Beacon sharing computing system and program

Abstract

To provide a system and a program that allow beacons in a beacon share area with human flow characteristics to be utilized by share participants other than the beacon owner.SOLUTION: A beacon-sharing computing system 20 includes: an identification database 22 for storing in association with each other participant identification information of a specific sharing participant 39A permitted to share beacon information about a specific beacon sharing area 10A, terminal identification information of a portable terminal 40 loaded with an application operated by the specific sharing participant, and area identification information of the specific beacon sharing area; a storage unit 24 for storing terminal identification information, beacon identification information, and beacon reception information including reception time, transmitted from the portable terminal in response to a signal from a beacon 11; and an information provision unit 26 for reading and providing only the beacon reception information to which the identification information associated with the specific share participant is attached from the storage unit in response to a request for providing the beacon reception information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a computing system and a program for sharing beacon information such as the identification information and installation position of beacons, and particularly relates to a computing system and a program suitable for sharing beacon information of beacons installed in an area having a flow characteristic of people such as a railway station ticket gate.

Background Art

[0002] A beacon system using the beacon signal receiving function of a mobile terminal such as a smartphone is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, beacons are installed in each store, passage, and other locations on each floor of a shopping center, and when a customer's mobile terminal receives a beacon signal, the received information is transmitted to a system server to be used as the customer's movement route information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For example, in specific areas such as train station ticket gates, the number of people passing through, the direction of flow, and the attribute distribution (age group, social status (working adult, student, etc.), gender, etc.) are expected to show certain trends (people flow characteristics) depending on the time of day. If beacons are installed in such areas, it is likely that valuable information can be obtained for certain businesses. However, the owner of the beacons installed in an area is usually the owner or manager of that area, and does not necessarily coincide with the business that wants to acquire or use the information. If a business that wants to acquire or use the information were to obtain permission from the owner or manager of the area to install beacons, it would require considerable funds and effort. Installing beacons for each business that has obtained permission would also be wasteful from the perspective of equipment resources. In view of these circumstances, the present invention aims to enable businesses other than the beacon owners to utilize beacons in areas with pedestrian flow characteristics, such as train station ticket gates. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a beacon sharing computing system that allows sharing participants to share beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics. An identification database that stores participant identification information that identifies a specific share participant who is permitted to share the beacon information for a specific beacon share area within the beacon share area, terminal identification information that identifies a mobile terminal equipped with an application operated by the specific share participant, and area identification information that identifies the specific beacon share area, linked together. A reception information receiving unit that receives beacon reception information, including terminal identification information, beacon identification information, and reception time, transmitted from the mobile terminal in response to a signal from a beacon in the specified beacon sharing area, A storage unit that stores the received beacon information, A request receiving unit that receives requests from the share participation terminal system of the specified share participant for the provision of beacon reception information in the specified beacon share area, An information provision unit reads terminal identification information linked to the specific share participant from the identification database in response to the aforementioned request, reads only the beacon reception information with said terminal identification information attached from the storage unit, and provides it to the share participant terminal system. Its first characteristic is that it possesses the following features. "Sharing" includes the exchange, lending, use, and sharing of beacon information.

[0006] The operation of this beacon sharing computing system allows beacon information within a beacon sharing area to be shared by participants other than the beacon's owner. Beacon owners can monetize their beacon information by lending it out. Multiple participants can simultaneously share beacon information within a single beacon sharing area. However, beacon reception information is not shared among participants. Each participant can only obtain beacon reception information from users of their own application, and cannot obtain beacon reception information from users of other participants' applications, thereby blocking information leakage among participants.

