Space evaluation device, space evaluation system, and space evaluation method

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide technology with which it is possible to present spatial assessment for communication to users. The present invention comprises: a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires the three-dimensional spatial information of the space to be assessed; a point information designation unit that designates a point in the space to be assessed, on the basis of the three-dimensional spatial information; a calculation unit that calculates a visual field region on the basis of the three-dimensional spatial information and the point, and calculates an intra-space visual field ratio on the basis of a visual field ratio that represents the ratio of the visual field region to the space to be assessed; and a display unit that displays the calculation result of the intra-space visual field ratio as a degree of contribution of the space to be assessed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a space evaluation device, a space evaluation system, and a space evaluation method. [Background technology]

[0002] The formation of communication is important not only in corporate activities but also in urban development and public facilities, and there is a demand for the creation of spaces that foster communication, such as open spaces and communication spaces. Furthermore, technology for evaluating communication has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-161851 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional technologies evaluate communication based on the people who are the main participants, but do not evaluate the communication based on the space in which the communication is created. This has led to the problem that users are unable to appropriately create a space in which communication can be created.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that can present an evaluation of a space for communication to a user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The space evaluation device according to the present disclosure includes a space information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional space information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated, a point information designation unit that designates a point within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional space information, and a location information designation unit that designates the point within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional space information and the point. It is an area that can be seen by people from A visual field area is calculated, and based on a visual field ratio which is a ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space, , the field of view percentage of one of the points, or the average field of view percentage of multiple of the points. The system includes a calculation unit that calculates an in-space viewing ratio, and a display unit that displays the calculation result of the in-space viewing ratio as the contribution of the evaluation target space. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, a visual field area within a space to be evaluated is calculated based on a point, a visual field ratio within the space is calculated based on a visual field ratio, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the space to be evaluated, and the calculated visual field ratio within the space is displayed as a contribution to the space to be evaluated. With this configuration, an evaluation of the space for communication can be presented to the user.

[0008] The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a space evaluation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating first and second example methods for specifying a location. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a location designation method table. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the space evaluation device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the space evaluation device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the space evaluation device according to the first modification. [Figure 7]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a line-of-sight direction vector table. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a line-of-sight origin position vector table. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the space evaluation device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining attributes according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a space evaluation device according to another modified example. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a space evaluation device according to another modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] <First Embodiment> 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device 1 according to Embodiment 1. As will be described below, the space evaluation device 1 is configured to be able to evaluate the degree of contribution of a space to communication.

[0011] 1 includes a space information acquisition unit 11, a point information designation unit 12, a visual field area calculation unit 13, an in-space visual field rate calculation unit 14, an evaluation result display unit 15 which is a display unit, and a point designation method storage unit 16. The visual field area calculation unit 13 and the in-space visual field rate calculation unit 14 are included in the concept of a calculation unit.

[0012] The spatial information acquisition unit 11 acquires and stores three-dimensional spatial information of the evaluation target space 10 in which the degree of contribution to communication is evaluated. Methods for acquiring the three-dimensional spatial information include, but are not limited to, a method of acquiring point cloud data of the evaluation target space 10 using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The three-dimensional spatial information only needs to include information that allows at least the shape of the space to be interpreted, and is stored in any format, such as point cloud data or vector data.

[0013] The point designation method storage unit 16 stores a predetermined point designation method. The point designation method stored in the point designation method storage unit 16 is used to designate a point (i.e., a calculation reference point) that serves as a reference for calculating the field of view area within the evaluation target space 10.

[0014] 2 shows first and second example point designation methods. In the first example point designation method 20, only the center point in space is designated as a point. In the second example point designation method 21, five points are designated as points, including the center point in space and four points located in four directions at 90-degree intervals on the XY plane around the center point.

[0015] For example, according to the first example of the point designation method 20 and the second example of the point designation method 21, a point can be designated in the same manner regardless of whether the space to be evaluated 10 has a rectangular prism shape 22, a cylindrical shape 23, or a spherical shape 24.

[0016] As with the point designation methods 20 and 21 of the first and second examples, it is preferable that the point designation method is one that is less dependent on the shape of the evaluation target space 10 so that points can be designated for evaluation target spaces 10 of various shapes. However, the point designation method 20 of the first example and the point designation method 21 of the second example differ in the designation methods, such as the number of points, and therefore differ in the degree of contribution to communication. For this reason, when comparing an evaluation using the point designation method 20 of the first example with an evaluation using the point designation method 20 of the second example, it is preferable to make appropriate corrections to the evaluation before comparison.

