Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

An information processing device (100) comprises: a calculation unit (102) that calculates a score representing the mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biological information; an inference unit (104) that uses the score and a reference including a threshold value associated with the subject to estimate the subject's emotions; and an update unit (106) that updates the threshold score using a score history.

Description

Information processing device, information processing method, and program recording medium

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program recording medium.

[0002] There is a system that processes a subject's voice and facial expression using voice or image recognition to analyze the subject's emotions. Patent Document 1 describes an apparatus that processes an image of a user's facial expression while operating an image forming device such as a camera, determines whether the user is confused, and displays a help image if it determines that the user is confused. Patent Document 1 also describes a solution to the problem of reduced accuracy in emotion estimation due to individual differences in the degree to which a person's mouth corners are turned up or eyebrows are lowered. To solve this problem, the image forming device described in Patent Document 1 captures a reference face and a target face as facial images of the user, which serve as a reference for facial expression changes, and determines the emotion of the target face based on the amount of change in facial expression from the reference face, and provides message support corresponding to the emotion of the target face. The image forming device includes: a detection unit that detects input operations performed smoothly by the user when setting printing conditions for executing a print job at the user's request; and an acquisition unit that acquires a facial image captured by a capture unit as the reference face when the detection unit detects a smooth input operation and the user's facial expression is expected to be the reference for facial expression changes.

[0003] Patent Literature 2 describes a device that recognizes a user's personality to identify the individual and improves the recognition accuracy when recognizing the user's emotions. Patent Literature 2 also describes a method for reducing erroneous recognition, such as when a user with slant eyes is recognized as "angry" even though the user is not angry. In the device described in Patent Literature 2, a personality recognition unit compares the user's feature amounts extracted by each of the voice recognition unit, image recognition unit, and action recognition unit with individual identification data stored in a personality DB to recognize the user's personality and identify the individual, and reads out a personality data group corresponding to the identified user and outputs it to each emotion recognition unit. Each emotion recognition unit recognizes emotions using the data stored in the voice DB, image DB, and action DB based on the difference between the user's feature amounts extracted by each of the voice recognition unit, image recognition unit, and action recognition unit and the personality data group provided by the personality recognition unit.

[0004] JP 2020-163660 A JP 2001-83984 A

[0005] The technologies described in the above-mentioned documents estimate a user's emotions in specific situations, such as when operating an image forming device or driving a car, and therefore aim to improve the accuracy of estimating the user's emotions at those times. Therefore, the technologies described in the above documents do not anticipate automatically adjusting for individual differences between subjects, even when employees are replaced, which is required in cases where emotions such as stress and anxiety of employees in a workplace with a high turnover are estimated with the aim of improving the work environment. In response to this, the present inventors have investigated automatically adjusting individual differences between subjects, even in a workplace with a high turnover of employees, to improve the accuracy of emotion estimation in accordance with the individual characteristics of each subject employee.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, one example of the object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program recording medium that solve the problem of accuracy reduction due to individual differences in biometric information in emotion analysis using biometric information.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing device comprising: a calculation means for calculating a score indicating the mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biometric information; an estimation means for estimating the subject's emotions using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject; and an update means for updating the threshold using a history of the score.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method in which one or more computers process biometric information of a subject to calculate a score indicating the mental state of the subject, estimate the subject's emotions using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject, and update the threshold using a history of the scores.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: calculating a score indicating the mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biometric information; estimating the subject's emotions using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject; and updating the threshold using a history of the score.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program recording medium that can improve accuracy in emotion analysis using biometric information by taking into account individual differences in biometric information.

[0011] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of an information processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer that realizes an information processing device. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a logical configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of biometric information. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of score history information. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an emotion estimation method using an arousal level and a harmony level. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining individual differences in biometric information and adjustment of a threshold. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining emotion analysis using a threshold updated by an update unit. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of threshold information. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of an information processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining adjustment of a threshold. FIG. 14 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 18 is a flowchart conceptually illustrating a system configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all drawings, similar components are designated by similar reference numerals, and their description will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, in the following drawings, configurations of parts that are not related to the essence of the present invention are omitted and are not shown.

[0013] In the embodiments, "acquisition" includes at least one of the following: a device going to retrieve data or information stored in another device or storage medium (active acquisition); and inputting data or information output from another device into the device (passive acquisition). Examples of active acquisition include making a request or inquiry to another device and receiving a response, and accessing and reading information from another device or storage medium. Examples of passive acquisition include receiving information that is distributed (or transmitted, push notification, etc.). Furthermore, "acquisition" may also mean selecting and acquiring data or information from received data or information, or selecting and receiving distributed data or information.

[0014] <Minimum Configuration Example> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes a calculation unit 102, an estimation unit 104, and an update unit 106. The calculation unit 102 calculates a score indicating the mental state of the subject by processing biometric information of the subject. The estimation unit 104 estimates the subject's emotion using a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject and the score. The update unit 106 updates the threshold using a score history.

[0015] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The calculation unit 102 processes the subject's biometric information to calculate a score indicating the subject's mental state (step S101). The estimation unit 104 estimates the subject's emotion using a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject and the score (step S103). The update unit 106 updates the threshold using the score history (step S105).

[0016] Steps S103 and S105 of this process may be executed, for example, every time the subject's biometric information is acquired, or may be executed periodically at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing may be, for example, every hour, every half day, every day, or every week. Step S105 may also be executed periodically at another predetermined timing. The other predetermined timing may be, for example, every week, every other week, or every month. The score history uses history information accumulated from the execution timing before this execution timing to the current execution timing.

[0017] In this information processing device 100, the calculation unit 102 processes the subject's biometric information to calculate a score indicating the subject's mental state. The estimation unit 104 estimates the subject's emotion using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject. The update unit 106 updates the threshold using the score history. In this way, according to this information processing device 100, emotion analysis using biometric information can be performed with improved accuracy by taking into account individual differences in biometric information.

[0018] A detailed example of the information processing device 100 will be described below.

[0019] First Embodiment <System Overview> Fig. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the system configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes an information processing device 100 and a wearable terminal 50. In this example, the information processing device 100 is a user terminal 60 of a user U, and is, for example, a computer such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer. The user terminal 60 and the wearable terminal 50 perform a pairing procedure in advance so that they can communicate using near field communication (NFC).

[0020] In the information processing system 1, the user U is the subject of emotion analysis, and the user U is, for example, an employee of a company. In this example, the user terminal 60 is owned by the user U, and the wearable terminal 50 is loaned to the user U by the company. However, the user terminal 60 does not necessarily have to be owned by the user U, and may be loaned to the user U by the company. Furthermore, the wearable terminal 50 does not necessarily have to be loaned to the user U by the company, and may be owned by the user U.