[0007] The present invention is a beacon sharing computing system that allows beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, to be shared participants who operate an application. A reception information receiving unit receives beacon reception information, which includes terminal identification information that identifies the mobile terminal, beacon identification information that identifies the specific application, and reception time, transmitted from a mobile terminal running a specific application in the beacon sharing area in response to a signal from a beacon. A storage unit that stores the received beacon information, A request receiving unit that receives requests from the share participant's share participation terminal system for providing beacon reception information linked to the specific application, In response to the aforementioned request, the information provision unit reads only the beacon reception information bearing the application identification information of the specific application from the storage unit and provides it to the share-participating terminal system. The second feature is that it is equipped with [this feature]. According to the beacon sharing computing system equipped with the second feature, only beacon reception information collected by a mobile terminal running a specific application can be provided to the share participant operating that specific application. In the share participant's terminal system, for example, by providing a database that links beacon identification information with beacon sharing areas, the provided beacon reception information can be identified with the corresponding beacon sharing area.

[0008] Preferably, the beacon sharing computing system further includes a characteristic analysis unit that analyzes the pedestrian flow characteristics based on the beacon reception information. By accumulating the aforementioned beacon reception information, it is possible to analyze the characteristics of human flow in the beacon-shared area, such as the amount of people flowing at different times of the day, the direction of that flow, and the attribute distribution of the people who make up that flow. The aforementioned pedestrian flow characteristics can be represented, for example, by a Sankey diagram.

[0009] Preferably, the characteristic analysis unit further performs the analysis based on the trace information of the mobile terminal after receiving the beacon reception information. Examples of trace information include usage information for coupons issued to mobile devices. These coupons are issued, for example, by the application or the share-participating terminal system in response to signals from beacons in the specific beacon-sharing area or beacon reception information. The usage information is notified to the beacon-sharing computing system, for example, by the function of a software development kit incorporated into the application.

[0010] The present invention relates to a program for a beacon sharing computing system that causes beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, to be shared participants. A process of linking participant identification information that identifies a specific share participant who is permitted to share the beacon information for a specific beacon share area within the beacon share area, terminal identification information that identifies a mobile terminal equipped with an application operated by the specific share participant, and area identification information that identifies the specific beacon share area, and storing them in an identification database. A process for receiving beacon reception information, including terminal identification information, beacon identification information, and reception time, transmitted from the mobile terminal in response to a signal from a beacon in the specified beacon sharing area, The process involves storing the received beacon information in the storage unit, The process of receiving a request from the share participation terminal system of the specified share participant to provide beacon reception information in the specified beacon share area, In response to the aforementioned request, the process involves reading terminal identification information linked to the specific share participant from the identification database, reading only the beacon reception information associated with said terminal identification information from the storage unit, and providing it to the share participant terminal system. The first feature is that the computer constituting the beacon sharing computing system is made to execute the above.

[0011] The present invention is a program for a beacon sharing computing system that causes beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, to be shared participants who operate an application, A process of receiving beacon reception information including terminal identification information for identifying the mobile terminal, the beacon identification information, application identification information for identifying the specific application, and reception time, which is transmitted from a mobile terminal on which a specific application is operating in response to a signal from a beacon in the beacon sharing area; A process of storing the received beacon reception information in a storage unit; A process of receiving a request for providing beacon reception information associated with the specific application from the share participation terminal system of the share participant; A process of reading only the beacon reception information with the application identification information of the specific application from the storage unit in response to the provision request and providing it to the share participation terminal system; A second feature is to cause a computer constituting the beacon sharing computing system to execute the above.

Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, a beacon in a beacon sharing area having a flow characteristic such as a station ticket gate can be utilized by share participants other than the owner of the beacon.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a beacon sharing system including a beacon sharing computing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a table exemplifying a data structure of a share area information storage unit of the beacon sharing computing system. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a table exemplifying a data structure of an identification database of the beacon sharing computing system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a table exemplifying a data structure of a storage unit of the beacon sharing computing system. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a share participation flow of the beacon sharing system. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the terminal participation flow of the beacon sharing system. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the information collection flow of the beacon sharing system. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the information provision flow of the beacon sharing system. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of human flow characteristics analysis for the beacon sharing computing system. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing a beacon sharing system including a beacon sharing computing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a table illustrating the data structure of the identification database of the beacon sharing computing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a table illustrating the data structure of the storage unit of the beacon sharing computing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the share participation flow of the beacon sharing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the terminal participation flow of the beacon sharing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing the information collection flow of the beacon sharing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a flowchart showing the information provision flow of the beacon sharing system according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment (Figures 1-9)> As shown in Figure 1, the beacon sharing system 1 consists of one or more beacons 11 installed in one or more beacon sharing areas 10, a beacon sharing computing system 20, one or more share participation terminal systems 30, and one or more user mobile terminals 40.