[0017] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a point designation method table 30 that is stored in the point designation method storage unit 16 and indicates point designation methods, specifically, a point designation method table 30 that indicates a first example of a point designation method 20. The point designation method table 30 defines a point designation method ID 31 for uniquely identifying a point designation method. For each point designation method identified by the point designation method ID 31, a point designation method name 32 that indicates the name of the point designation method and a point designation definition formula 33 that indicates the formula for the point calculation method are defined.

[0018] The point information designation unit 12 in FIG. 1 designates a point within the evaluation target space 10 based on the three-dimensional space information acquired by the space information acquisition unit 11 and the point designation method (i.e., the point designation method name 32 and the point designation definition formula 33 in FIG. 3) stored in the point designation method storage unit 16. For example, when the point designation method 20 of the first example in FIG. 2 is used, the point information designation unit 12 designates one point 25 for the evaluation target space 10. When the point designation method 20 of the second example in FIG. 2 is used, the point information designation unit 12 designates five points 25 for the evaluation target space 10. Note that in the first embodiment, the point designation method is stored in the point designation method storage unit 16, but it may also be stored in the point information designation unit 12.

[0019] The visual field area calculation unit 13 and the in-space visual field rate calculation unit 14 cooperate to calculate the visual field area within the evaluation target space 10 based on the point 25, based on the three-dimensional spatial information and the point 25, and calculate the in-space visual field rate based on the visual field rate, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space 10. The visual field area is the area in which people and the like can be seen from the point 25.

[0020] First, the operation of visual field area calculation unit 13 when one point 25 is specified by point information specification unit 12 will be described. In this case, visual field area calculation unit 13 according to the first embodiment calculates a visual field area within evaluation target space 10 based on one point 25, based on the three-dimensional spatial information acquired by spatial information acquisition unit 11 and one point 25 specified by point information specification unit 12. Then, visual field area calculation unit 13 calculates the ratio of the visual field area of ​​one point 25 to evaluation target space 10 as a visual field ratio, based on the three-dimensional spatial information and the visual field area of ​​one point 25.

[0021] Next, the operation of viewing area calculation unit 13 when multiple points 25 are specified by point information specification unit 12 will be described. In this case, viewing area calculation unit 13 according to the first embodiment performs a calculation for each of the multiple points 25 similar to the calculation of the viewing area ratio of one point 25. In other words, viewing area calculation unit 13 according to the first embodiment calculates the viewing area for each of the multiple points 25 based on the three-dimensional spatial information acquired by spatial information acquisition unit 11 and the multiple points 25 specified by point information specification unit 12. Then, viewing area calculation unit 13 calculates the viewing ratio for each of the multiple points 25 based on the three-dimensional spatial information and the viewing areas of the multiple points 25.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the visual field area calculation unit 13 according to the first embodiment.

[0023] In step S1, the visual field area calculation unit 13 determines whether or not the visual field ratio has been calculated for all of the plurality of points 25. If it is determined that the visual field ratio has been calculated for all of the plurality of points 25, the operation in Fig. 4 ends, and if it is determined that the visual field ratio has not been calculated for all of the plurality of points 25, the process proceeds to step S2.

[0024] In step S2, field of view calculation unit 13 determines whether or not neighboring points, described below, have been acquired for all of a plurality of increment angles θ obtained by dividing 360 degrees around one point 25 into a plurality of sections on a plane including that point 25. If it is determined that neighboring points have been acquired for all increment angles θ, the process proceeds to field of view calculation processing in step S4, and if it is determined that neighboring points have not been acquired for all increment angles θ, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0025] In step S3, the visual field calculation unit 13 obtains a neighboring point for the interval angle θ for which no neighboring point has been obtained, and then the process returns to step S2.

[0026] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the visual field area calculation unit 13 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 5 shows an example of an angle 26 indicating the interval angle θ and a neighboring point 27 when one point 25 is specified in the substantially cubic evaluation target space 10. In the example of Fig. 5, a plurality of interval angles θ, that is, a plurality of angles 26, are shown on the XY plane including the point 25.

[0027] In the example of Fig. 5, a wall 28 parallel to the XZ plane is provided in the space to be evaluated 10. In the first embodiment, for a portion where a line extending outward from point 25 at angle 26 does not intersect with wall 28, field of view area calculation unit 13 acquires, as neighboring point 27, the intersection point of the line and the boundary of space to be evaluated 10. Furthermore, for a portion where a line extending outward from point 25 at angle 26 intersects with wall 28, field of view area calculation unit 13 acquires, as neighboring point 27, the intersection point of the line and wall 28. As a result, in the example of Fig. 5, neighboring points 27 on the -X plane, -Y plane, and +X plane of space to be evaluated 10 and neighboring points 27 on wall 28 are acquired.

