a safety confirmation request to multiple user terminals 2 simultaneously, it can store a safety information table 1321 in the safety information storage unit 132, which stores the user ID of the user of the user terminal 2 that sent the request.

[0032] The reply indicates whether or not a reply regarding the safety status has been received from the user terminal 2. When storing the safety information table 1321 in the safety information storage unit 132, the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 can store "No" as the initial value in the reply item in each user record. When a reply regarding the safety status is received from the user terminal 2, the reply receiving function unit 113 updates and stores the value of this reply item to "Yes."

[0033] The status indicates the details of the safety status from the user terminal 2. When the safety information table 1321 is stored in the safety information storage unit 132, the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 can store "confirmation required" as the initial value in the status item of each user's record. When a reply regarding the safety status is received from the user terminal 2, the reply receiving function unit 113 updates and stores the value of this status item to a value according to the details of the status included in the received safety information.

[0034] The response time indicates the time when a response regarding the safety status was received from the user terminal 2. When a response regarding the safety status is received from the user terminal 2, the response receiving function unit 113 stores the current time measured by a clock (not shown) as the value of this response time item.

[0035] (2-2) User terminal 2 5 and 6 are block diagrams showing an example of the hardware configuration and software configuration of the user terminal 2. As shown in FIG.

[0036] The user terminal 2 is, for example, a smartphone carried by each user.

[0037] The user terminal 2 is equipped with a control unit 21 that uses a hardware processor such as a CPU, and this control unit 21 is connected via a bus 26 to a memory unit having a program memory unit 22 and a data memory unit 23, a communication I / F unit 24, and an input / output I / F unit 25.

[0038] The communication I / F unit 24, under the control of the control unit 21, uses a communication protocol defined by the communication network NW to send and receive information to and from the safety management device 1. The communication I / F 24 may also include a wireless communication unit for wirelessly connecting to a mobile phone network (not shown).

[0039] The input / output I / F unit 25 is connected to an input device 271, an output device 272, a camera 273, a speaker 274, a microphone 275, a position sensor 276, and the like. The output device 272 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and displays various information to a user who is an operator of the user terminal 2. The input device 271 includes, for example, a touch panel and operation buttons arranged on the display screen of the output device 272. The input device 271 is used by a user of the user terminal 2 to input instructions necessary for the operation of the user terminal 2. The camera 273 captures images. The speaker 274 plays and outputs audio and music. The microphone 275 acquires voice uttered by the user. The position sensor 276 includes a GPS sensor or the like that detects the current location of the user terminal 2. The control unit 21 is also capable of detecting the current location based on the positional relationship with multiple base stations in a mobile phone network (not shown).

[0040] The program storage unit 22 is configured by combining, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (registered trademark) that can be written to and read from as needed as a storage medium, and a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM. The program storage unit 22 stores middleware such as an OS as well as programs required to execute the information processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] The data storage unit 23 is, for example, a combination of a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a memory card that can be written to and read from as needed as a storage medium, and a volatile memory such as a RAM. The data storage unit 23 includes, in its storage area, a threshold distance storage unit 231 and a specified response storage unit 232 as storage units necessary for implementing the first embodiment.

[0042] The threshold distance storage unit 231 stores a threshold distance, which is a preset threshold value for distance. This threshold distance is used to determine whether the distance between the disaster location and the current location is close or far. The prescribed response storage unit 232 stores a preset prescribed response. The prescribed response is information indicating a safety situation for which an automatic response is given, such as "sufficiently far." Note that the threshold distance and prescribed response may be stored in the program storage unit 22 as part of an information processing program in the second information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the data storage unit 23 may not include the threshold distance storage unit 231 and the prescribed response storage unit 232. Alternatively, when the information processing program is started, the threshold distance and prescribed response within the information processing program may be expanded and stored in the threshold distance storage unit 231 and the prescribed response storage unit 232.

[0043] The control unit 21 includes, as processing function units according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211, a response creating function unit 212, a location information managing function unit 213, and a response transmitting function unit 214. All of these processing function units 211 to 214 are realized by causing a hardware processor of the control unit 21 to execute an information processing program in the second information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, which is stored in the program storage unit 22. Note that at least a part of the processing functions of at least one of the processing function units 211 to 214 may be realized using an integrated circuit such as an ASIC, DSP, FPGA, or GPU, instead of being realized by the information processing program and the hardware processor of the control unit 21.