[0015] The beacon sharing area 10 is preferably a place where large numbers of people frequently gather, disperse, or pass through, and where the direction of flow, pedestrian volume, and attribute distribution (gender, age group, social status, etc.) of people passing through it show a certain trend (pedestrian flow characteristics) depending on the time of day. In this embodiment, the beacon sharing area 10 is a train station ticket gate.

[0016] Beacons 11 are installed at various locations in the beacon sharing area 10. Each beacon 11 transmits a beacon signal 13 using a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) at regular intervals. The beacon signal 13 represents beacon identification information (hereinafter referred to as "beacon ID") that identifies the originating beacon 11. The beacon ID and the information of the installation location of the beacon 11 constitute the beacon information of the beacon 11. Typically, the owner of beacon 11 is the same as the owner 19 of beacon shared area 10. In the case of a train station ticket gate, it is the railway company.

[0017] The share participation terminal system 30 is composed of computers such as clouds, servers, personal computers, smartphones, and tablets of share participants 39 who wish to share information such as the beacon information of the beacon share system 1. An example of a share participant 39 is an application vendor that operates an application 32 for mobile terminals. Each share participant 39 is provided with authentication information (login ID and password) as participant identification information to identify them. The share participation terminal system 30 can be logged into the beacon share computing system 20 using this authentication information.

[0018] System participants 39 are authorized to share beacon information in one or more specific beacon sharing areas 10A from among the multiple beacon sharing areas 10 in the beacon sharing system 1. An authorized system participant 39 is referred to as a "specific system participant 39A". A share participation terminal system 30 that a specific system participant 39A logs into the beacon sharing computing system 20 using authentication information is referred to as a "specific share participation terminal system 30A".

[0019] The mobile terminal 40 is a portable computer such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer owned by a user 49 of the application 32. The application 32 is installed on the mobile terminal 40. The application 32 incorporates a software development kit 33 (hereinafter referred to as "SDK33") for enabling the mobile terminal 40 to participate in the beacon sharing system 1. The mobile terminal 40 is assigned terminal identification information through the function of SDK33. Furthermore, thanks to the SDK 33, the mobile terminal 40 stores beacon identification information for beacons 11 located in a specific beacon sharing area 10A authorized by the system participant 39A operating the application 32.

[0020] The beacon sharing computing system 20 is composed of computers such as clouds and servers. The beacon share computing system 20 includes a share area information storage unit 21, an identification database 22, a received information receiving unit 23, a storage unit 24, a request receiving unit 25, an information provision unit 26, a characteristic analysis unit 27, and a characteristic update unit 28.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the shared area information storage unit 21 is a database that stores shared area information. The shared area information includes basic information about the beacon shared area 10, area identification information, beacon information, and pedestrian flow characteristics information. Basic information includes data such as the name and address of Beacon Share Area 10, and a map of Area 10. Area identification information is information that identifies the beacon share area 10. The beacon information includes the identification information (beacon ID) of each beacon 11 installed in the beacon sharing area 10, and information on the installation location of each beacon 11. The pedestrian flow characteristics information is information on the pedestrian flow characteristics of the beacon share area 10, which has been analyzed by the beacon share computing system 20. The pedestrian flow characteristics information is represented, for example, by a Sankey diagram.

[0022] As shown in Figure 3, the identification database 22 stores, linked together, the area identification information of the specific beacon sharing area 10A, the authentication information (participant identification information) of the specific share participant 39A who is authorized to share the beacon information of the beacon sharing area 10A, and the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 40 that is equipped with the application operated by the share participant 39A.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the received information receiving unit 23 is composed of the communication function and CPU function of the system 20 and performs processing to receive beacon reception information transmitted from the mobile terminal 40 in response to beacon signals in a specific beacon sharing area 10A.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4, the storage unit 24 is a data logger that stores the received beacon reception information. The beacon reception information includes the beacon identification information and reception time represented by the beacon signal, as well as the terminal identification information of the transmitting mobile terminal 40.