[0028] In step S4 of FIG. 4, the visual field calculation unit 13 calculates the visual field of the point 25 by adding up multiple distances between the multiple neighboring points 27, acquired for each of the multiple interval angles θ, and the single point 25. The visual field calculation unit 13 also acquires multiple points similar to the multiple neighboring points 27 in the evaluation target space 10, excluding walls 28 and the like. In the example of FIG. 5, the multiple points include the intersections of a line extending outward from the point 25 at angle 26 with the -X, -Y, +X, and +Y planes of the evaluation target space 10. The visual field calculation unit 13 then quantifies the evaluation target space 10 by adding up multiple distances between the multiple points and the single point 25. The visual field calculation unit 13 then calculates the ratio of the visual field of the single point 25 to the evaluation target space 10 (= visual field area / evaluation target space) as the visual field ratio of the single point 25. The process then returns to step S1.

[0029] The in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 in Fig. 1 calculates the in-space field of view rate based on the field of view rate of one or more points 25 calculated by the field of view area calculation unit 13. When the field of view area calculation unit 13 calculates the field of view rate of one point 25, the in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 calculates the field of view rate of the one point 25 as the in-space field of view rate. When the field of view area calculation unit 13 calculates the field of view rate of multiple points 25, the in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 calculates the in-space field of view rate based on the field of view rate of the multiple points 25. For example, the in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 calculates the average of the field of view rate of the multiple points 25 as the in-space field of view rate.

[0030] The evaluation result display unit 15 displays the calculation result of the in-space field of view rate as the degree of contribution to communication in the evaluation target space 10. For example, the evaluation result display unit 15 displays the in-space field of view rate calculated by the in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 as the degree of contribution to communication in the evaluation target space 10, while displaying the location designation method ID 31 that identifies the location designation method used in the location information designation unit 12.

[0031] <Summary of the First Embodiment> According to the space evaluation device 1 of the first embodiment described above, the visual field area within the evaluation target space 10 is calculated based on point 25, the in-space visual field rate is calculated based on the visual field rate, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space 10, and the calculation result of the in-space visual field rate is displayed as the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication. With this configuration, the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication resulting from the recognizable range and ease of recognition of people within the space can be quantitatively evaluated, and the evaluation can be presented to the user. Therefore, the user can appropriately create a space in which communication can be created based on the evaluation.

[0032] <Variation 1> In the first embodiment, the field of view area calculation unit 13 calculated the field of view ratio for the XY plane including the point 25 as in Figures 4 and 5, but the field of view ratio may also be calculated by performing similar processing on the XYZ space including the point 25 as in Figure 6. The operation in Figure 6 is the same as the operation in Figure 4 with steps S5 and S6 added, so steps S5 and S6 will be mainly described below.

[0033] If it is determined in step S2 that neighboring points have been acquired for all increment angles θ, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, field of view calculation unit 13 determines whether neighboring points have been acquired for all of a plurality of increment angles Δ obtained by dividing 180 degrees (i.e., -90 degrees to +90 degrees) around point 25 into a plurality of increment angles in the YZ plane or XZ plane that includes one point 25. If it is determined that neighboring points have been acquired for all increment angles Δ, the process proceeds to field of view calculation processing in step S4, and if it is determined that neighboring points have not been acquired for all increment angles Δ, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0034] In step S6, the visual field calculation unit 13 rotates the plane on which neighboring points are to be acquired about the X-axis or Y-axis by changing the step angle Δ. After that, the process returns to step S2.

[0035] In step S4, the sum of multiple distances between multiple neighboring points 27 acquired for each of the multiple step angles θ and Δ and one point 25 is calculated as the field of view of the single point 25. The field of view calculation unit 13 also acquires multiple points similar to the multiple neighboring points 27 in the evaluation target space 10 excluding walls 28 and the like. The field of view calculation unit 13 then quantifies the evaluation target space 10 by summing multiple distances between the multiple points and one point 25. The field of view calculation unit 13 then calculates the ratio of the field of view of one point 25 to the evaluation target space 10 as the field of view ratio of the single point 25. Such field of view calculation unit 13 can acquire neighboring points 27 in three-dimensional space rather than on a plane, thereby improving the accuracy of the field of view ratio and ultimately the evaluation accuracy of the evaluation target space 10.