[0021] In this example, the wearable device 50 is loaned to the user U by the company, and the user U borrows the wearable device 50 when coming to work, pairs the wearable device 50 with the user device 60, wears the wearable device 50 while working, and cancels the pairing between the wearable device 50 and the user device 60 when leaving work and returns the wearable device 50. In other words, the wearable device 50 can be shared and used among employees. Therefore, if the work style is a shift system, it is sufficient to prepare wearable devices 50 for the number of people present at their desks each day, rather than for the number of employees.

[0022] The wearable device 50 measures the biometric information of the user U and transmits it to the user terminal 60. The biometric information acquired by the wearable device 50 includes, but is not limited to, various types of information such as pulse rate, heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, activity level, posture, electrocardiogram, respiratory rate, blood oxygen level, and conversation voice.

[0023] The wearable device 50 is equipped with various sensors for measuring these biometric information. Furthermore, with regard to conversational voice, the voice collected from the speaker of the wearable device 50 may be recorded, and the voice data may be transmitted to the user terminal 60. The user terminal 60 may process the voice data to calculate the conversation volume and record it as biometric information of the user U. However, the wearable device 50 may also process the voice data and transmit the conversation volume to the user terminal 60. Note that the conversation volume does not include information regarding the content of the conversation. The conversation volume may be indicated, for example, by the number of words spoken per unit of time. Furthermore, in a configuration including a server device 70 in the embodiment described below, the voice data may be transmitted to the server device 70, and the server device 70 may process the voice data to calculate the conversation volume and generate biometric information of the user U.

[0024] An application for using the services of the information processing system 1 is pre-installed on the user terminal 60 of the user U. The user U wears the wearable terminal 50, starts the application on the user terminal 60, and pairs the wearable terminal 50 with the user terminal 60. This allows the information processing device 100 to realize its functions on the user terminal 60.

[0025] <Hardware Configuration Example> Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1000 that realizes the information processing device 100 (user terminal 60). The wearable terminal 50 in Fig. 3 is also realized by the computer 1000. In addition, in an example in which the information processing device 100 is realized in combination with a server device 70, which will be described in an embodiment later, the server device 70 is also realized by the computer 1000. In addition, the administrator terminal 80, which will be described in an embodiment later, is also realized by the information processing device 100.

[0026] The computer 1000 has a bus 1010 , a processor 1020 , a memory 1030 , a storage device 1040 , an input / output interface 1050 , and a network interface 1060 .

[0027] The bus 1010 is a data transmission path for transmitting and receiving data among the processor 1020, memory 1030, storage device 1040, input / output interface 1050, and network interface 1060. However, the method of connecting the processor 1020 and the like to each other is not limited to bus connection.

[0028] The processor 1020 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

[0029] The memory 1030 is a main storage device realized by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like.

[0030] The storage device 1040 is an auxiliary storage device realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like. The storage device 1040 stores program modules that realize each function of the information processing device 100 (e.g., the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, and the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, and the output processing unit 114, which will be described later). The processor 1020 loads each of these program modules into the memory 1030 and executes them, thereby realizing each function corresponding to the program module. The storage device 1040 may also store each data of the storage device 120, which will be described later.

[0031] The program module may be recorded on a recording medium. The recording medium on which the program module is recorded may include a non-transitory, tangible medium usable by the computer 1000, and the program code readable by the computer 1000 (processor 1020) may be embedded in the medium.

[0032] The input / output interface 1050 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 with various input / output devices. The input / output interface 1050 also functions as a communication interface for performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0033] The network interface 1060 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 to a communication network. This communication network may be, for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). The network interface 1060 may connect to the communication network wirelessly or by wire.

[0034] The computer 1000 then connects to necessary equipment (e.g., the display, touch panel, display, operation buttons, camera, speaker, microphone of the user terminal 60, the display, touch panel, display, operation buttons, speaker, microphone of the wearable terminal 50, the keyboard, mouse, speaker, microphone, printer, etc. of the server device 70) via the input / output interface 1050 or the network interface 1060.

[0035] The components of the information processing apparatus 100 of each embodiment shown in Figure 1 and Figures 5, 16, 18, and 21 described below are realized by any combination of hardware and software of the computer 1000 of Figure 4. Those skilled in the art will understand that there are various variations in the realization methods and devices. The functional block diagrams showing the information processing apparatus 100 of each embodiment show logical functional blocks rather than a hardware-based configuration.

[0036] <Functional Configuration Example> Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the logical configuration of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes the same components as the information processing device 100 in Fig. 1 : the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, and the update unit 106, and further includes an acquisition unit 110. The acquisition unit 110 acquires biometric information from a wearable device 50 worn by a user U (subject). In the embodiment, the biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 110 will be described using pulse rate as an example. However, as described above, various types of information can be used as the biometric information.

[0037] There is no particular limitation on the timing of acquiring the biometric information from the wearable terminal 50. Depending on the storage capacity of the wearable terminal 50, a certain amount of biometric information may be stored and transmitted collectively for a predetermined period of time. Depending on the communication status between the wearable terminal 50 and the user terminal 60, the biometric information may be transmitted when the communication status is good, or may be transmitted immediately each time the biometric information is acquired, or after a certain time has elapsed.

[0038] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the biological information 130. The biological information 130 stores time information and biological information such as pulse rate, activity level, and conversation level in association with each other. The biological information 130 is stored in the memory 1030 or storage device 1040 of the computer 1000 that implements the user terminal 60.

[0039] The calculation unit 102 calculates a score indicating the mental state of the user U (subject) by processing the biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 110. The score indicating the mental state includes multiple scores indicating multiple types of mental states. As an example, the score includes scores indicating an alertness level and a harmony level. For example, the alertness level is a value indicating the degree of alertness that indicates a state of drowsiness, where a larger score value indicates a higher level of alertness, and a smaller score value indicates a higher level of drowsiness. The harmony level is a value indicating emotions such as pleasant or unpleasant, where a larger score value indicates a more comfortable state, and a smaller score value indicates a more uncomfortable state.

[0040] The score may be a value indicated in any of the ranges of values, for example, 0 to 100, −100 to +100, 0 to 1, and −1 to +1, but is not limited to these.

[0041] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the score history information 140. The score history information 140 stores time information and scores calculated by the calculation unit 102 in association with each other. The score history information 140 is stored in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the computer 1000 that realizes the user terminal 60.