[0044] The safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 receives the safety confirmation request sent from the safety management device 1 via the communication network NW via the communication I / F unit 24, and transmits the location of the disaster contained in the received safety confirmation request to the response creation function unit 212.

[0045] Furthermore, the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 notifies the user that a safety confirmation request has been received. Specifically, the answer creating function unit 212 displays the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request on the output device 272 via the input / output I / F unit 25, and also generates a predetermined safety confirmation request reception sound from the speaker 274 via the input / output I / F unit 25.

[0046] The answer creating function unit 212 inquires of the position information management function unit 213 about the current position of the user terminal 2. The position information management function unit 213 acquires the current position detected by the position sensor 276 via the input / output I / F unit 25, or acquires the current position based on the positional relationship with multiple base stations in the mobile phone network, etc. Then, the answer creating function unit 212 returns the acquired current position to the answer creating function unit 212.

[0047] The response creation function unit 212 determines, based on the current location and the disaster location included in the safety confirmation request, whether the disaster location is farther than the threshold distance stored in the threshold distance memory unit 231, that is, whether the distance between the disaster location and the current location is sufficiently far.

[0048] For example, the distance d between two points can be calculated as follows: Here, the longitude and latitude of the current location are (x1, y1), the longitude and latitude of the disaster location are (x2, y2), Δx = x2 - x1, and the radius of the Earth is γ.

[0049]

number

[0050] If the user is far away, the answer generating function unit 212 transmits the specified safety status stored in the specified answer storage unit 232 to the answer transmitting function unit 214. If the user is not far away, the answer generating function unit 212 notifies the user of a request to input a safety status via the output device 272 and the speaker 274 via the input / output I / F unit 25. The input request displayed on the output device 272 may, for example, present several options for safety input and prompt the user to select one. It may also include a text box in which the user can freely enter detailed information. When the user inputs the safety status using the input device 271, the answer generating function unit 212 receives it via the input / output I / F unit 25 and transmits the input safety status to the answer transmitting function unit 214.

[0051] The reply transmitting function unit 214 transmits the safety status to the safety management device 1 via the communication I / F unit 14 and the communication network NW.

[0052] (2-3) Safety Manager Terminal 3 Although not particularly shown, the safety manager terminal 3 can have the same hardware configuration as the user terminal 2.

[0053] The safety manager terminal 3 receives the aggregated safety status sent from the safety management device 1 via the communication network NW via a communication I / F unit not shown, and displays it on an output device not shown via an input / output I / F unit not shown.

[0054] (Example of operation) Next, an example of the operation of the device configured as above will be described.

[0055] Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and content of the safety management process executed by the control unit 11 of the safety management device 1. This safety management process is started when the control unit 11 operating as the disaster information receiving function unit 111 receives disaster information issued by the disaster information reporting device AR via the communication I / F unit 14. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and content of the safety reply process executed by the control unit 21 of the user terminal 2. This safety reply process is started when the control unit 21 operating as the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 receives a safety confirmation request broadcast by the safety management device 1 via the communication I / F unit 24.

[0056] 7, when the control unit 11 of the safety management device 1 operates as the disaster information receiving function unit 111 and determines that disaster information has been received, it operates as the safety confirmation request transmitting function unit 112 and simultaneously transmits a safety confirmation request to multiple user terminals 2 (step S11). That is, the control unit 11 generates a safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location included in the received disaster information, and simultaneously transmits this generated safety confirmation request from the communication I / F unit 14 to the multiple user terminals 2 via the communication network NW. At this time, the control unit 11 also stores in the safety information storage unit 132 a safety information table 1321 that stores the user ID of the user of the user terminal 2 that sent the request.

[0057] Thereafter, the control unit 11 operates as a response receiving function unit 113 and determines whether a response indicating the safety status returned from any of the user terminals 2 via the communication network NW has been received via the communication I / F unit 14 (step S12). If it is determined that a response has not been received from any of the user terminals 2, the control unit 11 repeats the processing of step S12 again. In this way, the control unit 11 waits to receive a response from any of the user terminals 2.