[0025] As shown in Figure 1, the request receiving unit 25 is composed of the communication function and CPU function of the system 20, and executes the process of receiving requests from the share participation terminal system 30 and, by extension, the share participants 39 to provide beacon reception information for a specific beacon sharing area 10A. The information provision unit 26, in response to a request for information provision, reads the terminal identification information linked to the participant identification information of the share participant 39 from the identification database 22, reads only the beacon reception information with said terminal identification information attached from the storage unit 24, and performs the process of providing it to the share participant terminal system 30 that made the request.

[0026] The characteristic analysis unit 27 performs a process to analyze the pedestrian flow characteristics based on the beacon reception information. The characteristic update unit 28 performs a process to update the pedestrian flow characteristic information in the shared area information storage unit 21 according to the analysis results.

[0027] The beacon share computing system 20 is equipped with a program for the beacon share system 1. This program causes the computers constituting the beacon share computing system 20 to execute each of the processes of the components 21 to 28.

[0028] The processing flow of the beacon sharing system 1 will be explained according to the flowcharts in Figures 5 to 9. <Sharing Participation Flow> As shown in Figure 5, the share participant 39 (or anyone who wishes to do so) uses the distributed authentication information to log in to the beacon share computing system 20 on the share participant terminal system 30 (step 101). The beacon share computing system 20 performs the login authentication process (step 102).

[0029] When a logged-in share participant terminal system 30 requests to view the beacon share area (step 103), the beacon share computing system 20, which receives the request, discloses at least the basic beacon share area information from the share area information storage unit 21 to the share participant terminal system 30 (step 105). At this stage, the beacon identification information is not disclosed.

[0030] This allows the share participant 39 to view basic information about the beacon sharing area (step 106), select the beacon sharing area 10 for which they wish to share information, and apply to share beacon information (step 107). The beacon sharing computing system 20 accepts the sharing application (step 108). After that, log out of the shared terminal system 30 (step 109).

[0031] The 39 applications from participants in the sharing system will be reviewed by the operator of Beacon Sharing System 1. Specific share participants 39A who are permitted to share beacon information in a specific beacon sharing area 10A are distributed an SDK 33 specific to that specific beacon sharing area 10A by the system operator. The sharing participant 39 incorporates the SDK 33 into application 32 and then distributes application 32 to application users 49.

[0032] <Device participation flow> As shown in Figure 6, when application user 49 installs application 32 on mobile terminal 40A (step 121), SDK 33 issues terminal identification information (terminal ID) for the mobile terminal 40A (step 122). The issued terminal identification information is registered with the mobile terminal 40A (step 123) and notified to the beacon share computing system 20 (step 124).

[0033] When the beacon share computing system 20 receives the terminal identification information (step 130), it links the authentication information (participant identification information) of the specific share participant 39A, the area identification information of the specific beacon share area 10A, and the terminal identification information together and stores them in the identification database 22 (Figure 3) (step 131). Furthermore, the beacon share computing system 20 transmits the beacon identification information of each beacon 11 installed in the specific beacon share area 10A to the mobile terminal 40A (step 132). The mobile terminal 40A receives the beacon identification information (step 140) and registers it in the memory area reserved by SDK 33 (step 141).

[0034] <Information Gathering Flow> As shown in Figure 7, suppose an application user 49 carrying a mobile terminal 40A enters or passes through a specific beacon sharing area 10A. When the mobile terminal 40A enters the effective propagation range of the beacon signal 13 from the beacon 11 in that area 10A, it receives the beacon signal 13 (step 201). The receiving mobile terminal 40A, through the operation of SDK 33, checks whether the beacon identification information represented by the beacon signal 13 is registered in the memory area (step 202). In other words, it checks whether the originating beacon 11 was installed in a specific beacon sharing area 10A.

