Control device, control method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a control device (100) is for presenting presentation information to a user, said control device (100) comprising: a reception unit (operation history reception unit (101) and log information extraction unit (106)) and a time reception unit (102) that receive at least one of log information and time information from an apparatus (11) to which the reception unit and the time reception unit are communicatively connected via a network; a presentation information creation unit (109) that determines the presentation form of presentation information according to at least one of the log information and the time information which has been received and creates the presentation information in the determined presentation form; and a transmission unit (presentation information transmission unit (104)) that transmits the created presentation information to a presentation apparatus (presentation device (14)) to which the transmission unit is communicatively connected via a network, so as to cause the presentation apparatus to present the presentation information to a user.

Description

Control device, control method, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method executed by the control device, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, a technology has been used in which a device plays back a voice or the like to a user, thereby influencing the user (i.e., presenting information). For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a voice server that synthesizes and plays back voice with speech characteristics according to user attributes.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-164251

[0004] On the other hand, when the device disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art makes an appeal to the user, the device does not fully consider the user's situation at the time, and therefore may present information that is meaningless or bothersome to the user. In view of the above, the present disclosure provides a control device etc. that can present appropriate information to the user.

[0005] A control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for presenting presentation information to a user, and includes: a receiving unit that receives at least one of log information and time information from a device that is communicatively connected via a network; a presentation information creating unit that determines a presentation format for the presentation information based on at least one of the received log information and the time information, and creates the presentation information in accordance with the determined presentation format; and a transmitting unit that transmits the created presentation information to a presentation device that is communicatively connected via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

[0006] A control method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control method executed by a control device for presenting presentation information to a user, and includes a receiving step of receiving at least one of log information and time information from a device connected for communication via a network; a presentation information creating step of determining a presentation format for the presentation information based on at least one of the received log information and the time information and creating the presentation information in accordance with the determined presentation format; and a transmitting step of transmitting the created presentation information to a presentation device connected for communication via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

[0007] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the above control method.

[0008] According to the control device and the like of the present disclosure, it is possible to present information appropriate for the user.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a presentation system including a control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a storage unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an inventory database according to an embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a preference database according to an embodiment. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of a preference database according to an embodiment. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing an example of a syntax database according to an embodiment. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing an example of a syntax database according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a wording database according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a recipe database according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a control device according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an event database according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how information is presented according to a modified example of the embodiment.

[0010] A control device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for presenting presentation information to a user, and includes: a receiving unit that receives at least one of log information and time information from a device that is communicatively connected via a network; a presentation information creating unit that determines a presentation format for the presentation information based on at least one of the received log information and time information, and creates the presentation information in accordance with the determined presentation format; and a transmitting unit that transmits the created presentation information to a presentation device that is communicatively connected via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

[0011] Such a control device can determine the presentation format according to at least one of the log information and the time information, and create presentation information in this presentation format. If the presentation format is determined according to the user's log information and the time information, it is possible to present information appropriate to the user.

[0012] In addition, a control device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is the control device described in the first aspect, wherein the presentation information creation unit generates user profile information based on log information received at each of multiple points in time, and determines the presentation format according to at least one of the received log information and time information, as well as the generated profile information.

[0013] This allows the presentation format to be determined further based on the profile information.

[0014] Furthermore, a control device according to a third aspect of the present disclosure is a control device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the presentation information creation unit generates user profile information based on log information received at each of multiple points in time, and determines the presentation content to be included in the presentation information according to at least one of the received log information and time information, and the generated profile information.

[0015] This allows the presentation content included in the presentation format to be determined further based on the profile information.

[0016] Furthermore, a control device according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure is a control device according to the second or third aspect, wherein the profile information includes a configuration database in which presentation configurations in presentation forms are pre-set for each of a plurality of time periods, and the presentation information creation unit determines the presentation form to use the presentation configuration set for the time period among the plurality of time periods that corresponds to the time indicated in the received time information.

[0017] This allows for determining an appropriate presentation configuration in a presentation format for each time period.

[0018] Furthermore, a control device according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure is a control device described in any one of the second to fourth aspects, wherein the profile information includes an inventory database of items owned by the user, and the multiple time periods include replenishment time periods during which items can be replenished and consumption time periods during which items cannot be replenished, and the presentation information creation unit allows the creation of presentation information that assumes replenishment of items if the time period among the multiple time periods corresponding to the time indicated in the received time information is a replenishment time period, and does not allow the creation of presentation information that assumes replenishment of items if the time period among the multiple time periods corresponding to the time indicated in the received time information is a consumption time period.

[0019] This allows the inventory of goods to be managed and presentation information to be created according to the inventory. Furthermore, the presentation information can be created by including whether or not to consider replenishing goods depending on whether it is a replenishment time period or a consumption time period.

[0020] Furthermore, a control device according to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure is a control device described in any one of the second to fifth aspects, wherein the profile information includes one or more preferences of the user and a weighted score assigned to each of the one or more preferences, and the presentation information creation unit preferentially uses as presentation information a candidate having a large total value of weighted scores assigned to preferences that match the one or more preferences of the candidate.

[0021] According to this, it is possible to determine which of the candidates should be given priority as the information to be presented, using the weighted scores assigned to each of one or more preferences of the user.