[0058] Meanwhile, in each user terminal 2, the control unit 21 operates as a safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211, and when it determines that a safety confirmation request has been received, it notifies the user that the safety confirmation request has been received via the input / output I / F unit 25 through the output device 272 and speaker 274, as shown in FIG. 8 (step S21).

[0059] Furthermore, the control unit 21 operates as the position information management function unit 213, and acquires the current position detected by the position sensor 276 via the input / output I / F unit 25, for example (step S22).

[0060] Then, the control unit 21 operates as a response creation function unit 212 and determines, based on the current location and the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request, whether the disaster occurrence location is farther from the current location than the threshold distance stored in the threshold distance memory unit 231 (step S23).

[0061] Here, if it is determined that the disaster occurrence location is farther than the threshold distance from the current location, the control unit 21 reads out the specified safety status stored in the specified answer memory unit 232 and generates a specified situation answer with the safety status as the specified safety status (step S24).

[0062] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S23 that the disaster location is not farther than the threshold distance from the current location, the control unit 21 outputs a request to the user to input their safety status via the output device 272 and speaker 274 via the input / output I / F unit 25 (step S25).

[0063] Then, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a situation input has been received from the input device 271 via the input / output I / F unit 25 within a certain period of time (step S26). If it is determined that no situation input has been received, the control unit 21 returns to the process of step S25. In this manner, if no situation input has been received at regular intervals of time, the control unit 21 again outputs a situation input request. Note that at this time, control may be added such that the volume of the notification sound from the speaker 274 is increased every time a certain period of time elapses. By repeatedly outputting the situation input request in this manner, when the user is in a dangerous situation where he or she is unable to input his or her situation, the notification sound can alert others who may be nearby, thereby improving the possibility of rescuing the user from the dangerous situation.

[0064] If it is determined in step S26 that a status input has been made, the control unit 21 generates an input status response in which the safety status is the input safety status (step S27).

[0065] Then, the control unit 21 operates as a response sending function unit 214 and sends a specified status response in which the safety status generated in the above step S24 is set to a specified safety status, or an input status response in which the safety status generated in the above step S27 is set to the input safety status, to the safety management device 1 via the communication network NW via the communication I / F unit 14 (step S28).

[0066] Then, the control unit 21 ends the safety response process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and waits for the next safety confirmation request to be received.

[0067] When a reply is transmitted from any of the user terminals 2 in this manner, the safety management device 1 receives it via the communication I / F unit 14, and the control unit 11 operating as the reply receiving function unit 113 can determine that the reply has been received in step S12. In this case, as shown in Fig. 7, the control unit 11 stores the safety status indicated by the received specified status reply or input status reply in the record of the corresponding user in the safety information table 1321 of the safety information storage unit 132 (step S13).

[0068] Then, the control unit 11 functions as the safety status tallying function unit 114, and tallyes the safety status from each user terminal 2 at the current time stored in the safety information table 1321 of the safety information storage unit 132 (step S14).

[0069] The control unit 11 operates as the safety status transmission function unit 115 and notifies the safety manager terminal 3 of the compiled safety status (step S15). That is, the control unit 11 transmits the compiled safety status from the communication I / F unit 14 to the safety manager terminal 3 via the communication network NW.

[0070] Thereafter, the control unit 11 checks the safety information table 1321 in the safety information storage unit 132 to determine whether all users have responded (step S16). The control unit 11 can determine this by checking whether all of the response items in the safety information table 1321 are marked "Yes." If it is determined that there is a user who has not yet responded, the control unit 11 proceeds to the processing of step S12.

[0071] If it is determined in step S16 that all users have responded, the control unit 11 ends the safety management process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 and waits for the next receipt of disaster information.

[0072] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the compiled safety status on the safety manager terminal 3, which serves as the third information processing device in the safety confirmation system SYS. The compiled safety status transmitted from the safety management device 1 can be displayed, for example, on the display 31, which is an output device of the safety manager terminal 3. Here, the safety manager terminal 3 may process the compiled safety status to identify and display users who have not yet responded. This allows the manager who performs the safety confirmation to easily identify users whose safety needs to be individually confirmed by another means, such as by telephone.