[0036] <Variation 2> In the first embodiment, the visual field area calculation unit 13 calculates the visual field area and the visual field ratio, and the in-space visual field rate calculation unit 14 calculates the in-space visual field rate. However, the visual field area calculation unit 13 may calculate the visual field area, and the in-space visual field rate calculation unit 14 may calculate the visual field ratio and the in-space visual field rate.

[0037] <Embodiment 2> For example, there are cases where the usage status (i.e., actual usage status) of users of the evaluation target space 10 is not uniform, such as when the frequency of use by users differs depending on the location 25. In such cases, if the in-space field of view rate calculation unit 14 uniformly averages the field of view ratios of multiple locations 25 in calculating the in-space field of view rate in the evaluation target space 10, it is thought that the evaluation will not reflect the actual usage status. Therefore, in the second embodiment, as will be described below, it is possible to evaluate the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication by taking into account the usage status of users of the evaluation target space 10.

[0038] Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device 1 according to the second embodiment. The configuration in Fig. 7 is the same as the configuration in Fig. 1, with a space usage information acquisition unit 41 added. Hereinafter, among the components according to the second embodiment, components that are the same as or similar to the components described above will be assigned the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

[0039] The space usage information acquisition unit 41 acquires space usage information, which is information on the usage status of users of the evaluation target space 10. The space usage information includes the location of the users and bias in usage, such as the frequency of use of the user's point 25, for example.

[0040] A predefined location designation method is stored in the location designation method storage unit 16. For example, the location designation method may include a location designation definition formula 33 that states, "designate the top three most frequently used locations in the space as locations 25."

[0041] The space usage information acquired by the space usage information acquisition unit 41 is used by at least one of the point information designation unit 12 and the in-space field of view ratio calculation unit 14 of the calculation unit. Note that in this specification, for example, at least one of A, B, C, ..., and Z means any one of all combinations of one or more items extracted from the group of A, B, C, ..., and Z.

[0042] The point information designation unit 12 designates a point 25 based on the three-dimensional spatial information, the space usage information, and the point designation method. The field of view area calculation unit 13 calculates the field of view area and field of view ratio in the same manner as in embodiment 1. When the point designation method includes content related to the space usage information, the in-space field of view ratio calculation unit 14 calculates the in-space field of view ratio by taking a weighted average of the field of view ratio of the point 25 based on the actual usage of the point 25 indicated by the space usage information.

[0043] <Summary of the second embodiment> According to the space evaluation device 1 of the second embodiment described above, it is possible to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of the space 10 to communication based on the usage status of the user of the space 10 to be evaluated, and present the evaluation to the user.

[0044] <Third Embodiment> The in-space visual field ratio, which is the spatial evaluation index in the first and second embodiments, is an index that roughly evaluates the visual field area that a person can see as a contribution to communication in the evaluation target space 10. Therefore, the visual field area that each person sees when using the space is not evaluated one by one. Therefore, in the third embodiment, as will be described below, line-of-sight intersection information is used as the spatial evaluation index, making it possible to evaluate the visual field area when using the space one by one.

[0045] 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the space evaluation device 1 according to the present embodiment 3. As will be described below, the space evaluation device 1 according to the present embodiment 3 is configured to be able to evaluate the contribution of a space to communication.

[0046] The space evaluation device 1 in FIG. 8 includes a space information acquisition unit 11, a space usage information acquisition unit 41, a gaze area calculation unit 51, a gaze intersection calculation unit 52, and an evaluation result display unit 15 which is a display unit.

[0047] As in the first embodiment, the space information acquisition unit 11 acquires and stores three-dimensional space information of the evaluation target space 10 in which the degree of contribution to communication is evaluated.

[0048] The space usage information acquisition unit 41 acquires, as information for calculating the intersection of the gaze areas, space usage information including the position and facial orientation of the user in the evaluation target space 10. The space usage information includes, for example, a gaze direction vector and a gaze source position vector.

[0049] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a gaze direction vector table 60 indicating gaze direction vectors included in the space usage information. In the gaze direction vector table 60, a gaze direction vector ID 61 is defined to identify each gaze direction vector. For each gaze direction vector identified by the gaze direction vector ID 61, direction information 62, magnitude 63, time information 64, and gaze origin position vector ID 71 are defined. The direction information 62 indicates the X, Y, and Z components of the gaze direction vector. The magnitude 63 indicates the absolute value of the magnitude of the gaze direction vector and is the square root of the sum of the squares of the direction information components. The time information 64 indicates the date and time when the gaze direction vector occurred. The gaze origin position vector ID 71 indicates an identifier for identifying the gaze origin from which the gaze direction vector occurred.