[0022] Furthermore, a control device according to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure is a control device described in any one of the second to sixth aspects, wherein when newly received log information deviates from normal conditions that were set based on previously received log information, the presentation information creation unit determines the presentation format of the presentation information to be a deviation format, and creates the presentation information in accordance with the determined deviation format.

[0023] According to this, when the normal conditions are deviated from, the presentation form of the presentation information can be changed to the deviation form.

[0024] A control device according to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure is the control device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the presented information is recipe information for cooking a dish.

[0025] This allows recipe information for cooking a dish to be presented as the presented information.

[0026] A control device according to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure is the control device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the presentation information is reproduced as audio and presented to the user.

[0027] According to this, the presentation information can be presented to the user by reproducing it as sound.

[0028] Furthermore, a control device according to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure is the control device described in the ninth aspect, wherein determining the presentation form includes determining at least one of the speech syntax and speech characteristics of the audio when the presentation information is played back, and at least one of the speech syntax and speech characteristics of the audio when the presentation information is played back differs between one piece of presentation information created in accordance with at least one of received log information and received time information and another piece of presentation information created in accordance with at least one of received other log information and received time information.

[0029] According to this, by determining the presentation format, when the presentation information is reproduced as voice, at least one of the speech syntax and voice characteristics of the voice can be changed and presented to the user.

[0030] A control device according to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure is the control device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the presentation information is displayed as an image and presented to the user.

[0031] According to this, the presentation information can be presented to the user by displaying it as an image.

[0032] Furthermore, a control device according to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure is the control device described in the eleventh aspect, wherein determining the presentation form includes determining at least one of the display layout of the image when the presentation information is displayed and the syntax of the sentences contained in the image, and at least one of the display layout of the image when the presentation information is displayed and the syntax of the sentences contained in the image differ between one piece of presentation information created in accordance with at least one of received log information and received time information and another piece of presentation information created in accordance with at least one of received other log information and received time information.

[0033] According to this, by determining the presentation format, when the presentation information is displayed as an image, at least one of the display layout of the image and the syntax of the sentence can be changed and presented to the user.

[0034] Furthermore, a control method according to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure is a control method executed by a control device for presenting presentation information to a user, and includes a receiving step of receiving at least one of log information and time information from a device connected for communication via a network, a presentation information creating step of determining a presentation form of the presentation information according to at least one of the received log information and time information and creating the presentation information in accordance with the determined presentation form, and a transmitting step of transmitting the created presentation information to a presentation device connected for communication via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

[0035] This can provide the same effects as the control device described above.

[0036] A program according to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described control method.

[0037] This makes it possible to achieve the same effects as the control device described above using a computer.

[0038] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be realized as any combination of a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0039] The embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not described in independent claims are described as optional components.

[0040] Furthermore, the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strict illustrations. In addition, in the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted or simplified.

[0041] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, a control device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs.

[0042] [Configuration] First, the configuration of a presentation system including a control device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a presentation system including a control device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a storage unit according to the present embodiment, i.e., various databases stored in the storage unit. The control device 100 according to the present embodiment controls the information output by the presentation device 14 by creating information (hereinafter also referred to as presentation information) to be presented by the presentation device 14 for presenting information to a user. In other words, the control device 100 is a device that creates appropriate presentation information and uses the presentation device 14 to present information appropriate for the user. In the present embodiment, the presentation system includes the control device 100, the device 11, the terminal device 12, the time server 13, and the presentation device 14. Some of the components constituting the presentation system may be integrated. Therefore, any of the control device 100, the device 11, the terminal device 12, the time server 13, and the presentation device 14, other than the control device 100, may be integrated with another device.

[0043] The presentation system is, for example, an audio presentation system installed in a user's home, and presents presentation information by reproducing it as audio. Note that the presentation system is not limited to a system that presents presentation information by reproducing audio. Presentation systems other than audio presentation systems will be described in other examples of the embodiment. The presentation system is not limited to being installed in a user's home, but can be installed in any facility, such as an office building, rental space, or public facility. The presentation system can present appropriate presentation information to users who use these facilities where it is installed.

[0044] The devices 11 are home appliances and the like, and are placed in a home for use by a user. For example, multiple devices 11 exist in a home. The devices 11 include household appliances such as cooking appliances and cleaning appliances, entertainment appliances such as audio equipment and video output devices, and lifestyle appliances such as lighting and air conditioners. When a user uses a household appliance, the user is relatively busy, while when the user uses an entertainment appliance, the user is relatively less busy. Furthermore, the user's status can be estimated by determining whether the appliance being used is a cooking appliance and the operation details based on the appliance's usage history (log information), such as whether the user is cooking, or whether the user is cleaning while using a cleaning appliance. Furthermore, the installation areas and usage histories of the lifestyle appliances can be used to estimate the user's presence or absence in each area. In this way, the usage history (log information) of the appliances 11 can be used to estimate whether the user is busy or not, and the user's status. In this embodiment, the log information is acquired from multiple devices 11 in the home, and the information necessary to estimate the user's status (for example, busy times or the status of housework at each time period, or both) is estimated, and the presentation device 14 is controlled so that the presentation information is presented in an appropriate presentation format depending on the time period.