[0073] For example, let's take the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 as an example. When an earthquake occurred on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region of Japan, disaster information was issued from the disaster information reporting device AR, and the safety management device 1 obtained the location of the earthquake (longitude and latitude), the magnitude of the earthquake, etc., and sent a safety confirmation request to each user terminal 2 at once.

[0074] For example, suppose that employee A is visiting his / her parents' home in Iwate Prefecture and the home is completely destroyed. In this case, employee A's user terminal 2 requests employee A to input the status because the home is close to the epicenter, and returns an input status response to the safety management device 1 with the safety status input by employee A as the safety status.

[0075] Also, assume that employee B is working at a business office in Musashino City, Tokyo, and the business office is partially destroyed. In this case, employee B's user terminal 2 continues to output a request for employee B to input his / her situation because the terminal is close to the epicenter.

[0076] On the other hand, suppose that employee C was telecommuting from his home in Kyoto Prefecture but was not affected. In this case, since employee C is far from the epicenter, employee C's user terminal 2 returns a default status response to the safety management device 1, with the default safety status indicating that the employee is far from the epicenter, without employee C having to enter any information.

[0077] The safety management device 1 then aggregates the safety status information from the replies sent back from each of these user terminals 2, and transmits the aggregated safety status information to the safety manager terminal 3 of safety manager X, who is responsible for managing the safety of employees.

[0078] The safety manager X's safety manager terminal 3 displays the compiled safety status as shown in Fig. 9. This allows the safety manager X to understand that employee A responded at 10:00 that his house was completely destroyed but that he was safe, or that employee C responded at 10:02 that he was far away, but that there was no response from employee B and that they need to be checked. Therefore, the safety manager X can check the safety of employee B by another means, such as calling the user terminal 2, which is a smartphone carried by employee B.

[0079] Although not shown, the safety status confirmed by the safety manager by another means may be transmitted from the safety manager terminal 3 via the communication network NW. In this case, the control unit 11 of the safety management device 1 may treat the safety status from the safety manager terminal 3 as one of the responses in step S12.

[0080] (Actions and Effects) As described above, in the user terminal 2, which is the second information processing device according to the first embodiment, when the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 receives a safety confirmation request including the disaster location from the safety management device 1 via the communication network NW, the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 notifies the user that the safety confirmation request has been received by the output device 272 and the speaker 274. In this manner, the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211, the output device 272, and the speaker 274 are examples of a notifying unit. The response creating function unit 212 determines whether the disaster location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location acquired by the position information managing function unit 213, which is an example of a position detecting unit that detects the current location of the user terminal 2 using the position sensor 276 or the like. If the current location is far, the response sending function unit 214 returns a predetermined situation response, which is a predetermined safety situation indicating, for example, that the user is safe because the user is sufficiently far from the disaster location, to the safety management device 1. In this manner, the response creating function unit 212 and the response sending function unit 214 are examples of a safety reply unit. In this way, when a safety confirmation request is issued, the second information processing device according to the first embodiment that receives the request calculates the distance between the device itself and the disaster occurrence point, and if the distance between the two points is greater than or equal to the threshold distance, automatically responds that the device is far enough away from the disaster occurrence point. Therefore, the administrator who performs the safety confirmation does not need to check the safety of users who are far enough away from the disaster occurrence point, and furthermore, users who are far enough away from the disaster occurrence point do not need to respond to the safety confirmation request. This reduces the workload of both users and administrators, and speeds up safety confirmation of all users. In other words, the second information processing device according to the first embodiment makes it possible to achieve both user convenience and comprehensive and speedy safety confirmation.

[0081] Furthermore, in the user terminal 2 as the second information processing device according to the first embodiment, when the location of the disaster occurrence is closer than a threshold distance from the current location, the response creation function unit 212 causes the output device 272 and the speaker 274 to notify the user of a request to input the safety status, and returns an input status response, which is the safety status input by the input device 271, which is an example of an input unit that receives input of the safety status, to the safety management device 1 by the response sending function unit 214. Therefore, in the second information processing device according to the first embodiment, if the distance between the device itself and the disaster occurrence point is closer than a threshold distance, the user is prompted to input their own safety status, thereby preventing the safety of users who truly need to be checked from being overlooked.