[0050] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a line-of-sight origin position vector table 70 showing line-of-sight origin position vectors included in the space usage information. In the line-of-sight origin position vector table 70, a line-of-sight origin position vector ID 71 for identifying each line-of-sight origin position vector is defined, and the line-of-sight origin position vector ID 71 in Fig. 10 corresponds to the line-of-sight origin position vector ID 71 in Fig. 9. Direction information 62, size 63, time information 64, and an individual identifier 72 are defined for each line-of-sight origin position vector identified by the line-of-sight origin position vector ID 71.

[0051] The direction information 62 indicates the components of the line-of-sight origin position vector in the X, Y, and Z directions. The magnitude 63 indicates the absolute value of the magnitude of the line-of-sight origin position vector, and is the square root of the sum of the squares of the direction information components. The time information 64 indicates the period during which the individual identifier 72 was recognized. The individual identifier 72 is an identifier by which an individual can be identified within a specific period of time.

[0052] 8 calculates an effective gaze area, which is a gaze area within the evaluation target space 10, based on the three-dimensional space information acquired by the space information acquisition unit 11 and the space usage information acquired by the space usage information acquisition unit 41. Gaze intersection calculation unit 52 calculates the intersection of the effective gaze areas calculated by the gaze area calculation unit 51 as a gaze intersection.

[0053] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operations of the gaze area calculation unit 51 and the gaze intersection calculation unit 52.

[0054] In step S11, a period for which the intersection between the line-of-sight areas is to be calculated is designated by an input from the user to the space evaluation device 1, or the like.

[0055] In step S12, gaze area calculation unit 51 extracts from gaze direction vector table 60 all gaze direction vectors for time information 64 within the period designated in step S11.

[0056] In step S13, gaze area calculation unit 51 divides the specified period by an arbitrary time step width Δt to create time t0 (= t0 + Δt × 0), time t1 (= t0 + Δt × 1), time t2 (= t0 + Δt × 2), .... Then, gaze area calculation unit 51 extracts gaze direction vectors for each of times t0, t1, ... from the gaze direction vectors extracted in step S12.

[0057] In step S14, the gaze area calculation unit 51 extracts, from the gaze origin position vector table 70, gaze origin position vectors corresponding to the gaze direction vectors at each time t0, t1, ... for the gaze origin position vector ID 71. As a result, the gaze origin position vectors at each time t0, t1, ... are extracted for each individual.

[0058] In step S15, the gaze area calculation unit 51 calculates an effective gaze area for each individual at time tN based on the evaluation target space 10, the gaze direction vector, and the gaze origin position vector. The effective gaze area is an area in which a person can receive information by moving their eyes without moving their head in a normal field of vision from the position indicated by the gaze origin position vector toward the direction of the gaze direction vector. For example, the effective gaze area is an approximately cone extending from the position indicated by the gaze origin position vector by an angle of 30 degrees horizontally and 20 degrees vertically with the gaze direction vector as the center. Condition This is the area.

[0059] In step S16, gaze intersection calculation unit 52 calculates the intersection between the effective gaze areas at time tN calculated by gaze area calculation unit 51. To calculate the intersection between the effective gaze areas, gaze intersection calculation unit 52, for example, determines whether or not there is a gaze intersection based on the effective gaze areas, calculates the gaze intersection frequency, tallys up the gaze intersection locations, and tallys up the locations of gaze sources having gaze intersections.

[0060] In step S17, the line-of-sight intersection calculation unit 52 determines whether or not the processing of steps S15 and S16 has been performed for all the time periods within the specified period. If it is determined that the processing of steps S15 and S16 has been performed for all the time periods, the operation of Fig. 11 ends, and if it is determined that the processing of steps S15 and S16 has not been performed for all the time periods, the processing returns to step S15.

[0061] 8 displays the calculation result of the intersections by the gaze intersection calculation unit 52 as the degree of contribution to communication in the evaluation target space 10. For example, the evaluation result display unit 15 can present places that are highly visible and likely to induce communication by displaying the gaze intersection frequency, the gaze intersection location, and the location of the gaze source having the gaze intersection.