[0035] If the mobile terminal 40 determines that the beacon identification information has been registered, it transmits the beacon reception information, including the beacon identification information and the reception time, to the beacon sharing computing system 20 (step 203). If the mobile terminal 40 determines that the beacon identification information is not registered, it will not transmit the information. Therefore, only beacon reception information from the beacon sharing area 10A authorized by the share participant 39A operating application 32 is collected by the mobile terminal 40 equipped with application 32.

[0036] In the beacon sharing computing system 20, the received information receiving unit 23 receives the beacon reception information from the mobile terminal 40A (step 210). The received beacon reception information is stored in the storage unit 24 (step 211).

[0037] <Information Provision Flow> As shown in Figure 8, if a specific share participant 39A wants to obtain beacon reception information, they use authentication information (participant identification information) to log in to the beacon share computing system 20 of the share participant terminal system 30A (step 301). The beacon share computing system 20 accepts login from the share participant terminal system 30A by querying the received authentication information (step 302).

[0038] Share participant 39A sends a request to the beacon share computing system 20 from the logged-in share participant terminal system 30A for beacon reception information for a specific beacon share area 10A (step 310). In the beacon sharing computing system 20, the request receiving unit 25 receives the request for provision (step 311).

[0039] Next, the information provision unit 26 of the beacon share computing system 20 reads from the identification database 22 the authentication information, i.e., the participant identification information of the share participant 39A, along with the terminal identification information, in response to the provision request (step 312). Furthermore, the information provision unit 26 reads only the beacon reception information with the terminal identification information attached from the storage unit 24 (step 313). The read beacon reception information is then provided to the share participant terminal system 30A that made the provision request (step 314).

[0040] The sharing participant terminal system 30A receives the beacon reception information (step 315). After that, it logs out (step 316). Examples of how the information is provided include transmitting beacon reception information to the sharing terminal system 30A and viewing it on the browser of the beacon sharing computing system 20.

[0041] In short, only the specific share participants 39 who are authorized to share information in the specific beacon share area 10A can receive beacon reception information from that specific beacon share area 10A. Furthermore, the only beacon reception information that a specific share participant 39A can receive is that received by a mobile terminal 40A on which the application 32 operated by 39A is installed. It cannot receive beacon reception information from mobile terminals 40 related to other share participants 39. Therefore, information leakage among share participants 39 can be prevented.

[0042] According to the beacon sharing system 1, beacon information in the beacon sharing area 10 can be shared by sharing participants 39 other than the owner 19 of the beacon 11. The beacon owner 19 can monetize by lending out the beacon information. The shared terminal system 30 can use the acquired beacon reception information to perform predetermined actions (such as delivering content to the mobile terminal 40).

[0043] <Flow Pattern Analysis Flow> As shown in Figure 9, the characteristic analysis unit 27 of the beacon sharing computing system 20 analyzes pedestrian flow characteristics based on beacon reception information periodically or in response to a command (step 400). This allows obtaining information such as the pedestrian flow rate for each time period, the direction of pedestrian flow, and the trends in the attributes of the people who make up that flow.

[0044] Preferably, the characteristic analysis unit 27 analyzes pedestrian flow characteristics based on trace information from the mobile terminal 40 after receiving the beacon reception information, in addition to the beacon reception information. Examples of trace information include information on the use of coupons issued by the application 32 in response to the beacon reception information, and information on the viewing of distributed content. This trace information is fed back from the mobile terminal 40 to the beacon sharing computing system 20 by the SDK 33.

[0045] This allows us to obtain information such as what actions people with certain attributes take after passing through the beacon sharing area 10, and how much commercial effect coupons and distributed content have on those people. The characteristic analysis unit 27 can analyze pedestrian flow using beacon reception information from various mobile terminals 40 equipped with different applications 32 of multiple share participants 39 who are permitted to use information in the same beacon share area 10. Therefore, the accuracy of the analysis of pedestrian flow characteristics can be improved, and the quality of the obtained pedestrian flow characteristics can be enhanced.