[0082] [Second embodiment] In the first embodiment, the threshold distance is a fixed value, but in the second embodiment of the present invention, the threshold distance is variable.

[0083] (Configuration example) 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a safety management device 1 as a first information processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the safety management device 1 includes a control unit 11 that includes a threshold distance determination function unit 116 and a data storage unit 13 that includes a learned data storage unit 133.

[0084] The learned data storage unit 133 stores learned data that has learned the threshold distance for the location of a disaster and the scale of a disaster from data on the location and scale of a disaster that has occurred in the past and on how far away a location must be to avoid damage. The threshold distance determination function unit 116 uses this learned data to determine the threshold distance for the location of a disaster and the scale of a disaster included in the disaster information received by the disaster information reception function unit 111. The threshold distance determination function unit 116 transmits the determined threshold distance to the safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112, and includes the threshold distance in the safety confirmation request to be simultaneously transmitted to each user terminal 2.

[0085] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a user terminal 2 as a second information processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the reply generating function unit 212 of the control unit 21 stores the threshold distance included in the safety confirmation request received by the safety confirmation request receiving function unit 211 in the threshold distance storage unit 231.

[0086] (Example of operation) Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of safety management processing executed by the control unit of the safety management device in the second embodiment of the present invention. Also, Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of safety response processing executed by the control unit of the user terminal 2 as the second information processing device in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] As shown in Figure 12, when the control unit 11 of the safety management device 1 operates as the disaster information receiving function unit 111 and determines that disaster information has been received, it operates as the threshold distance determination function unit 116 and determines the threshold distance based on the location of the disaster and the scale of the disaster contained in the disaster information received by the disaster information receiving function unit 111 (step S17).

[0088] Thereafter, the control unit 11 proceeds to the processing of step S11, and operates as the safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112 to simultaneously transmit a safety confirmation request to multiple user terminals 2 (step S11). However, in this embodiment, the simultaneously transmitted safety confirmation request includes a threshold distance in addition to the disaster occurrence location and the threshold distance. The subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 21 of the user terminal 2 that has received such a safety confirmation request acquires the current location in step S22, and then operates as the response creation function unit 212 to store the threshold distance included in the safety confirmation request in the threshold distance storage unit 231 (step S29). Then, the process proceeds to step S23. This allows the user terminal 2 to use the threshold distance determined by the safety management device 1 based on the disaster location and disaster scale. The subsequent process is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0090] (Actions and Effects) As described above, in the safety management device 1, which is the first information processing device according to the second embodiment, when disaster information including the disaster occurrence location and the disaster scale is received via the communication network NW, the threshold distance determination function unit 116, which is an example of a threshold determination unit, determines a threshold distance based on the disaster occurrence location and the disaster scale. Then, the safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112, which is an example of a safety confirmation request unit, transmits a safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location and the threshold distance simultaneously to multiple user terminals, which are the second information processing device according to the second embodiment, via the communication network NW. Therefore, an appropriate threshold distance can be determined depending on the disaster that has occurred, and the user terminal 2 can use this appropriately set threshold distance to determine whether or not to make an automatic reply.

[0091] Furthermore, the user terminal 2, which is the second information processing device according to the second embodiment, also has the same functions and effects as the first embodiment.

[0092] Furthermore, in the second information processing device according to the second embodiment, the safety confirmation request sent simultaneously from the safety management device 1 further includes a threshold distance, and the response creation function unit 212 as a safety response unit can use the threshold distance included in the safety confirmation request to determine whether the location of the disaster is farther than the threshold distance from the current location. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not to automatically respond using a threshold distance that is appropriately set depending on the disaster that has occurred.

[0093] [Third embodiment] In the first embodiment, each user terminal 2 determines whether or not the safety status has been input within a certain time period, and if the safety status has not been input within the certain time period, a request to input the status is output again. In the third embodiment of the present invention, this determination is made on the safety management device 1 side.

[0094] (Configuration example) 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the safety management device 1 as a first information processing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the safety management device 1 is configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, except that the reply receiving function unit 113 requests the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 to resend the safety confirmation request.