[0062] <Summary of the Third Embodiment> According to the space evaluation device 1 of the third embodiment described above, the effective line-of-sight area within the evaluation target space 10 is calculated, the intersection between the effective line-of-sight areas is calculated, and the calculation result of the intersection is displayed as an evaluation result of the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication. With this configuration, the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication resulting from the recognizable range and ease of recognition within a person's space can be quantitatively evaluated and the evaluation can be presented to the user. Therefore, the user can appropriately create a space in which communication is created based on the evaluation. Furthermore, by evaluating the areas each person views when using the device and presenting places where communication is likely to be stimulated, the induction of communication can be promoted.

[0063] <Fourth Embodiment> In the third embodiment, the intersection of effective gaze areas, i.e., the intersection of gazes, is uniformly used as an index of the degree of contribution to communication. However, it is considered that the degree of contribution to communication creation varies depending on the situation in which the gazes intersect. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, as will be described below, it is possible to evaluate the degree of contribution to communication of the evaluation target space 10, taking into account the situation in which the gazes intersect.

[0064] Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a space evaluation device 1 according to the fourth embodiment. The configuration in Fig. 12 is similar to the configuration in Fig. 8, in which a line of sight attribute determination unit 81, which is an attribute determination unit, is added. Hereinafter, of the components according to the fourth embodiment, components that are the same as or similar to the components described above will be assigned the same or similar reference numerals, and different components will be mainly described.

[0065] The line-of-sight attribute determining unit 81 determines an attribute indicating the state of intersection of the effective line-of-sight areas based on the state of the user who is the source of the line of sight.

[0066] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating attributes according to the fourth embodiment. In the example of FIG. 13, the gaze attribute determination unit 81 determines one attribute from four attributes including an A attribute 91, a B attribute 92, a C attribute 93, and a D attribute 94 based on the state of the user who is the source of the gaze. The A attribute 91 is the highest attribute, followed by the B attribute 92, the C attribute 93, and the D attribute 94 in that order. Although the fact that a person recognized the attribute remains for a certain period of time, the behavior after recognition depends on the nature of the user, and therefore the spatial attribute does not transition to a lower attribute. For this reason, in this example, it is assumed that the attribute does not transition to a lower attribute unless the user who is the source of the gaze changes.

[0067] After determining the attribute, the line-of-sight attribute determining unit 81 performs weighting based on the attribute, thereby correcting the line-of-sight crossing frequency included in the crossing calculation result.

[0068] The A attribute 91 indicates a situation in which, when the lines of sight intersect, both users who are the sources of the lines of sight can recognize each other within their lines of sight. In the A attribute 91, the evaluation target space 10 creates a situation in which both users can recognize each other. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 does not correct the line of sight intersection frequency, but uses 100% line of sight intersection frequency as the contribution of the A attribute 91.

[0069] The B attribute 92 indicates a situation in which, when the lines of sight intersect, only one of the users, who is the source of the line of sight, can recognize the other (i.e., the other user) within the line of sight. In the B attribute 92, the evaluation target space 10 creates a situation in which one of the users can recognize the other. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 uses a line of sight intersection frequency of 50% as the provisional contribution of the B attribute 92. Here, the B attribute 92 has a possibility of transitioning to the A attribute 91. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 calculates the contribution of the B attribute 92 using the expected value of transitioning to the A attribute 91. For example, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 calculates the contribution of the B attribute 92 as the value of the probability of transitioning to the A attribute 91 (50%) × the contribution of the A attribute 91 (100%) + the probability of not transitioning to the A attribute 91 (50%) × the provisional contribution of the B attribute 92 (50%), that is, a line of sight intersection frequency of 75%.

[0070] Attribute C 93 indicates a situation in which, in a situation where their lines of sight intersect, both users, who are the sources of their lines of sight, are in positions where they can recognize each other within their lines of sight, but they are not aware of each other. In attribute C 93, the evaluation target space 10 does not create a situation in which both users can recognize each other. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 uses a line of sight intersection frequency of 0% as a provisional contribution of attribute C 93. Here, attribute C 93 may transition to attribute B 92. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 takes into consideration that the contribution of attribute B 92 affects the contribution of attribute A 91, and also takes into consideration all patterns of transition to attribute B 92, calculates an expected value for transition to attribute B 92, and calculates the contribution of attribute C 93 using this expected value. For example, the gaze attribute determination unit 81 calculates the contribution of attribute C 93 as the gaze intersection frequency of 56.25%, which is the probability of transitioning to attribute B 92 (75%) x the contribution of attribute B 92 (75%) + the probability of not transitioning to attribute B 92 (25%) x the hypothetical contribution of attribute C 93 (0%).