[0042] The estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U (subject person) using a criterion including a threshold associated with the user U (subject person) and a score indicating the mental state of the user U. In the embodiment, the estimation unit 104 estimates which of four emotions the user U is feeling, based on two scores indicating two types of mental states.

[0043] 8 is a diagram illustrating an emotion estimation method using an arousal level and a harmony level. In this example, the arousal level and the harmony level are shown as coordinate axes, and the four regions divided by the coordinate axes correspond to the four emotions of user U. In this example, the four emotions are "ANGRY," "HAPPY," "SAD," and "RELAXED," and are set by the four coordinate regions, respectively. If user U's score value falls within a range exceeding a threshold, user U is estimated to be in the emotion in that region.

[0044] The estimation unit 104 plots the score values ​​indicating the two types of mental states of the user U (subject) on a coordinate system as values ​​on two coordinate axes. Each of the four regions divided by the coordinate axes represents a range of four different emotions of the user U (subject). If the plotted value exceeds a threshold, the estimation unit 104 estimates that the emotion corresponding to the region in which the plotted value exists is the emotion of the user U (subject).

[0045] Specifically, the estimation unit 104 plots a score indicating the arousal level and a score indicating the harmony level on the graph of FIG. 8 . A threshold T is preset for at least one of the arousal level and the harmony level. This threshold T is represented by a value between 0 and 100 on the Y coordinate of the arousal level in FIG. 8 . The areas beyond the circle having a radius based on this threshold and extending up to 100 on the Y axis correspond to each emotion. In other words, when the plotted score value falls within each area exceeding the threshold T, it is estimated that the user U (subject) is experiencing an emotion in that area. For example, FIG. 8 shows data d1 plotting the arousal level score y1 and the harmony level score x1 at time t1. Since the data d1 of the user U (subject) at this time falls within the area indicated as "HAPPY" that exceeds the threshold T, it is estimated that the user U is experiencing a happy emotion.

[0046] 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating individual differences in biometric information and threshold adjustment. As shown in Fig. 9A, the time change in average alertness level is indicated by a dashed line, and the average threshold T is indicated by a broken line. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 9A, some individuals exhibit changes in alertness level as indicated by the solid line, while others exhibit changes in alertness level as indicated by the two-dot chain line. Thus, there are individual differences in the scores indicating the mental state of the subject.

[0047] If the emotion of the subject shown by the solid line is estimated using threshold T, the subject may be estimated to be always angry, for example, because the arousal level score always exceeds threshold T.

[0048] Therefore, the update unit 106 updates the threshold T using the score history. That is, as shown in FIG. 9( b), for a subject whose arousal level score history is indicated by the solid line, the threshold T0 is changed to the threshold T1. That is, the threshold T1 is set higher than the threshold T0. This prevents the arousal level score from always exceeding the threshold, as described above, and allows the subject's emotions to be accurately estimated.

[0049] 10 is a diagram illustrating emotion analysis using the threshold T1 updated by the update unit 106. For example, data d2 of user U at time t2 is located inside the threshold T1 and therefore outside the "ANGRY" region. Therefore, the emotion of the subject at this time is estimated to be not "ANGRY."

[0050] The update unit 106 sets a threshold for the user U (subject person) using the maximum and minimum values ​​of the score of the user U (subject person).

[0051] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the threshold information 150. In this example, the threshold information 150 includes information for updating the threshold value of the arousal level. The threshold information 150 stores, in association with each other, time information for the start and end of the period indicating the period of the score history information 140 used to calculate the threshold value, the maximum and minimum values ​​of the arousal level score for the period, and a threshold value updated by an average value calculated from the maximum and minimum values. However, the maximum and minimum values ​​of the arousal level score do not necessarily have to be stored. The threshold information 150 is stored in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the computer 1000 that implements the user terminal 60.

[0052] <Operation Example> Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The flow in Fig. 12 includes the same steps S101 to S105 as the flow in Fig. 2, and also includes step S111. However, each step in the flowchart can operate independently, and as described above, the timing at which each step is executed may differ.

[0053] First, the acquisition unit 110 acquires biometric information from the wearable terminal 50 worn by the user U (step S111). The acquired biometric information is associated with time information and stored as biometric information 130 in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60. The time information is preferably the time when the biometric information is measured by the wearable terminal 50, but may also be the time when the biometric information is received from the wearable terminal 50 or the time when the biometric information is stored as the biometric information 130.

[0054] The calculation unit 102 processes the biometric information of the user U to calculate a score indicating the mental state of the user U (step S101). The calculated score is stored as score history information 140 in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60.

[0055] The estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the user U (step S103). The estimation result is stored as score history information 140 in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60.

[0056] The update unit 106 updates the threshold using the score history (step S105). For example, using a one-week score history, the update unit 106 extracts the maximum and minimum scores, calculates the average value, and sets the threshold. The calculated threshold is stored as threshold information 150 in the memory 1030 or storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60. The updated threshold is then used by the estimation unit 104 as the threshold for user U for the following week.

[0057] However, if the score value includes a negative value (for example, on the drowsiness side of the alertness level), the update unit 106 calculates the average value of at least one of the positive score value (alertness) and the negative score value (drowsiness), and sets this as the threshold value.

[0058] If the threshold value T updated by the update unit 106 is lower than the previous threshold value, the range of each emotion will be wider as shown in FIG.

[0059] The update unit 106 may update the threshold for each type of score, for example. For example, as shown in FIG. 14A, only the threshold T for the arousal level may be updated. Furthermore, the update unit 106 may analyze the trend of score changes, and in the case of user U whose score values ​​are generally higher, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 9B, the update unit 106 may change the threshold T for the arousal level so as to shift it upward overall, as shown in FIG. 14B. For example, the update unit 106 may store minimum and maximum values ​​of standard scores and compare the minimum and maximum values ​​of user U with the standard values ​​to determine how to change the threshold. In other words, if both the minimum and maximum values ​​of user U are lower than the standard values, the threshold for user U may be changed so as to shift it downward from the standard threshold.

[0060] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 includes the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, and the acquisition unit 110. The acquisition unit 110 acquires biometric information from the wearable device 50 worn by the user U. The calculation unit 102 processes the biometric information of the user U to calculate a score indicating the mental state of the user U. The estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U using a criterion including a threshold associated with the user U and the score. The update unit 106 updates the threshold using the score history.

[0061] In this way, according to the information processing device 100 of the embodiment, the threshold value used for emotion analysis can be updated using the history of scores indicating the mental state of user U, and the updated threshold value can be used for the next emotion analysis.Therefore, in emotion analysis using biometric information, individual differences in biometric information can be taken into account, and accuracy can be improved.