[0095] The response receiving function unit 113 checks the safety information table 1321 stored in the safety information storage unit 132 at regular time intervals to extract users who have not yet sent a response, and requests the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 to resend a safety confirmation request to the user terminal 2 of that user. Upon receiving this request, the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 resends the safety confirmation request to the specified user terminal 2.

[0096] (Example of operation) Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of safety management processing executed by the control unit of the safety management device in the third embodiment of the present invention. Also, Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of safety reply processing executed by the control unit of the user terminal 2 as the second information processing device in the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0097] 15, when the control unit 11 operating as the response receiving function unit 113 of the safety management device 1 determines in step S12 that no response has been received from any of the user terminals 2, it determines whether a certain time has elapsed (step S18). If it determines that the certain time has not yet elapsed, the control unit 11 proceeds to the processing of step S12.

[0098] On the other hand, if it is determined that a certain period of time has passed, the control unit 11 extracts users whose answer item is set to "none" in the safety information table 1321 stored in the safety information storage unit 132 (step S19).

[0099] Then, the control unit 11 operates as the safety confirmation request transmission function unit 112 and retransmits the safety confirmation request to the user terminal 2 of the extracted user via the communication network NW by the communication I / F unit 14 (step S110). Thereafter, the control unit 11 proceeds to the processing of step S12. The other processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0100] 16, after outputting a request to input a safety status to the user via the output device 272 and the speaker 274 in step S25, the control unit 21 of the user terminal 2 determines whether or not a status input has been made from the input device 271 via the input / output I / F unit 25 (step S210). If it is determined that no status input has been made, the control unit 21 repeats the process of step S210. That is, the control unit 21 waits for a status input from the input device 271.

[0101] When a certain time has elapsed while waiting for the status input, a safety confirmation request is again sent from the safety management device 1. As a result, the control unit 21 cancels the status input waiting in step S210 and starts again from the processing in step S21. That is, the control unit 21 notifies the user via the output device 272 and the speaker 274 that the safety confirmation request has been received. The other processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0102] Generally, the volume of the safety confirmation request reception notification in response to the issuance of disaster information is set to be louder than the volume of the situation input request, so there is no need for volume control such as increasing the volume of the notification sound from the speaker 274 every time a certain period of time elapses, as in the first embodiment.

[0103] (Actions and Effects) As described above, in the safety management device 1, which is the first information processing device of the third embodiment, the response receiving function unit 113 extracts user terminals 2 that do not return a response to a safety confirmation request at regular intervals, and the safety confirmation request sending function unit 112 resends the safety confirmation request to those extracted user terminals 2 via the communication network NW. Therefore, it is possible to prompt users who have not yet responded to respond, and it is possible to increase the probability that users who are unable to respond will be rescued.

[0104] Furthermore, the user terminal 2, which is the second information processing device according to the third embodiment, can achieve the same functions and effects as those of the first embodiment without determining whether a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0105] Of course, in the safety management device 1, which is the first information processing device of the third embodiment, a threshold distance can be determined according to the disaster that has occurred, as in the second embodiment, and that threshold distance can be used in each user terminal 2, which is the second information processing device of the third embodiment.

[0106] [Other embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0107] For example, the safety management device 1 may also serve as the safety manager terminal 3. In this case, the safety management device 1 may be configured so that the safety status transmission function unit 115 displays the collected safety status on the output device 172 via the input / output I / F unit 15, rather than transmitting the collected safety status via the communication I / F unit 14.

[0108] Furthermore, the response sent back from the user terminal 2 to the safety management device 1 may include the current location of the user terminal 2 itself or the area of ​​the current location.

[0109] Furthermore, the flow of each process described with reference to the flowchart is not limited to the procedure described. For example, the order of the process of step S22 and the process of step S29 in Fig. 13 may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously in parallel. In this way, the order of some steps may be changed, or some steps may be performed simultaneously in parallel. Furthermore, the process content of some steps may be modified.

[0110] Furthermore, the method described in the information processing program according to one embodiment can be stored as a processing program (software means) that can be executed by a computer on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD, an MO, etc.), or a semiconductor memory (e.g., a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, etc.), and can also be transmitted and distributed via a communication medium. The program stored on the medium also includes a configuration program that configures the software means (including not only execution programs but also tables and data structures) that the computer executes. The computer that realizes this device reads the program stored on the recording medium and, in some cases, configures the software means using the configuration program, and executes the above-described processing by having the operation controlled by this software means. The term "recording medium" as used herein is not limited to a storage medium for distribution, but also includes a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or semiconductor memory installed inside the computer or in a device connected via a communication network NW.