[0071] Attribute D 94 indicates a situation in which, in a situation where the lines of sight intersect, the two users who are the sources of the lines of sight are not in positions where they can recognize each other within the lines of sight, and they do not recognize each other. In attribute D 94, the evaluation target space 10 does not create a situation in which both users can recognize each other. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 uses a line of sight intersection frequency of 0% as a provisional contribution of attribute D 94. Here, attribute D 94 has the possibility of transitioning to attribute C 93. For this reason, the line of sight attribute determination unit 81 calculates an expected value for transitioning to attribute C 93, taking into consideration that the contribution of attribute C 93 affects the contributions of attribute A 91 and attribute B 92, and also taking into consideration all patterns of transition to attribute C 93, and then calculates the contribution of attribute D 94 using this expected value. For example, the gaze attribute determination unit 81 calculates the contribution of attribute D 94 as the gaze intersection frequency of 42.1875%, which is the probability of transitioning to attribute C 93 (75%) x the contribution of attribute C 93 (56.75%) + the probability of not transitioning to attribute C 93 (25%) x the hypothetical contribution of attribute D 94 (0%).

[0072] The evaluation result display unit 15 displays the corrected line-of-sight intersection frequency, the line-of-sight intersection location, and the location of the line-of-sight origin having the line-of-sight intersection.

[0073] <Summary of the Fourth Embodiment> According to the space evaluation device 1 of the fourth embodiment described above, it is possible to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of the evaluation target space 10 to communication in accordance with the usage status of the user of the evaluation target space 10, and present the evaluation to the user. Therefore, the user can appropriately create a space in which communication is created based on the evaluation. Furthermore, by evaluating the areas that each person views when using the space one by one, and presenting places where communication is likely to be stimulated, it is possible to promote the stimulation of communication.

[0074] <Modifications of Embodiments 1 to 4> Either of the first or second embodiment may be combined with either of the third or fourth embodiment. In the above description, the space evaluation device 1 is provided with the evaluation result display unit 15, but this is not limited to this. For example, a space evaluation system may include the space evaluation device 1 according to any of the first to fourth embodiments, excluding the evaluation result display unit 15, and an external display unit capable of communicating with the space evaluation device 1 via a network or the like, and the external display unit may have substantially the same functions as the evaluation result display unit 15.

[0075] <Other variations> The spatial information acquisition unit, the point information designation unit, and the calculation unit according to the first embodiment described above will be referred to as the "spatial information acquisition unit, etc." The spatial information acquisition unit, etc. are implemented by a processing circuit 101 shown in FIG. 14. That is, the processing circuit 101 includes a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; a point information designation unit that designates a point in the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional spatial information; a calculation unit that calculates a visual field area in the evaluation target space based on the point based on the three-dimensional spatial information and the point, and calculates a field of view ratio within the space based on the visual field ratio, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space; and a display control unit that controls displaying the calculation result of the field of view ratio within the space as a contribution to the evaluation target space. The processing circuit 101 may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or may be implemented by a processor that executes a program stored in a memory. Examples of the processor include a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

[0076] When the processing circuit 101 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 101 corresponds to, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The functions of each unit such as the spatial information acquisition unit may be realized by a circuit in which the processing circuits are distributed, or the functions of each unit may be realized together by a single processing circuit.

[0077] When the processing circuit 101 is a processor, the functions of the spatial information acquisition unit and the like are realized in combination with software and the like. Software and the like may include, for example, software, firmware, or both software and firmware. The software and the like are written as a program and stored in memory. As shown in FIG. 15, the processor 102 applied to the processing circuit 101 realizes the functions of each unit by reading and executing a program stored in memory 103. That is, the space evaluation device 1 includes a memory 103 for storing a program that, when executed by the processing circuit 101, results in the following steps: acquiring three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; specifying a point within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional spatial information; calculating a visual field area within the evaluation target space based on the point based on the three-dimensional spatial information and the point; calculating a visual field rate within the space based on the visual field rate, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space; and displaying the calculated visual field rate within the space as a contribution to the evaluation target space. In other words, this program can be said to cause a computer to execute the procedures and methods of the spatial information acquisition unit and the like. Here, memory 103 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, mini disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), drive device for any of these, or any storage medium to be used in the future.

[0078] The above describes a configuration in which each function of the spatial information acquisition unit, etc. is realized either by hardware or software, etc. However, this is not limited to this, and a configuration in which part of the spatial information acquisition unit, etc. is realized by dedicated hardware and another part is realized by software, etc. For example, the function of the spatial information acquisition unit can be realized by the processing circuit 101 as dedicated hardware, and the other functions can be realized by the processing circuit 101 as the processor 102 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 103.