[0062] Second Embodiment <System Overview> FIG. 15 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the system configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 further includes a server device 70 in addition to the information processing system 1 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. While the information processing device 100 was implemented by a user terminal 60 in the above embodiment, the information processing device 100 is implemented by a combination of the user terminal 60 and the server device 70 in this embodiment. The information processing device 100 of this embodiment is the same as the above embodiment, except that it is configured to exclude scores for periods that satisfy specific conditions from the score history used to update the threshold. The configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of the other embodiments, provided that no contradictions arise.

[0063] The server device 70 is a server computer realized by the computer 1000 of FIG. 4 described above. The server device 70 may also include a web server. The user terminal 60 is connected to the server device 70 via a communication network 3. The communication network 3 may be a network such as the Internet, or may be an in-house network. The server device 70 includes a storage device 120. The storage device 120 may be provided inside or outside the server device 70. In other words, the storage device 120 may be hardware that is integrated with the server device 70, or may be hardware that is separate from the server device 70.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the information processing device 100 is realized only by the user terminal 60, but in this embodiment, the information processing device 100 is realized by a combination of the server device 70 and the user terminal 60. Furthermore, the user U can use the services provided by the information processing system 1 by accessing the server device 70 using the user terminal 60. For this purpose, the user U performs user registration in advance and sets account information. When using a service of the information processing system 1, the user U logs in to the information processing system 1 using the account information.

[0065] The user U can use the services provided by the information processing system 1 by installing the above-mentioned application on the user terminal 60, starting the application, and logging in to the information processing system 1. Alternatively, the user U can use the services provided by the information processing system 1 by starting a predetermined browser on the user terminal 60, accessing a website for using the services provided by the information processing system 1, and logging in using account information.

[0066] <Example of Functional Configuration> Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment. The information processing device 100 further includes an exclusion unit 112 in addition to the configuration of the information processing device 100 in Fig. 5 .

[0067] The exclusion unit 112 excludes, from the score history, scores for a period that satisfies a specific condition.

[0068] The specific condition is, for example, a period specified by the user U. The specific condition may be a period specified by the user U or a numerical range of scores specified by the user U. The exclusion unit 112 displays a user interface (UI) on the application operation screen, which accepts the user U's specification of a period to be excluded from the score history information 140, and accepts the user U's specification. In this embodiment, the server device 70 can execute at least some of the functions of the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, the acquisition unit 110, and the exclusion unit 112. Biometric information can be considered personal information of the user U. Therefore, in this embodiment, biometric information from a period that the user U does not want to transmit to the server device 70 can be excluded and transmitted to the server device 70. Furthermore, biometric information from a time when the user U experiences a significantly different mental state from normal, other than when the user U "does not want to transmit," may also be excluded.

[0069] The division of functions of the information processing device 100 between the user terminal 60 and the server device 70 is exemplified below: (a1) The user terminal 60 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the wearable device 50 and the function of the exclusion unit 112, and the server device 70 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the user terminal 60 and the functions of the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, and the update unit 106. (a2) The user terminal 60 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the wearable device 50, and the server device 70 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the user terminal 60 and the functions of the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, and the update unit 106. (a3) The user terminal 60 realizes the functions of the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, and the update unit 106, and a function of transmitting the estimation result of the estimation unit 104 to the server device 70, and the server device 70 realizes a function of recording and presenting the estimation result received from the user terminal 60. (a4) The user terminal 60 realizes the functions of the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, and the estimation unit 104, and a function of transmitting the score calculated by the calculation unit 102 and the estimation result of the estimation unit 104 to the server device 70, and the server device 70 realizes a function of recording and presenting the estimation result received from the user terminal 60, and the function of the update unit 106, using the score received from the user terminal 60.

[0070] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 110 realized by the server device 70 may acquire the biometric information from the user terminal 60 of the user U, as described above, or may acquire the biometric information temporarily stored in an external storage device (or storage medium) from the user terminal 60 of the user U by reading it from another storage device. The calculation unit 102 calculates a score using the biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 110.

[0071] For example, the biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 110 from the wearable device 50 is stored in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60. When the score history information 140 for a predetermined period has been accumulated, the exclusion unit 112 causes the display of the user terminal 60 to display, at a predetermined timing, a screen including a UI that accepts from the user U designation of at least one of a period for which transmission to the server device 70 is permitted and a period for which information to be excluded from transmission. Alternatively, the exclusion unit 112 may cause the user terminal 60 to display a screen that indicates a period to be subject to transmission to the user U and includes a message inquiring as to whether or not biometric information for that period may be transmitted to the server device 70, and a UI that accepts a response of approval or denial.

[0072] When the user U accepts the designation of a period for which transmission is permitted or a period for which transmission is excluded, the exclusion unit 112 transmits the biometric information for the permitted period or the biometric information excluding the period for which exclusion is specified to the server device 70. Alternatively, when a response accepting the period for which transmission is to be performed is received, the exclusion unit 112 transmits the biometric information for the period for which transmission is to be performed to the server device 70. When a response rejecting transmission for the period for which transmission is to be performed is received, the exclusion unit 112 may cause the user terminal 60 to display a screen including a UI for accepting designation of at least one of the period for which transmission is permitted or the period for which transmission is to be excluded from the information to be transmitted, and similarly accept designation of the period for which transmission is permitted or the period for which transmission is to be excluded, and transmit the biometric information to the server device 70 in accordance with the designation.

[0073] Alternatively, the exclusion unit 112 may accept in advance on a setting screen a designation of a period to be subject to transmission or a period to be excluded from a period to be subject to transmission. For example, the exclusion unit 112 may accept designation of days of the week, time periods, etc. to be subject to transmission, or designation of days of the week to be excluded from a period to be subject to transmission. The exclusion unit 112 transmits the biometric information to the server device 70 according to the designated period.

[0074] The updating unit 106 updates the threshold using the score obtained by excluding the score for a period that satisfied a specific condition from the history by the exclusion unit 112. When the updating unit 106 is realized by the server device 70, the biometric information from which the period that satisfied the specific condition was excluded by the exclusion unit 112 is transmitted to the server device 70, and therefore the updating unit 106 updates the threshold using the received biometric information. On the other hand, when the updating unit 106 is realized by the user terminal 60, the updating unit 106 updates the threshold using the biometric information from which the period that satisfied the specific condition was excluded by the exclusion unit 112.