[0045] Furthermore, the log information may include not only information on whether or not the device 11 is being used, but also information on how the device 11 is being used. For example, the log information may include information on whether or not a refrigerator, which is the device 11, is being used based on whether the refrigerator is opened or closed. Furthermore, if the refrigerator is configured to be able to acquire information on its contents, such information may be used as the log information. Note that the terminal device 12, which will be described later, may also be included in the device 11. Conversely, the device 11 may be the terminal device 12.

[0046] The terminal device 12 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, tablet device, or PC. The terminal device 12 belongs to the user (in other words, the user owns the terminal device 12). Therefore, operations on the terminal device 12 can be considered operations by the user. The user can use the terminal device 12 to access various information. For example, the user can search for recipes for dishes they want to cook that day, research recommended foods to consume from a health perspective, and research appropriate lifestyle habits. Then, depending on the information accessed by the user, the presentation system determines presentation information recommended to the user and presents it via the presentation device 14. In other words, information (interesting to the user) corresponding to the information accessed by the terminal device 12 is selectively presented as presentation information. Below, we will explain an example of presented information, in which recipe information for a recipe for a dish that the user wants to cook that day is presented. However, as mentioned above, the presented information is not limited to recipe information, and any information can be used, such as information on ingredients, information on lifestyle habits, news information, information on recommended stores near the user's home, or other information.

[0047] The time server 13 is a server that provides time information indicating the current time, and may be a time information server on the Internet or a simple clock, etc. The time server 13 may be realized by the terminal device 12.

[0048] The presentation device 14 is a device for presenting information to a user and is an example of a presentation equipment. In this case, any device equipped with a speaker capable of playing audio to the user can be used as the presentation device 14. The presentation device 14 can be a network-connectable audio device, a television, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC, or the like. Therefore, the terminal device 12 can also be used as the presentation device 14. In this way, the device 11, the terminal device 12, the time server 13, and the presentation device 14 may be realized by the terminal device 12 alone.

[0049] Furthermore, when there are multiple presentation devices 14, one or more of the presentation devices 14 may be selected, and information may be presented to the user from the one or more presentation devices 14. Such selection of one or more presentation devices 14 may be performed, for example, by the control device 100. In selecting one or more presentation devices 14, the control device 100 may detect the actual location of the user on a target date and time and select one or more presentation devices 14 installed in an area to which that location belongs, or, if the control device 100 is unable to detect the user's location, may use a previously estimated status of the user's presence or absence for each area and select one or more presentation devices 14 installed in an area where the user is estimated to be present on a target date and time.

[0050] The control device 100 is a device that creates audio data indicating recipe information as presentation information based on information received from the appliance 11, the terminal device 12, and the time server 13, and transmits the audio data to the presentation device 14. The control device 100 is realized, for example, as a cloud server for information processing built on the Internet, or an edge server installed in the user's home. The presentation information (audio data indicating recipe information) transmitted by the control device 100 is presented to the user by the presentation device 14, so the control device 100 can also be said to be a device that causes the presentation information to be presented.

[0051] The control device 100 includes an operation history receiving unit 101, a time receiving unit 102, a presentation candidate management unit 103, a presentation information sending unit 104, a memory unit 105, a log information extraction unit 106, a profile generation unit 107, a candidate selection unit 108, and a presentation information creation unit 109.

[0052] The operation history receiving unit 101 is a functional unit that receives the operation history of the appliance 11 or the operation history of the terminal device 12 from these devices. The operation history receiving unit 101 outputs the received operation history to the log information extracting unit 106.

[0053] The log information extraction unit 106 is a processing unit that extracts information to be collected as log information from the operation history. The operation history receiving unit 101 and the log information extraction unit 106 can also be considered part of the function of a receiving unit that receives log information. The content of the log information extracted by the log information extraction unit 106 varies depending on the type of presented information. Here, from the perspective of creating recipe information, information necessary to estimate the user's status (e.g., busy times, housework status by time period, or both) is extracted as log information. Furthermore, from the perspective of creating recipe information, the log information extraction unit 106 extracts inventory information of items owned by the user that can be used for cooking, i.e., ingredients used in recipes, as log information. In addition, the log information extraction unit 106 also extracts information regarding the user's preferences as log information in order to adapt recipe preferences to the user.

[0054] The extracted log information may be used itself to create recipe information, or may be used to generate user profile information based on the log information received at each of multiple time points. The profile generation unit 107 is used to generate the profile information. The profile generation unit 107 is a processing unit that generates profile information indicating the user's tendencies from the extracted log information at multiple time points. The profile information will be described later. Note that the profile information may be generated using only the log information, or may use both the log information and time information, or may use only the time information.

[0055] On the other hand, the time receiving unit 102 is a processing unit that receives time information indicating the current time from the time server 13. The time receiving unit 102 is a part of the function of the receiving unit that receives time information.

[0056] The presentation candidate management unit 103 is a processing unit that manages candidates for recipe information to be created, i.e., candidates for presentation information, by working in conjunction with the storage unit 105 and the candidate selection unit 108, which will be described later. The presentation candidate management unit 103 reads candidates for presentation information from the storage unit 105 and outputs them to the candidate selection unit 108. The candidate selection unit 108 selects a recipe from the candidates for presentation information based on a predetermined criterion and determines it as the one to be presented.

[0057] The presentation information creation unit 109 is a processing unit that determines the presentation format of the presentation information based on at least one of the log information and the time information, and the profile information, and creates the presentation information in accordance with the determined presentation format. The determination of the presentation format of the presentation information will be described later.