[0111] In short, this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the components can be modified and embodied in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be created by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 1...Safety management device 2...User terminal 3...Safety manager terminal 11, 21...Control section 12, 22...Program memory section 13, 23...Data storage section 14, 24...Communication I / F section 15,25...Input / output I / F section 16,26…Bus 31...Display 111...Disaster information receiving function unit 112...Safety confirmation request sending function unit 113...Response receiving function unit 114...Safety Status Compilation Function Unit 115...Safety status transmission function unit 116...threshold distance determination function unit 131...User information storage unit 132...Safety information storage unit 1321...Safety information table 133...Data storage unit 171,271...input devices 172,272...output device 211...Safety confirmation request receiving function unit 212...Answer creation function section 213...Location information management function section 214... Reply sending function unit 231...threshold distance memory unit 232…Standard answer storage unit 273...Camera 274...Speaker 275...Mike 276...Position sensor NW: communication network SYS...Safety confirmation system

Claims

1. a position detection unit that detects a current position; a notification unit that notifies the user that a safety confirmation request including a disaster occurrence location has been received via a communication network when the safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location has been received; a safety reply unit that replies with a specified safety status when the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location; An information processing device comprising:

2. Further, an input unit for receiving an input of a safety status is provided, The safety response unit If the disaster occurrence location is closer than a threshold distance from the current location, the notification unit notifies a request for input of a safety status; replying to the safety status input by the input unit; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The safety confirmation request further includes the threshold distance, the safety reply unit uses the threshold distance included in the safety confirmation request to determine whether the disaster occurrence location is farther than the threshold distance from the current location; The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. a threshold determination unit that, when receiving disaster information including a disaster occurrence location and a disaster scale via a communication network, determines a threshold distance based on the disaster occurrence location and the disaster scale; a safety confirmation request unit that simultaneously transmits a safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location and the threshold distance to all of a plurality of user terminals via the communication network regardless of the distance from the disaster occurrence location; a safety status transmission unit that aggregates safety statuses returned from the plurality of user terminals via the communication network and outputs the aggregated safety statuses; An information processing device comprising:

5. A safety confirmation system in which a first information processing device and a plurality of second information processing devices used by a plurality of users can communicate with each other via a communication network, the first information processing device includes a safety confirmation request unit that, when receiving disaster information including a disaster occurrence location and a disaster scale via the communication network, simultaneously transmits a safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location to the plurality of second information processing devices via the communication network; The second information processing device a position detection unit that detects a current position; an input unit for receiving input of safety status; a notification unit that notifies the user that the safety confirmation request has been received when the safety confirmation request is received via the communication network; a safety reply unit that replies with a specified safety status when the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location, and that causes the notification unit to notify a request for input of a safety status and replies with the safety status input by the input unit when the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location; Equipped with The first information processing device further includes a safety status output unit that aggregates the safety statuses returned from each of the plurality of second information processing devices via the communication network and outputs the aggregated safety statuses. Safety confirmation system.

6. An information processing method executed by an information processing device having a processor and a memory, the processor detecting a current location; When the processor receives a safety confirmation request including a disaster occurrence location via a communication network, it notifies the user that the safety confirmation request has been received; the processor, when the disaster occurrence location included in the safety confirmation request is farther than a threshold distance from the current location, returning a specified safety status; An information processing method, including:

7. An information processing method executed by an information processing device having a processor and a memory, When the processor receives disaster information including a disaster occurrence location and a disaster scale via a communication network, the processor determines a threshold distance based on the disaster occurrence location and the disaster scale; transmitting a safety confirmation request including the disaster occurrence location and the threshold distance to all of a plurality of user terminals via the communication network regardless of the distance from the disaster occurrence location; storing in the memory the safety statuses returned from the respective user terminals via the communication network; aggregating the safety statuses from the plurality of user terminals stored in the memory and outputting the aggregated safety statuses; An information processing method, including:

8. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute processing by each unit included in the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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