[0075] The estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U (subject) using scores obtained by excluding, from the history, scores for periods that satisfied specific conditions by the exclusion unit 112. When the estimation unit 104 is realized by the server device 70, the biometric information from which the periods that satisfied specific conditions were excluded by the exclusion unit 112 is transmitted to the server device 70, and therefore the estimation unit 104 updates the threshold using the received biometric information. On the other hand, when the estimation unit 104 is realized by the user terminal 60, the estimation unit 104 updates the threshold using the biometric information from which the periods that satisfied specific conditions were excluded by the exclusion unit 112.

[0076] The calculation unit 102 may calculate the average score for each predetermined period, and the exclusion unit 112 may identify the period to be excluded using an average value that satisfies a specific condition. The period may be, for example, one week. The calculation unit 102 calculates the average score of user U for each week, and the exclusion unit 112 excludes the score for that week if the difference between the average score and other weeks is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The predetermined period may be one day, and is not particularly limited. By excluding scores for periods in which the calculated average value differs from other periods by equal to or greater than a predetermined value, if the score fluctuates significantly, not due to individual differences but rather temporarily, unlike normal, the threshold update process using the score for that period can be avoided. In other words, the threshold can be prevented from being affected by temporary score fluctuations that are unusual.

[0077] The exclusion unit 112 may acquire schedule information of the user U (target person). Then, the exclusion unit 112 uses the schedule information to identify a period to be excluded from the processing target.

[0078] For example, the schedule information of user U may include information indicating user U's break times, and the exclusion unit 112 may identify user U's break times as periods to be excluded from processing. Alternatively, a setting screen including a UI for accepting designation of which periods of the schedule information to exclude may be displayed on the user terminal 60, and user U's designation may be accepted. For example, if a presentation to a client is scheduled, user U may be able to designate that biometric information for the scheduled time be excluded because the user knows that the presentation will make the user nervous. This allows scores for when user U's mental state is significantly different from normal to be excluded, and therefore threshold update processing using the scores for that period may not be performed. In other words, the threshold may be prevented from being affected by temporary score fluctuations that are unusual.

[0079] <Operation Example> The operation of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12 . Here, an example of the function allocation (a1) will be described. First, the acquisition unit 110 acquires biometric information from the wearable device 50 worn by the user U (step S111). The acquired biometric information is associated with time information and stored as biometric information 130 in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60. Then, the acquisition unit 110 transmits the biometric information accumulated for a predetermined period from the user terminal 60 to the server device 70 at a predetermined timing. Note that before the acquisition unit 110 transmits the biometric information, the exclusion unit 112 excludes the score for a period that satisfies a specific condition.

[0080] In the server device 70, the acquisition unit 110 associates the biometric information 130 of the user U received from the user terminal 60 with the identification information of the user U and stores it in the storage device 120. Then, in the server device 70, the calculation unit 102 processes the biometric information of the user U to calculate a score indicating the mental state of the user U (step S101). The calculated score is stored in the storage device 120 as score history information 140.

[0081] Then, in the server device 70, the estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the user U (step S103). The estimation result is stored in the storage device 120 as score history information 140.

[0082] The updating unit 106 then updates the threshold using the score history (step S105). For example, using a one-week score history, the updating unit 106 extracts the maximum and minimum scores, calculates the average value, and sets the threshold. The calculated threshold is stored in the storage device 120 as threshold information 150. The threshold updated in this way will be used by the estimation unit 104 as the threshold for user U for the following week.

[0083] As described above, according to this embodiment, the exclusion unit 112 is provided. The exclusion unit 112 excludes, from the score history, scores for periods that satisfy specific conditions. The update unit 106 then updates the threshold using the scores from the history obtained by the exclusion unit 112, excluding the scores for the periods. Furthermore, the estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U using the scores from the history obtained by the exclusion unit 112, excluding the scores for the periods.

[0084] As described above, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the above-described embodiment, and further allows the user U to specify biometric information that the user U does not want to be used in emotion analysis, and the exclusion unit 112 excludes biometric information for the specified period, allowing the estimation unit 104 to perform emotion analysis. Furthermore, the update unit 106 can update the threshold using a score excluding a period that satisfies a specific condition, and therefore, by updating the threshold while excluding scores for states that are different from the normal mental state, the accuracy of the threshold can be improved.

[0085] (Third Embodiment) <System Overview> Fig. 17 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the system configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. The information processing system 1 further includes an administrator terminal 80 in addition to the components of the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment of Fig. 3. The administrator terminal 80 is, for example, a terminal used by an administrator M who manages a user U at the company where the user U works, and is a computer 1000 such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone. The administrator terminal 80 can communicate with a user terminal 60 via a communication network 3.

[0086] This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except that when the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion, a message to that effect is output to an external terminal (administrator terminal 80). However, the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of embodiments other than the first embodiment to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

[0087] <Functional Configuration Example> Fig. 18 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration example of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. The information processing device 100 further includes an output processing unit 114 in addition to the configuration shown in Fig. 5. When the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion, the output processing unit 114 causes the administrator terminal 80 (external terminal) to output a message to that effect.

[0088] The criteria may be, for example, that the emotion estimation result indicates that the user U (subject) is under severe stress, or that the emotion estimation result indicates that the anxiety of the user U (subject) has continued for a certain period of time or more.

[0089] In other words, the criterion is that the emotion estimation result indicates that a situation has arisen in which the administrator M needs to be aware of the user U's mental state and take appropriate action. The output content includes, for example, information that can identify the user U to be notified, such as the user U's department and name, and the emotion estimation result that meets the criterion. User information including the user U's department and name is stored in advance in the memory 1030 or storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60 (the storage device 120 in the case of the server device 70) in association with the user U's identification information. In the case of the server device 70, the output processing unit 114 can acquire the user U's department, name, etc. that are associated with the identification information of the target person (user U) for whom notification is required, and include them in the output content.

[0090] The output processing unit 114 transmits a message to the administrator terminal 80 notifying that the estimation result of the emotion of the user U satisfies the criteria, for example, by email, a message via SMS (Short Message Service), etc. Destination information of the destination is stored in advance in the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60.

[0091] In an example in which the output processing unit 114 is realized by a server device 70 described in an embodiment below, for example, the administrator M performs user registration in advance and sets account information, similar to the user terminal 60. When using a service of the information processing system 1, the user U logs in to the information processing system 1 using the account information.

[0092] The administrator M can use the services provided by the information processing system 1 by installing the above-mentioned application on the administrator terminal 80, starting the application, and logging in to the information processing system 1. Alternatively, the administrator M can use the services provided by the information processing system 1 by starting a predetermined browser on the administrator terminal 80, accessing a website for using the services provided by the information processing system 1, and logging in using account information.