[0058] The presentation information transmitting unit 104 is a processing unit that transmits the created presentation information to the presentation device 14 to have it presented.

[0059] Here, in addition to the recipe database, which is a database in which the above-mentioned recipe information candidates are stored, the memory unit 105 also includes an inventory database 111, a preference database 112, a syntax database 113, a wording database 114, and an event database 115, as shown in Figure 2.

[0060] First, the inventory database 111 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the inventory database according to the embodiment. The inventory database 111 is included in the profile information and is generated from log information. The inventory database 111 stores information about ingredients held by the user. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the inventory database 111 includes the names of ingredients held in stock (first column), the remaining amount of each ingredient (second column), the storage state (third column), and the purchase date and expiration date (fourth column, a predetermined date such as the ingredient's best-before date or an expiration date arbitrarily set by the user).

[0061] The inventory database 111 includes information received as log information as well as information entered by the user on the app on the terminal device 12. The inventory database 111 determines the priority order of use of entered ingredients, and when determining the presentation information described below, when prioritizing the consumption of inventory, priority is given to appropriate ingredients, such as ingredients with an approaching expiration date, ingredients with a large remaining amount, or ingredients that are frequently used and preferred by the user. The priority given to ingredients with an approaching expiration date, ingredients with a large remaining amount, or ingredients that are frequently used and preferred by the user may be determined according to rules set by the user or may be automatically switched depending on factors such as the proximity of the expiration date or the amount of remaining amount. Although not shown here, replenishment time periods during which ingredients can be replenished, such as by shopping, and consumption time periods during which ingredients cannot be replenished may be set. During replenishment time periods, the creation of presentation information that assumes the replenishment of ingredients may be permitted, while during consumption time periods, the creation of presentation information that assumes the replenishment of ingredients may not be permitted. The number of ingredients included in the inventory may be four or more.

[0062] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a preference database according to an embodiment. The preference database 112 is included in the user's profile information and stores information about preferences for recipe information specific to a particular user. One preference database 112 is created for each user. As shown in FIG. 4A, the preference database 112 includes the characteristics of the user's preferred recipes (first column) and weighted scores for each of the user's preferences (second column). For example, in the figure, the user's preferences are listed as low-calorie, time-saving, seasonal, and frequently used ingredients. Therefore, this user tends to prefer low-calorie recipes, time-saving recipes, recipes using seasonal ingredients, and recipes using commonly used ingredients.

[0063] Furthermore, the weighted score indicates which preference the user considers more important. For example, the larger the weighted score, the more important the preference. In the preference database 112, entries for "low calorie," "time-saving," and "seasonal" are classified based on tags (e.g., automatically tagged by character recognition) assigned to recipes accessed by the user using the terminal device 12, and are constructed based on the frequency of access, etc. In addition, in the preference database 112, entries for "frequently used ingredients" are constructed based on information on ingredients that are frequently registered in the inventory database and whose remaining quantity decreases above a certain level, etc.

[0064] In this embodiment, when creating presentation information, the user preference database 112 is referenced to select candidates that match the user's preferences from among the candidates for presentation information, and the candidates are used as the presentation information. In this case, weighted scores are used to assign weighted scores for the matching recipe characteristics to candidates that match the preferences (have the same recipe characteristics), and the candidate with the largest total weighted score is used preferentially as the presentation information. This has the advantage that presentation information that matches the user's preferences and that matches the highest degree of match is presented in order, which is more likely to attract the user's interest and is less likely to present meaningless information to the user.

[0065] 4A shows an example of the preference database 112 in which one preferred recipe feature (first column) and one weighted score (second column) for each preferred recipe feature are constructed for each user, but the weights of these preferences can also be changed in accordance with time of day, day of the week, and weekday / holiday classification in accordance with log analysis, survey results, general knowledge (in other words, generalized trends among many users), etc., and the weighted score for each feature can be changed according to each time of day, day of the week, etc. In other words, the user log information used in constructing the preference database 112 may be personal log information of a single user, or general log information of many users.

[0066] Alternatively, the time information can be considered to include, in addition to information about the time itself, information about which of the time groups corresponding to a typical person's daily life cycle, such as wake-up time to breakfast time, after breakfast to before lunch time, lunch time, after lunch to before dinner time, dinner to before bedtime, and bedtime to wake-up time, belongs to. Furthermore, the state tendencies of typical people (in other words, generalized tendencies across many users) are known for each of the time groups in a person's daily life cycle. Therefore, the time information can be considered to include, in addition to information about the time itself, information about the state estimated from a typical person's daily life cycle at that time. In other words, by interpreting the time information in this way, it can be said that profile information, such as preference database 112, can be constructed from the time information based on information about a person's state at that time.

[0067] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of weighting score changes in a preference database according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4B , for example, based on log analysis, survey results, and general knowledge, many people tend to eat lighter meals in the morning. Therefore, the weighting scores for low calorie and stock recipe features can be set relatively high, and the weighting score for low calorie can be set even higher to more easily meet the condition of lighter meals. While an example of changing recipe features and weighting scores according to time of day has been shown, recipe features and weighting scores can also be changed by taking advantage of the characteristics of attributes of the day, such as the day of the week, weekday / holiday classification, and the day before a holiday. For example, based on log analysis, survey results, and general knowledge, based on knowledge that people tend to be short on time on weekdays, the weighting scores for stock and time-saving can be set high. In contrast, based on knowledge that people tend to be more time-efficient on holidays, the weighting levels for time-saving and stock can be set low, or the weighting scores for recipe features that require more time or that use recommended ingredients can be set high. In this way, the user preference database 112 can vary the weighted scores for recipe features according to knowledge of typical user behavior for time of day, day of the week, weekday / holiday classification, and other attributes of the day, and can be used as a common preference database for all users or a group of users.