[0046] Furthermore, in accordance with the analysis results, the characteristic update unit 28 updates the pedestrian flow characteristic information in the shared area information storage unit 21 (step 401).

[0047] Next, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following embodiments, components that overlap with those described in the previously described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings and their descriptions are omitted. <Second Embodiment (Figures 10-16)> Figure 10 shows a beacon sharing system 1B according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the beacon sharing system 1B, beacon reception information is acquired and provided to system participants using "application identification information" instead of "area identification information" as in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, in the identification database 22B of the beacon sharing computing system 20B of the beacon sharing system 1B, "application identification information" is stored in place of "area identification information (Figure 3)" and is linked to the authentication information of the share participant 39 and the terminal identification information of the mobile terminal 40B. In the second embodiment, the beacon sharing computing system 20B does not need to have an identification database 22B as a required configuration.

[0048] As shown in Figure 12, the storage unit 24B of the beacon sharing computing system 20B stores beacon identification information, reception time, and terminal identification information, similar to those in the first embodiment (Figure 4), as well as application identification information assigned to a specific application 32B, as beacon reception information. A specific application 32B refers to an application 32 operated by a specific share participant 39B who is authorized to share beacon information in a specific beacon sharing area 10B, and which is authorized to be used for collecting beacon reception information. Beacon reception information is collected using the application identification information of the specific application 32B and provided to the share participant 39B. The application identification information is unique to each specific application 32B and does not overlap not only between applications of different share participants, but also between multiple applications of the same share participant.

[0049] The beacon share computing system 20B is equipped with a program for the beacon share system 1B. This program causes the computers comprising the beacon share computing system 20B to execute the processes of components 21, 22B to 26B, 27, and 28.

[0050] As shown in Figure 13, in the share participation flow of the beacon share system 1B, the share participant 39 selects a beacon share area 10 in which they wish to share beacon information (step 107B), and also sends information to the beacon share computing system 20B about a specific application 32B that they wish to be used to provide beacon reception information in that beacon share area 10 (step 107B). The beacon share computing system 20B accepts this information (step 108B).

[0051] After review by the system operator, the SDK 33B for the specific beacon sharing area 10B, which is distributed to the specific share participant 39B, incorporates the application identification information of the specific application 32B that was applied for in step 107B. This enables the beacon sharing system 20B to associate the specific beacon sharing area 10B, each beacon 11 installed in that specific beacon sharing area 10B, and the specific application 32B. As shown in Figure 10, the share participation terminal system 30B is provided with a database 34 that links the identification information of a specific beacon share area 10B with the identification information of each beacon 11 installed in that specific beacon share area 10B.

[0052] The processing flow of the beacon sharing system 1B according to the second embodiment will be explained in accordance with the flowcharts in Figures 13 to 16, focusing on the parts that differ from the first embodiment. <Device participation flow> As shown in Figure 14, in the terminal participation flow, when application user 49 installs a specific application 32B on the mobile terminal 40B (step 121B), terminal identification information is issued by SDK 33B (step 122) and registered on the mobile terminal 40B (step 123). Along with the terminal identification information, application identification information embedded in SDK 33B is notified to the beacon share computing system 20B (step 124B).

[0053] When the beacon share computing system 20B receives terminal identification information and application identification information (step 130B), it links this terminal identification information and application identification information with the authentication information (participant identification information) of the specific share participant 39B and stores it in the identification database 22B (Figure 11) (step 131B). Subsequently, it transmits the beacon identification information of the specific beacon share area 10B that is permitted to be shared by the application 32B to the mobile terminal 40B (step 132). Upon receiving the beacon identification information, the mobile terminal 40B (step 140) registers the beacon identification information and the application identification information linked together in the memory area (database) secured by the SDK 33B (step 141B).