[0093] Then, in the server device 70, the output processing unit 114 notifies the administrator M on the administrator terminal 80 via a notification screen on the application or website that the estimation result of the emotion of the user U (subject person) meets the criteria.

[0094] Furthermore, the user U may be able to specify whether to allow or disallow the notification function of the output processing unit 114 to the administrator terminal 80. The output processing unit 114 can accept the specification using a specification screen including a UI that accepts the selection of allow or disallow. In accordance with the specification by the user U, the output processing unit 114 determines whether to notify the administrator terminal 80. Alternatively, before notifying the administrator terminal 80, the output processing unit 114 may display on the user terminal 60 a screen that includes the notification content and a UI that accepts the selection of whether to allow or disallow the notification, and determine whether to notify the administrator terminal 80 in accordance with the specification by the user U.

[0095] <Operation Example> Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This flow may be executed independently of the flows of Fig. 2 and Fig. 12, and may be executed at a predetermined timing as needed or periodically. For example, it may be executed once a week, once a month, etc. Alternatively, the administrator M may specify execution, or it may be executed when a specification from the administrator M is received.

[0096] The output processing unit 114 determines whether the estimation result of the emotion of the user U estimated by the estimation unit 104 satisfies the criteria (step S121). If the estimation result of the emotion satisfies the criteria (YES in step S121), the output processing unit 114 causes the administrator terminal 80 (external terminal) to output a message indicating that the estimation result of the emotion of the user U satisfies the criteria (step S113). The output processing unit 114 acquires the department and name of the user U, includes them in the output content, and sends a message to the administrator terminal 80 of the administrator M. If the estimation result of the emotion does not satisfy the criteria (NO in step S121), step S113 is bypassed and this process ends.

[0097] When the server device 70 realizes the functions of the output processing unit 114, the output processing unit 114 acquires the emotion estimation result for each user U, determines whether the emotion estimation result for each user U satisfies a criterion, and if the criterion is satisfied, acquires the department, name, etc. of the user U associated with the identification information of the user U, and includes these in the output content. Then, the output processing unit 114 outputs a notification screen to an application on the administrator terminal 80 of the administrator M or to a web page for the administrator M.

[0098] As described above, according to this embodiment, the output processing unit 114 is provided. When the emotion estimation result satisfies the criteria, the output processing unit 114 outputs a message to the manager terminal 80 (external terminal). In this way, according to the information processing device 100 of this embodiment, in addition to achieving the same effects as the above-described embodiment, when the emotion estimation result of user U (subject person) satisfies the criteria, the message can be output to the manager terminal 80 of the manager M. This allows the manager M to quickly know the mental state of user U when necessary and take appropriate action. By having the manager M know the user U's mental state, the user U can have the manager M take appropriate action, allowing the user U to work with peace of mind.

[0099] (Fourth embodiment) <System overview> Fig. 20 is a diagram conceptually showing the system configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment. In addition to the information processing system 1 of the embodiment in Fig. 3, the information processing system 1 includes a server device 70 and an administrator terminal 80. In other words, in addition to the information processing system 1 of the embodiment in Fig. 15, the information processing system 1 includes the administrator terminal 80.

[0100] <Functional Configuration Example> Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the information processing device 100 is realized by combining a user terminal 60 and a server device 70. The information processing device 100 also includes all of the units described in the above embodiment. That is, the information processing device 100 includes a calculation unit 102, an estimation unit 104, an update unit 106, an acquisition unit 110, an exclusion unit 112, and an output processing unit 114.

[0101] The division of functions of the information processing device 100 between the user terminal 60 and the server device 70 is exemplified below: (b1) The user terminal 60 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the wearable device 50 and the function of the exclusion unit 112, and the server device 70 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the user terminal 60 and the functions of the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, and the output processing unit 114. (b2) The user terminal 60 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the wearable device 50, and the server device 70 realizes the function of the acquisition unit 110 acquiring biometric information from the user terminal 60 and the functions of the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, and the output processing unit 114. (b3) The user terminal 60 realizes the functions of the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, and the output processing unit 114, and a function of transmitting the estimation result of the estimation unit 104 to the server device 70, and the server device 70 realizes a function of recording and presenting the estimation result received from the user terminal 60. (b4) The user terminal 60 realizes the functions of the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, and the output processing unit 114, and a function of transmitting the score calculated by the calculation unit 102 and the estimation result of the estimation unit 104 to the server device 70, and the server device 70 realizes a function of recording and presenting the estimation result received from the user terminal 60 and the function of the update unit 106 using the score received from the user terminal 60.

[0102] <Operation Example> The operation of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 19. Here, an example of the function allocation of (b1) will be described. First, the acquisition unit 110 acquires biometric information from the wearable device 50 worn by the user U (step S111 in FIG. 12). The acquired biometric information is associated with time information and stored as biometric information 130 in the memory 1030 or the storage device 1040 of the user terminal 60. Then, the acquisition unit 110 transmits the biometric information accumulated for a predetermined period from the user terminal 60 to the server device 70 at a predetermined timing. Note that before the acquisition unit 110 transmits the biometric information, the exclusion unit 112 excludes the score for a period that satisfies a specific condition.

[0103] In the server device 70, the acquisition unit 110 associates the biometric information 130 of the user U received from the user terminal 60 with the identification information of the user U and stores it in the storage device 120. Then, in the server device 70, the calculation unit 102 processes the biometric information of the user U to calculate a score indicating the mental state of the user U (step S101 in FIG. 12 ). The calculated score is stored in the storage device 120 as score history information 140.

[0104] Then, in the server device 70, the estimation unit 104 estimates the emotion of the user U using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the user U (step S103 in FIG. 12 ). The estimation result is stored in the storage device 120 as score history information 140.

[0105] The updating unit 106 then updates the threshold using the score history (step S105 in FIG. 12 ). For example, using a one-week score history, the updating unit 106 extracts the maximum and minimum scores, calculates the average value, and sets the threshold. The calculated threshold is stored in the storage device 120 as threshold information 150. The threshold updated in this way will be used by the estimation unit 104 as the threshold for user U for the following week.