[0068] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a syntax database according to an embodiment. The syntax database 113 is an example of a configuration database, and is included in the user's profile information. Information on presentation configurations, which are the presentation formats of presentation information, is stored in the syntax database 113. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, different syntaxes are set in the syntax database 113 for each time period when a day is divided into multiple time periods. The syntax database 113 is a database for presenting presentation information of an appropriate length (or amount of information) depending on the user's level of busyness in each time period. The syntax set in the syntax database 113 includes variables into which phrases from the phrase database 114, which will be described later, are inserted. In other words, presentation information is created by inserting phrases from the phrase database 114 into the syntax in the syntax database 113.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 5A, the syntax database 113 includes time periods (first column) and syntaxes (second column). The syntax database 113 is also a database specific to a particular user, and one database is constructed for each user. For this example, the log information indicates that the user is busiest between 6:00 and 11:00, and the shortest syntax, "How about {α-1} {recipe name}?", is set therein. Furthermore, the log information indicates that the user is least busy between 11:00 and 16:00, and the longest syntax, "How about {α-1} {recipe name}? {β-3} {γ-2}," is set therein. Furthermore, the log information indicates that the user is moderately busy between 16:00 and 18:00, and the medium-length syntax, "How about {α-1} {recipe name}? {γ-2}," is set therein. Of these syntaxes, the "{}" parts ({α-1}, {β-3}, {γ-2}, and {recipe name}) are the variables explained above, and the text to be described later is inserted into them. The syntax is not limited to this example. A syntax that is more formal than the syntax shown in the example, or a more colloquial syntax may be set.

[0070] The variables {α-1}, {β-3}, and {γ-2} in the above syntax are used to insert the reason for presenting the information (i.e., the reason for recommending such a recipe). The variables α, β, and γ represent the position in the syntax, and 1, 2, and 3 represent the recommendation order. For example, the variable {α-1} indicates that it is the variable that is inserted with the highest priority at the α position in the syntax. Then, by replacing {α-1}, {β-3}, and {γ-2} with {α-3}, {β-2}, and {γ-1}, respectively, the positions at which the variables are inserted remain the same, but a syntax can be set in which the recommendation order at which the variables are inserted differs.

[0071] The presentation reason is stored in a database as a phrase, and is selected from several candidates based on the recipe characteristics and inserted into the variable position in the syntax. Here, {α-1}, {γ-2}, and {β-3} have the highest priority, in this order. In other words, {α-1} is presented even when the user is busy, but {γ-2} and {β-3} are variables that are omitted depending on the level of busyness. In this way, the amount of information presented is minimized depending on the user's situation, which has the advantage of reducing the user's sense of annoyance. Note that in some cases, {α-1} may not be presented. In this case, it is sufficient to set a syntax without {α-1} (e.g., "How about {recipe name}?") in the syntax database 113 during the busiest time period. Furthermore, four or more variables, more than {γ-2}, may be included in the syntax.

[0072] As shown in Fig. 5B, a voice characteristic database may be maintained in addition to the syntax database 113. The voice characteristic database stores voice characteristic information included in the user's profile information, which is a parameter used in voice synthesis for each time period when a day is divided into multiple time periods. Voice characteristics include reading speed, volume, and voice quality. Note that these voice characteristics included in the voice characteristic database are just examples, and it is also possible to construct a voice characteristic database to which other voice characteristics are added as appropriate.

[0073] Note that, as an example of the syntax database 113 shown in FIG. 5A , the syntax database 113 is a user-specific database constructed for each user. However, the syntax database 113 may be changed according to conditions such as time of day, day of the week, and weekday / holiday classification, based on log analysis, survey results, general knowledge, etc. In other words, the syntax database 113 shown in FIG. 5A , which is information on the presentation structure as the presentation format of presented information, can be changed for information such as time of day, day of the week, and weekday / holiday classification. For example, based on log analysis, survey results, and general knowledge that many people are busy on weekday mornings, the shortest syntax "How about {α-1} {recipe name}?" can be set. On the other hand, for holidays and the evening before holidays, when people are expected to have more free time, the longest syntax "How about {α-1} {recipe name}? {β-3} {γ-2}" can be set. In this way, the syntax database 113 can change its presentation format according to knowledge of general user behavior such as time of day, day of the week, weekday / holiday, etc., and can also be used as a common syntax database 113 for all users or a group of users.