[0054] <Information Gathering Flow> As shown in Figure 15, in the information collection flow, when the mobile terminal 40B receives a beacon signal 13 within a specific beacon sharing area 10B (step 201), the SDK 33B checks whether the beacon identification information for that beacon signal 13 is registered in the storage area (step 202), and also checks whether the specific application 32B corresponding to that beacon identification information is running on the mobile terminal 40B (including background operation) (step 202B). If the beacon identification information is registered and the specific application 32B is running, beacon reception information is transmitted from the mobile terminal 40B to the beacon sharing computing system 20 (step 203B). The transmitted beacon reception information includes beacon identification information, reception time, terminal identification information, and application identification information. The transmission of beacon reception information (step 203B) will not occur not only if beacon identification information is not registered ("no" in step 202), but also if a specific application 32B is not running on the mobile terminal 40B ("no" in step 202B).

[0055] In the beacon sharing computing system 20B, beacon reception information is received by the reception information receiving unit 23B (step 210B) and stored in the storage unit 24B (step 211B). The received beacon reception information, and consequently the stored beacon reception information, includes beacon identification information, reception time, terminal identification information, and application identification information (Figure 12).

[0056] <Information Provision Flow> As shown in Figure 16, in the information provision flow, a request for beacon reception information linked to a specific application 32B is sent from the share participant terminal system 30B (after login processing, steps 301-302) to the beacon share computing system 20 (step 310B) via an operation by a specific share participant 39B. This request includes the application identification information of the specific application 32B. In the beacon sharing computing system 20, the request receiving unit 25B receives a provision request that includes the application identification information (step 311B).

[0057] Next, the information provision unit 26B of the beacon share computing system 20 reads only the beacon reception information with the same application identification information as the provision request from the storage unit 24B (step 313B). The read beacon reception information is provided to the share participant terminal system 30B that made the provision request (step 314B).

[0058] Therefore, a specific share participant 39B can receive beacon reception information collected from a specific beacon sharing area 10B by a mobile terminal 40B running a specific application 32B that it operates (step 315B). In short, only the specific share participant 39B that operates the specific application 32B can receive beacon reception information associated with that specific application 32B. If a specific share participant 39B operates multiple applications, when requesting beacon reception information, they can specify the specific application 32B using application identification information, thereby receiving only the beacon reception information associated with the desired specific application 32B. In the sharing terminal system 30B, the database 34 can identify the beacon reception information received and the corresponding beacon sharing area 10.

[0059] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from its spirit. For example, the beacon sharing area 10 is not limited to station ticket gates; it could also be a park where many people gather, or a public square used as a meeting place. [Industrial applicability]

[0060] The present invention can be applied, for example, to a human flow analysis system using beacons. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1.1B Beacon Sharing System 10 Beacon Share Area 10A, 10B Specific Beacon Sharing Area 11 Beacons 13 Beacon signals 19 Beacon Owners 20,20B Beacon Share Computing System 21 Shared Area Information Storage Unit 22,22B Identification Database 23,23B Receiving Information Section 24,24B storage section 25,25B Request Reception Department 26,26B Information provision department 27 Characteristic analysis section 28 Characteristic update section 30 Share Participating Terminal Systems 30A Specific Share Participating Terminal System 32 Applications 33,33B Software Development Kit (SDK) 39,39B share participants 39A Specific Share Participants 40,40B User Mobile Terminals 49 users

Claims

1. A beacon sharing computing system that allows sharing participants to share beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, An identification database that stores participant identification information that identifies a specific share participant who is permitted to share the beacon information for a specific beacon share area within the beacon share area, terminal identification information that identifies a mobile terminal equipped with an application operated by the specific share participant, and area identification information that identifies the specific beacon share area, linked together. A reception information receiving unit that receives beacon reception information, including terminal identification information, beacon identification information, and reception time, transmitted from the mobile terminal in response to a signal from a beacon in the specified beacon sharing area, A storage unit that stores the received beacon information, A request receiving unit that receives requests from the share participation terminal system of the specified share participant for the provision of beacon reception information in the specified beacon share area, An information provision unit reads terminal identification information linked to the specific share participant from the identification database in response to the aforementioned request, reads only the beacon reception information with said terminal identification information attached from the storage unit, and provides it to the share participant terminal system. A means for performing login authentication processing for terminal systems that wish to participate in the sharing process, A means for disclosing basic information, including the name and address of the beacon sharing area, to a terminal system that wishes to participate in the sharing, in response to a viewing request from a terminal system that wishes to participate in the sharing after being logged in and authenticated; A means for receiving requests to share a specific beacon sharing area from terminal systems wishing to participate in the aforementioned sharing, A beacon-sharing computing system characterized by having the following features.