[0106] Meanwhile, the output processing unit 114 determines whether the emotion estimation result for each user U estimated by the estimation unit 104 satisfies the criteria (step S121 in FIG. 19 ). Then, for a user U whose emotion estimation result satisfies the criteria (YES in step S121 in FIG. 19 ), the output processing unit 114 causes the administrator terminal 80 (external terminal) to output a message indicating that the emotion estimation result for the user U satisfies the criteria (step S113 in FIG. 19 ). The output processing unit 114 acquires the user U's department, name, etc., includes the output content, and sends the message to the administrator terminal 80 of the administrator M. Alternatively, the output processing unit 114 displays a notification screen including the output content in an application on the administrator terminal 80 or on a web page for the administrator M. For a user U whose emotion estimation result does not satisfy the criteria (NO in step S121 in FIG. 19 ), step S113 in FIG. 19 is bypassed, and the processing in FIG. 19 ends.

[0107] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing system 1 includes the wearable terminal 50, the user terminal 60, the server device 70, and the administrator terminal 80. The information processing device 100 includes the calculation unit 102, the estimation unit 104, the update unit 106, the acquisition unit 110, the exclusion unit 112, and the output processing unit 114. The functions of each unit of the information processing device 100 are shared and realized by the user terminal 60 and the server device 70.

[0108] As described above, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the above-described embodiment. Specifically, the threshold used for emotion analysis can be updated using the history of scores indicating the user U's mental state, and the updated threshold can be used in the next emotion analysis. This allows emotion analysis using biometric information to take into account individual differences in biometric information and improve accuracy. Furthermore, the user U can specify biometric information that the user U does not want used in emotion analysis. Alternatively, the accuracy of the threshold can be improved by updating the threshold while excluding scores representing states other than the user's normal mental state. Furthermore, the manager M can quickly learn the user U's mental state when necessary and take appropriate action. By letting the manager M know the user U's mental state, the user U can have appropriate action taken, allowing the manager M to work with peace of mind.

[0109] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are merely illustrative examples of the present invention, and various other configurations may be adopted. For example, in the above embodiment, the update unit 106 updates the threshold using the user U's score history. In another embodiment, when the update unit 106 updates the threshold, the threshold update history may be recorded, and the output processing unit 114 may monitor the trend of threshold changes and, if the threshold updates continue, output a message to that effect to the administrator terminal 80. This configuration may also be able to handle cases such as when user U gradually becomes depressed.

[0110] In addition, although the flowcharts used in the above description show multiple steps (processes) in a sequential order, the order of steps executed in each embodiment is not limited to the order shown. In each embodiment, the order of the steps shown in the drawings can be changed as long as it does not cause any problems in terms of content. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments can be combined as long as the content is not contradictory.

[0111] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. Note that when information about users is acquired and used in the present invention, this must be done lawfully.

[0112] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following notes. 1. An information processing device comprising: a calculation means for calculating a score indicating the mental state of a subject by processing biometric information of the subject; an estimation means for estimating an emotion of the subject using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject; and an update means for updating the threshold using a history of the score. 2. The information processing device described in 1., wherein the update means sets the threshold for the subject using a maximum and minimum value of the score for the subject. 3. The information processing device described in 1. or 2., further comprising an exclusion means for excluding, from the score history, the score for a period that satisfies a specific condition. 4. The information processing device described in 3., wherein the update means updates the threshold using the score from the history, excluding the score for the period, by the exclusion means. 5. The information processing device described in 3. or 4. 5. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 4., wherein the estimation means estimates the emotion of the subject using the scores obtained by excluding the score for the period from the history by the exclusion means. 6. The information processing device described in any one of items 3. to 5., wherein the calculation means calculates an average value of the scores for each predetermined period, and the exclusion means specifies a period to be excluded using the average value that satisfies the specific condition. 7. The information processing device described in any one of items 3. to 6., wherein the exclusion means acquires schedule information of the subject, and specifies a period to be excluded from processing using the schedule information. 8. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 7., wherein the scores include a plurality of scores that respectively indicate a plurality of types of mental states.9. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 9., wherein the estimation means plots score values ​​indicating the two types of mental states of the subject as values ​​on two coordinate axes, and in the area exceeding the threshold on the coordinate system, each of four areas divided by the coordinate axes is set as a range of four different emotions of the subject, and when the plotted value is in the area exceeding the threshold, the information processing device estimates that the emotion corresponding to the area in which the plotted value is located is the emotion of the subject. 10. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 9., further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring biometric information from a wearable device worn by the subject, and the calculation means uses the biometric information acquired by the acquisition means. 11. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 10., further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring biometric information from an external storage means, and the calculation means uses the biometric information acquired by the acquisition means. 12. The information processing device described in any one of items 1. to 11., further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring biometric information from an external storage means, and the calculation means uses the biometric information acquired by the acquisition means. The information processing device according to any one of the above, further comprising: an output processing means for outputting a notification to an external terminal when the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion.

[0113] 13. An information processing method in which one or more computers calculate a score indicating the mental state of the subject by processing biometric information of the subject, estimate the subject's emotions using the score and a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject, and update the threshold using a history of the scores. 14. An information processing method according to 13., in which the one or more computers set the threshold for the subject using the maximum and minimum scores for the subject. 15. An information processing method according to 13. or 14., in which the one or more computers further exclude, from the score history, scores for a period that meets a specific condition. 16. An information processing method according to 15., in which the one or more computers update the threshold using the scores from the history excluding the scores for the period. 17. 15. or 16. 18. The information processing method described in any one of 15. to 17., wherein the one or more computers estimate the emotions of the subject using the scores from the history excluding the score for the period. 19. The information processing method described in any one of 15. to 18., wherein the one or more computers calculate an average value of the scores for each predetermined period, and identify a period to be excluded using the average value that satisfies the specific condition. 20. The information processing method described in any one of 13. to 19., wherein the scores include a plurality of scores that respectively indicate a plurality of types of mental states.21. The information processing method described in 20., wherein the one or more computers plot score values ​​indicating the two types of mental states of the subject as values ​​on two coordinate axes, respectively, on a coordinate system, and in the area on the coordinate system where the threshold is exceeded, each of the four areas divided by the coordinate axes is set as a range of four different emotions of the subject, and when the plotted value is in the area where the threshold is exceeded, the emotion corresponding to the area where the plotted value is in is estimated to be the emotion of the subject. 22. The information processing method described in any one of 13. to 21., wherein the one or more computers further acquire biometric information from a wearable device worn by the subject, and calculate the score using the acquired biometric information. 23. The information processing method described in any one of 13. to 22., wherein the one or more computers further acquire biometric information from an external storage means, and calculate the score using the acquired biometric information. 24. The information processing method described in 13. to 23. 2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers further cause an external terminal to output a notification when the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion.