[0074] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wording database according to an embodiment. The wording database 114 is a database specific to a user or generalized across multiple users, and stores information on what wording to insert into variable portions of syntax for recipe features. As shown in FIG. 6 , the wording database 114 includes recipe features (first column), parameters (second column), recommendation phrase a (third column), recommendation phrase b (fourth column), and recommendation phrase c (fifth column). For example, for the recipe feature "low calorie," the parameter is associated with a specific kcal value. The parameter value (or character string) may be used as part of the recommendation phrase. Furthermore, recommendation phrase a is set to "{calories} and healthy," recommendation phrase b is set to "low calorie," and recommendation phrase c is set to "This is a low-calorie, healthy recipe." As can be seen from this, recommendation phrase a is a phrase inserted immediately before some sentence. Furthermore, recommendation statement b is a statement inserted as a separate sentence after a sentence. Recommendation statement a is, for example, a statement inserted into the variable {α-1} in the syntax, and recommendation statements b and c are statements inserted into the variable {β-3}{γ-2}, respectively. Note that recommendation statements other than recommendation statements a, b, and c may also be set.

[0075] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a recipe search result according to an embodiment. The recipe search result is an example of candidate data for presentation information. It stores recipes extracted from a recipe database based on search criteria created based on weighting scores, as well as recipe features that match the search criteria and their priorities. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the recipe search result includes the recipe name (first column), recipe features that match the search criteria (second column), parameters for the recipe features (third column), and a presentation order based on the weighting score (fourth column). The recipe search result in FIG. 7 is an example of a search result based on the preference data in FIG. 4A. This user tends to prefer low-calorie recipes, time-saving recipes, recipes using seasonal ingredients, and recipes using commonly used ingredients. As a result of a search based on this weighting score, "Twice Cooked Pork (Hui Korou)" is output as the recipe with the highest total weighting score. Here, calorie information (300 kcal), which is the recipe data for this recipe, is output as a parameter related to low calories. Other features are similarly input, and the presentation order is output in descending order of weighting score. In addition, since this recipe data did not match the time-saving feature, the parameters and presentation order are not output. As described above, by including recipe features and related data that match the search criteria in the recipe search results, it is possible to present information such as why this recipe is being suggested.

[0076] The recipe search results described here are obtained by extracting information from a recipe database (not shown) etc. In other words, the recipe database stores a large amount of information similar to the recipe search results described above, including recipes that were not extracted.

[0077] The event database 115 will be described later together with the operation of the control device 100 .

[0078] [Operation] Next, an example of the operation of the control device 100 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, first, when the operation of the control device 100 starts, the operation history receiving unit 101 and the log information extracting unit 106 receive and accumulate log information (step S11). The profile generating unit 107 generates profile information based on log information acquired at a specific point in time or multiple points in time, or based on time information, log analysis results, investigation results, general knowledge, etc. More specifically, the profile generating unit 107 generates various databases included in the profile information or updates already generated databases, thereby generating or regenerating profile information.

[0079] Next, the time receiving unit 102 receives time information from the time server 13 (step S12). Steps S11 and S12 may be collectively referred to as a receiving step and may be performed simultaneously as a combined step. Here, the presentation information creating unit 109 determines whether a trigger for creating and presenting presentation information has been detected based on the log information and the time information (step S13). Detecting a trigger means determining whether at least one of the received log information and the time information satisfies a condition. If the presentation information creating unit 109 determines that a trigger has been detected (Yes in S13), the presentation information creating unit 109 further determines whether the newly received log information deviates from the normal conditions set based on previously received log information (step S14). Deviation from the normal conditions means satisfying a deviation condition for the log information that has been set in advance. For example, the number of times the refrigerator has been opened and closed is greater than a predetermined number of times, the television viewing time is greater than a predetermined period of time, or the number of times a recipe has been accessed using the terminal device 12 is greater than a predetermined number of times. These conditions are merely examples, and the log information and the conditions for the log information may be set as appropriate. Although the above description has been given of the detection of a trigger in step S13 and the determination of whether or not the normal conditions have been violated in step S14 being performed separately, the violation of the normal conditions may itself be detected as a trigger for creating and presenting presentation information in a violation mode. That is, a combined step in which step S13 is included in step S14 may be performed. In this case, the combined step is performed before step S13, which is the detection of a trigger in the normal mode, and step S14 is omitted. If a trigger has not been detected by the determination described above (No in S13), the process is repeated from step S11.

[0080] On the other hand, if a trigger is detected by the determination described above (Yes in S13), the candidate selection unit 108 first selects presentation information from among the candidates in cooperation with the presentation candidate management unit 103 and the storage unit 105 (a recipe database, not shown) (step S15). Here, it is assumed that "Twice Cooked Pork (Hui Korou)" included in the recipe database is selected from among the candidates because it has the highest total weighted score. The time indicated in the received time information is 17:00. The presentation information creation unit 109 then references the syntax database 113 in the profile information in the storage unit 105, in particular, to determine a syntax appropriate to the time period (step S16). Since the time period falls within the 16:00-18:00 time period, the determined syntax is "How about {α-1} {recipe name}? {γ-2}." Next, the presentation information creation unit 109 determines the words to be inserted into {α-1} and {γ-2} by referring to the word database 114 of the profile information in the storage unit 105 (step S17). Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the words corresponding to "frequently used ingredients" and "low calorie" are determined from the priority order of the recipe features.