2. A beacon sharing computing system that allows beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, to be shared participants who operate the application, A reception information receiving unit receives beacon reception information, which includes terminal identification information that identifies the mobile terminal, beacon identification information that identifies the specific application, and reception time, transmitted from a mobile terminal running a specific application in the beacon sharing area in response to a signal from a beacon. A storage unit that stores the received beacon information, A request receiving unit that receives requests from the share participant's share participation terminal system for providing beacon reception information linked to the specific application, In response to the aforementioned request, the information provision unit reads only the beacon reception information bearing the application identification information of the specific application from the storage unit and provides it to the share-participating terminal system. A means for performing login authentication processing for terminal systems that wish to participate in the sharing process, A means for disclosing basic information, including the name and address of the beacon sharing area, to a terminal system that wishes to participate in the sharing, in response to a viewing request from a terminal system that wishes to participate in the sharing after being logged in and authenticated; A means for receiving share applications from terminal systems that wish to participate in the aforementioned share, A beacon-sharing computing system characterized by having the following features.

3. The beacon share computing system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a characteristic analysis unit for analyzing the pedestrian flow characteristics based on the beacon reception information.

4. The beacon sharing computing system according to claim 3, characterized in that the characteristic analysis unit further performs the analysis based on trace information of the mobile terminal after receiving the beacon reception information.

5. A program for a beacon sharing computing system that allows sharing participants to share beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, A process of linking participant identification information that identifies a specific share participant who is permitted to share the beacon information for a specific beacon share area within the beacon share area, terminal identification information that identifies a mobile terminal equipped with an application operated by the specific share participant, and area identification information that identifies the specific beacon share area, and storing them in an identification database. A process for receiving beacon reception information, including terminal identification information, beacon identification information, and reception time, transmitted from the mobile terminal in response to a signal from a beacon in the specified beacon sharing area, The process involves storing the received beacon information in the storage unit, The process of receiving a request from the share participation terminal system of the specified share participant to provide beacon reception information in the specified beacon share area, In response to the aforementioned request, the process involves reading terminal identification information linked to the specific share participant from the identification database, reading only the beacon reception information associated with said terminal identification information from the storage unit, and providing it to the share participant terminal system. A process for performing login authentication for terminal systems that wish to participate in the sharing process, In response to a viewing request from a terminal system that has been logged in and is requesting to participate in the sharing, the process involves disclosing basic information, including the name and address of the beacon sharing area, to the terminal system requesting to participate in the sharing; The process involves receiving a request from a terminal system wishing to participate in the aforementioned sharing to share a specific beacon sharing area, A program that causes the computers constituting the beacon sharing computing system to execute.

6. A program for a beacon sharing computing system that allows beacon information, including beacon identification information and installation location information of beacons installed in a beacon sharing area having human flow characteristics, to beacon sharing participants who operate the application, A process to receive beacon reception information, including terminal identification information that identifies the mobile terminal, beacon identification information that identifies the specific application, and reception time, transmitted from a mobile terminal running a specific application in the beacon sharing area in response to a signal from a beacon, The process involves storing the received beacon information in the storage unit, The process of receiving a request from the share participant's share participant terminal system for providing beacon reception information linked to the specific application, In response to the aforementioned request, the process involves reading only the beacon reception information associated with the application identification information of the specific application from the storage unit and providing it to the share-participating terminal system. A process for performing login authentication for terminal systems that wish to participate in the sharing process, In response to a viewing request from a terminal system that has been logged in and is requesting to participate in the sharing, the process involves disclosing basic information, including the name and address of the beacon sharing area, to the terminal system requesting to participate in the sharing; The process of receiving share applications from terminal systems that wish to participate in the aforementioned share, A program that causes the computers constituting the beacon sharing computing system to execute.

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