[0079] As described above, the processing circuit 101 can realize the above-mentioned functions by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Also, although the spatial evaluation device 1 according to the first embodiment has been described here, the above content may also be applied to the spatial evaluation device 1 according to the second, third, and fourth embodiments.

[0080] It should be noted that the embodiments and modifications may be freely combined, and the embodiments and modifications may be modified or omitted as appropriate.

[0081] The above description is illustrative in all respects and is not restrictive. It is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be envisioned. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1 spatial evaluation device, 10 evaluation target space, 11 space information acquisition unit, 12 location information designation unit, 13 field of view area calculation unit, 14 in-space field of view rate calculation unit, 15 evaluation result display unit, 25 location, 41 space usage information acquisition unit, 51 line of sight area calculation unit, 52 line of sight intersection calculation unit, 81 line of sight attribute determination unit.

Claims

1. a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; a location information designation unit that designates a location within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional space information; a calculation unit that calculates a visual field area, which is an area within the evaluation target space that is visible to a person from the point, based on the three-dimensional space information and the point, and calculates an in-space visual field ratio, which is the visual field ratio of one of the points or the average of the visual field ratios of a plurality of the points, based on a visual field ratio, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space; a display unit that displays the calculation result of the in-space field of view ratio as the contribution of the evaluation target space; A space evaluation device comprising:

2. The space evaluation device according to claim 1, a space usage information acquisition unit that acquires space usage information, which is information on the usage status of users of the evaluation target space; The space utilization information is used by at least one of the point information designation unit and the calculation unit.

3. a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; a space usage information acquisition unit that acquires space usage information including the position and facial orientation of a user in the evaluation target space; a gaze area calculation unit that calculates a cone-shaped gaze area that spreads from a gaze source position in the evaluation target space around a gaze direction based on the three-dimensional space information and the space usage information; a line-of-sight intersection calculation unit that calculates an intersection between the line-of-sight areas; a display unit that displays the calculation result of the intersection as the contribution of the evaluation target space; A space evaluation device comprising:

4. The space evaluation device according to claim 3, The spatial evaluation device further comprises an attribute determination unit that determines an attribute indicating the intersection situation based on the state of the user, and corrects the calculation result based on the attribute.

5. A space evaluation device; a display unit capable of communicating with the space evaluation device; Equipped with The space evaluation device is a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; a location information designation unit that designates a location within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional space information; a calculation unit that calculates a visual field area, which is an area within the evaluation target space that is visible to a person from the point, based on the three-dimensional space information and the point, and calculates an in-space visual field ratio, which is the visual field ratio of one of the points or the average of the visual field ratios of a plurality of the points, based on a visual field ratio, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space; Including, The display unit displays the in-space field of view rate as the contribution of the space to be evaluated.

6. A space evaluation device; a display unit capable of communicating with the space evaluation device; Equipped with The space evaluation device is a spatial information acquisition unit that acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; a space usage information acquisition unit that acquires space usage information including the position and facial orientation of a user in the evaluation target space; a gaze area calculation unit that calculates a cone-shaped gaze area that spreads from a gaze source position in the evaluation target space around a gaze direction based on the three-dimensional space information and the space usage information; a line-of-sight intersection calculation unit that calculates an intersection between the line-of-sight areas; Including, The display unit displays the calculation result of the intersection as the contribution of the evaluation target space.

7. The spatial information acquisition unit acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; the point information designation unit designates a point within the evaluation target space based on the three-dimensional space information; The calculation unit calculates a visual field area, which is an area within the evaluation target space that is visible to a person from the point, based on the three-dimensional space information and the point, and calculates an in-space visual field rate, which is the visual field rate of one of the points or an average of the visual field rates of a plurality of the points, based on a visual field rate, which is the ratio of the visual field area to the evaluation target space; A space evaluation method, wherein a display unit displays the calculation result of the in-space field of view ratio as the contribution of the evaluation target space.

8. The spatial information acquisition unit acquires three-dimensional spatial information of an evaluation target space in which contribution to communication is evaluated; the space usage information acquisition unit acquires space usage information including the position and facial orientation of the user in the evaluation target space; the gaze area calculation unit calculates a cone-shaped gaze area that spreads from a gaze source position in the evaluation target space around a gaze direction as a center, based on the three-dimensional space information and the space usage information; the line-of-sight intersection calculation unit calculates an intersection between the line-of-sight areas; A space evaluation method, wherein a display unit displays the calculation result of the intersection as the contribution of the evaluation target space.

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