[0081] That is, the presentation information creation unit 109 determines the phrase "Using {ingredient name}" to be assigned to the variable {α-1}, and determines the phrase "This is a low-calorie, healthy recipe" to be assigned to the variable {γ-2}. The ingredient "pork belly" is inserted into {ingredient name}. The presentation information creation unit 109 creates presentation information based on the syntax and phrases determined in this way (presentation information creation step S18). The created presentation information is "How about making 'Twice Cooked Pork' using pork belly? This is a low-calorie, healthy recipe." The presentation information transmission unit 104 then converts the created presentation information from text data into synthetic speech. At this time, voice characteristics may be changed, as with the syntax. Voice characteristics are characteristics of speech other than the words, such as reading speed, volume, and voice quality. The presentation information transmission unit 104 then transmits the created presentation information to the presentation device 14 (transmission step S19).

[0082] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an event database according to an embodiment. When the presentation information creation unit 109 determines that the normal conditions are deviated (Yes in S14), the presentation information creation unit 109 creates presentation information according to a deviation form including a deviation syntax and a deviation wording. A detailed description is provided below. In FIG. 9, the weight scores for the syntax and recipe features before the event occur are shown at the base of the arrow ar, and an example of the event database 115 is shown at the tip of the arrow ar. When an event occurs, the weight scores in the preference database 112 and the syntax for the time period in the syntax database 113 change. For example, the event database 115 includes conditions for determining that the normal conditions are deviated (i.e., Yes in step S13), in other words, event conditions (first column), recipe features and weight scores in the preference database 112 that are used when the event occurs (second column), and syntax in the syntax database 113 that are used when the event occurs (third column).

[0083] For example, if the wake-up time is 6:00, the wake-up time of the event condition is before 6:00 (the usual time, i.e., the wake-up time under the normal conditions is assumed to be 7:00), which is a time that deviates from normal times and is therefore considered to provide more time than normal times. Therefore, the weight scores in the preference database change, with the weight score for "seasonal" increasing to 7 and the weight score for "time-saving" decreasing to 2. As a result, the candidate selection unit 108 cooperates with the candidate presentation management unit 103 and the storage unit 105 (a recipe database not shown in particular) to select presentation information from the candidates (step S20), but a candidate different from the candidate selected in step S15 is selected as presentation information.

[0084] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the syntax "How about {α-1} {recipe name}? {γ-2}" is selected as the syntax (determined as deviation syntax, step S21), which is longer than "How about {α-1} {recipe name}?" set for 6:00-11:00. Then, a wording is determined according to the weight score corresponding to the above event (deviation wording is determined, step S22). After that, the process proceeds to step S18, where speech synthesis is performed. As the speech characteristic, "yukkuri" is selected, which is slower than "normal" set for 6:00-11:00. The operation thereafter is the same as in normal times, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0085] In this manner, in this embodiment, in response to the occurrence of a sudden event, presentation information is created in a deviation mode that differs from the previous presentation mode. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the sense of discomfort felt by the user, which would otherwise be caused by creating the same presentation information as normal even in irregular cases such as deviations. In other words, since an appropriate presentation mode can be set even in irregular cases, it is possible to present more appropriate information to the user. Furthermore, by using this configuration, it is possible to specify specific dates, times, etc. as deviation conditions, and to set utterance content according to the target dates and times of seasonal events such as holidays and anniversaries.

[0086] The event conditions and the like shown in the event database 115 are merely examples, and may be added or deleted as appropriate. Furthermore, the event database 115 does not need to be configured with all of the components shown in the example of FIG. 9, and may be configured with only a portion of the components.

[0087] [Modification] A modification of the embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing how information is presented according to the modification of the embodiment. In the following explanation, a description of the configuration that is substantially the same as the embodiment will be omitted, and the differences will be mainly described.

[0088] 10 illustrates an example in which a presentation device 14a that presents presentation information by image is used instead of the presentation device 14 that presents presentation information by sound. The image here refers to, for example, information on the brightness values ​​of each two-dimensional pixel, and is information that is recognized by the user as characters, figures, symbols, colors, etc. based on a combination of the brightness values ​​of each pixel. The presentation device 14a may be any device that can present an image to the user by displaying it. Examples of the presentation device 14a include a display device having a display and a projector that projects an image by irradiating light onto a projection surface.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 10 , the presentation information can also be displayed as an image and presented to the user. In this case, the control device 100 includes a layout database instead of the syntax database 113, and the layout of the information contained in the image varies depending on the time period so that the amount of information provided corresponds to the user's busyness. The presentation information transmitting unit 104 is replaced by a presentation information transmitting unit that converts the presentation information from text data into an image and transmits it. For example, in the example of FIG. 10 , the image includes a recipe name 51, a recipe image 52, a recipe introduction statement 53, and a recommendation reason tag 54. The recipe introduction statement 53 can be adjusted to fit on a single line by changing the syntax or recommendation statement. This allows the presentation information to be presented efficiently without the recipe introduction statement 53 becoming too redundant, even on a terminal device 12, such as a smartphone, which can only display a limited amount of information at one time. Furthermore, during times when the user is not as busy, further explanations (not shown) for each recommendation reason tag may be added, and during times when the user is busier, the layout may be changed so that the recipe introduction text 53 and recommendation reason tag 54 are omitted.