[0114] 25. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the following steps: calculating a score indicating the mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biometric information; estimating the subject's emotions using the score and a standard including a threshold associated with the subject; and updating the threshold using a history of the score. 26. A computer-readable program recording medium described in 25., storing a program for causing the computer to execute, in the updating step, setting the threshold for the subject using the maximum and minimum scores for the subject. 27. A computer-readable program recording medium described in 25. or 26., storing a program for causing the computer to further execute, from the score history, excluding the score for a period that satisfies a specific condition. 28. A computer-readable program recording medium described in 27., storing a program for causing the computer to execute, in the updating step, updating the threshold using the score from the history excluding the score for the period by the excluding step. 29. 27. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute, in the estimating step, estimating the emotion of the subject using the scores obtained by excluding the score for the period from the history in the excluding step. 30. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute, in the calculating step, calculating an average value of the scores for each predetermined period, and, in the excluding step, specifying a period to be excluded using the average value that satisfies the specific condition.31. A computer-readable program recording medium described in any one of 27. to 30., wherein in the exclusion step, the computer-readable program recording medium stores a program causing the computer to execute the steps of acquiring schedule information for the subject and using the schedule information to identify a period to be excluded from processing. 32. A computer-readable program recording medium described in any one of 25. to 31., wherein the scores include a plurality of scores indicating a plurality of types of mental states. 33. A computer-readable program recording medium described in 32., wherein in the estimation step, the score values ​​indicating the two types of mental states of the subject are plotted on a coordinate system as values ​​on two coordinate axes, and in the area on the coordinate system that exceeds the threshold, each of four areas divided by the coordinate axes represents a range of four different emotions of the subject, and when the plotted value is in an area that exceeds the threshold, the emotion corresponding to the area in which the plotted value is located is estimated to be the emotion of the subject. 34. A computer-readable program recording medium stored with a program causing the computer to execute the steps of: 35. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program that causes the computer to further execute a procedure of acquiring biometric information from a wearable device worn by the subject, and in the calculating procedure, to calculate the score using the biometric information acquired in the acquiring procedure. 36. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program that causes the computer to further execute a procedure of acquiring biometric information from an external storage means, and in the calculating procedure, to calculate the score using the biometric information acquired in the acquiring procedure.36. A computer-readable program recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for outputting a notification to an external terminal when the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion, in the program recording medium described in any one of 25. to 35.

[0115] 37. A program causing a computer to execute the steps of: calculating a score indicating the mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biometric information; estimating the subject's emotions using the score and a standard including a threshold associated with the subject; and updating the threshold using a history of the scores. 38. A program in accordance with 37., causing the computer to execute, in the updating step, setting the threshold for the subject using the maximum and minimum scores for the subject. 39. A program in accordance with 37. or 38., causing the computer to further execute the step of excluding, from the score history, scores for a period that meets a specific condition. 40. A program in accordance with 39., causing the computer to execute, in the updating step, updating the threshold using the scores from the history, excluding the scores for the period in the excluding step. 41. 39. or 40. 42. A program described in any one of paragraphs 39. to 41., wherein, in the estimating step, the computer estimates the emotion of the subject using the scores obtained by excluding the score for the period from the history in the excluding step. 42. A program described in any one of paragraphs 39. to 41., wherein, in the calculating step, the computer calculates an average value of the scores for each predetermined period, and, in the excluding step, specifies a period to be excluded using the average value that satisfies the specific condition. 43. A program described in any one of paragraphs 39. to 42., wherein, in the excluding step, the computer acquires schedule information of the subject, and specifies a period to be excluded from processing using the schedule information. 44. A program described in any one of paragraphs 37. to 43., wherein the score includes a plurality of scores that respectively indicate a plurality of types of mental states.45. A program for causing the computer to execute the following steps in the estimating step: plotting score values ​​indicating the two types of mental states of the subject as values ​​on two coordinate axes, each of which is a value on one of the coordinate axes; setting each of four regions divided by the coordinate axes in the region exceeding the threshold on the coordinate system as a range of four different emotions of the subject; and, if the plotted value is in the region exceeding the threshold, inferring that the emotion corresponding to the region in which the plotted value is located is the emotion of the subject. 46. A program for causing the computer to further execute a step of acquiring biometric information from a wearable device worn by the subject; and, in the calculating step, calculating the score using the biometric information acquired in the acquiring step. 47. A program for causing the computer to further execute a step of acquiring biometric information from an external storage means; and, in the calculating step, calculating the score using the biometric information acquired in the acquiring step. 48. The program according to any one of 37. to 47., causing the computer to execute a procedure of outputting a notification to an external terminal when the emotion estimation result satisfies a criterion.

[0116] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Information processing system 3 Communication network 50 Wearable terminal 60 User terminal 70 Server device 80 Administrator terminal 100 Information processing device 102 Calculation unit 104 Estimation unit 106 Update unit 110 Acquisition unit 112 Exclusion unit 114 Output processing unit 120 Storage device 130 Biometric information 140 Score history information 150 Threshold information 1000 Computer 1010 Bus 1020 Processor 1030 Memory 1040 Storage device 1050 Input / output interface 1060 Network interface

Claims

1. A calculation means for calculating a score indicating a mental state of a subject by processing biological information of the subject; an estimation means for estimating an emotion of the subject using a criterion including a threshold associated with the subject and the score; and updating means for updating the threshold value using a history of the score.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, The update means sets the threshold for the subject using the maximum and minimum values ​​of the score of the subject.

3. 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, The information processing device further comprises an exclusion means for excluding, from the history of the scores, the scores for a period that satisfies a specific condition.

4. 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, The wearable device further includes an acquisition unit for acquiring biological information from the wearable device worn by the subject. The calculation means uses the biometric information acquired by the acquisition means.

5. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, The update means updates the threshold value using the score obtained by excluding the score for the period from the history by the exclusion means.

6. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, The information processing device, wherein the estimation means estimates the emotion of the subject using the score from the history excluding the score for the period by the exclusion means.

7. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, The calculation means calculates an average value of the score for each predetermined period, The exclusion means identifies a period to be excluded by using the average value that satisfies the specific condition.

8. 4. The information processing device according to claim 3, The exclusion means includes: Obtaining schedule information for the subject; The information processing device uses the schedule information to specify a period that is excluded from processing.

9. One or more computers Calculating a score indicative of the mental state of the subject by processing the subject's biological information; using the score and criteria including a threshold associated with the subject to estimate an emotion of the subject; An information processing method, comprising: updating the threshold value using a history of the score.

10. On the computer, A step of calculating a score indicative of a mental state of a subject by processing the subject's biological information; using said score and a criterion including a threshold associated with said subject to estimate an emotion of said subject; updating the threshold using a history of the scores; A program for executing.