[0090] Other Embodiments Although the control device and the like according to the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0091] For example, the presenting information is generated by applying weighting information to a recipe database (not shown) held by the control device according to the above embodiment, and considering the time-dependent syntax from the syntax database 113 in the profile information. However, the presenting information is not limited to this method as long as the syntax and length of the presented information can be controlled according to the user's situation or household chore status. For example, as generative AI such as ChatGPT evolves, a method utilizing the vast amount of knowledge information held by these generative AIs as profile information is also conceivable. Even in such a case, it is conceivable to input time-based syntactic information or information specifying the length of the presented information, such as the number of characters, and one or a combination of two or more pieces of user information as instructions (i.e., prompts) to the generative AI, and use the generated results as the presented information. Here, the user information may be user attribute information obtained separately, or information obtained from log information acquired at a specific time point or multiple time points (e.g., the user's situation, household chore status, etc.). It is also possible to instruct the generative AI to include specified information, such as the reason for recommendation, at the beginning of the output results generated. Furthermore, by specifying a character limit, it is possible to generate a recommendation message so that the recipe introduction message 53 fits on one line, similar to the application example shown in FIG.

[0092] Furthermore, each processing unit included in the control device according to the above embodiment is typically realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. These may be individually implemented as single chips, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single chip.

[0093] Furthermore, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI may also be used.

[0094] Furthermore, in the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0095] Furthermore, one aspect of the present disclosure may be realized as a control method executed by a control device to control a presentation device, etc. Furthermore, one aspect of the present disclosure may be a computer program causing a computer to execute each characteristic step included in the control method.

[0096] Furthermore, the control device according to the above-described embodiments may be realized as a single device or may be realized by multiple devices. When the control device is realized by multiple devices, the components of the control device may be distributed among the multiple devices in any manner. For example, the control device may be included in a mobile terminal. Furthermore, for example, at least one of the functional configurations of the control device may be realized by a mobile terminal or a server (e.g., a cloud server) capable of communicating with a mobile terminal. When the control device is realized by multiple devices, the communication method between the multiple devices is not particularly limited, and may be wireless communication or wired communication. Furthermore, wireless communication and wired communication may be combined between the devices.

[0097] The division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and multiple functional blocks may be realized as a single functional block, one functional block may be divided into multiple blocks, or some functions may be moved to another functional block.Furthermore, the functions of multiple functional blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or time-shared by a single piece of hardware or software.

[0098] The order in which the steps in the flowchart are executed is merely an example for specifically explaining the present disclosure, and other orders may be used. Also, some of the steps may be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps.

[0099] The present disclosure is not limited to one or more of the above aspects, and various modifications that a person skilled in the art may make to the present embodiment, or forms constructed by combining components in different embodiments, may also be included within the scope of one or more aspects, as long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0100] The present disclosure can be applied to a presentation system that appropriately presents presentation information.

[0101] 11 Device 12 Terminal device 13 Time server 14, 14a Presentation device 51 Recipe name 52 Recipe image 53 Recipe introduction text 54 Recommendation reason tag 100 Control device 101 Operation history receiving unit 102 Time receiving unit 103 Presentation candidate management unit 104 Presentation information transmitting unit 105 Storage unit 106 Log information extracting unit 107 Profile generating unit 108 Candidate selecting unit 109 Presentation information creating unit 111 Inventory database 112 Preference database 113 Syntax database 114 Text database 115 Event database

Claims

1. A control device for presenting presentation information to a user, comprising: a receiving unit that receives at least one of log information and time information from a device connected for communication via a network; a presentation information creating unit that determines a presentation form of the presentation information according to at least one of the received log information and the time information, and creates the presentation information according to the determined presentation form; and a transmitting unit that transmits the created presentation information to a presentation device connected for communication via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information creation unit generates profile information for the user based on the log information received at each of a plurality of points in time, and determines the presentation form according to at least one of the received log information and the time information, as well as the generated profile information.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information creation unit generates profile information for the user based on the log information received at each of a plurality of points in time, and determines the presentation content to be included in the presentation information according to at least one of the received log information and the time information, and the generated profile information.

4. A control device as described in claim 2 or 3, wherein the profile information includes a configuration database in which a presentation configuration in the presentation form is pre-set for each of a plurality of time periods, and the presentation information creation unit determines the presentation form to use the presentation configuration set for the time period among the plurality of time periods corresponding to the time indicated in the received time information.

5. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the profile information includes an inventory database of items owned by the user, and the multiple time periods include replenishment time periods during which the item can be replenished and consumption time periods during which the item cannot be replenished, and the presentation information creation unit allows the creation of the presentation information based on the assumption that the item will be replenished if a time period among the multiple time periods corresponding to a time indicated in the received time information is the replenishment time period, and does not allow the creation of the presentation information based on the assumption that the item will be replenished if a time period among the multiple time periods corresponding to a time indicated in the received time information is the consumption time period.

6. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the profile information includes one or more preferences of the user and a weighted score assigned to each of the one or more preferences, and the presentation information creation unit preferentially uses as the presentation information a candidate having a large total value of the weighted scores assigned to preferences that match the candidate among the one or more preferences.

7. The control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the presentation information creation unit, when newly received log information deviates from normal conditions that were set based on the previously received log information, determines that the presentation form of the presentation information is to be a deviation form, and creates the presentation information in accordance with the determined deviation form.

8. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the presented information is recipe information for cooking a dish.

9. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the presentation information is reproduced as audio and presented to the user.

10. The control device described in claim 9, wherein the determination of the presentation form includes determining at least one of the speech syntax and speech characteristics of the voice when the presentation information is reproduced, and at least one of the speech syntax and speech characteristics of the voice when the presentation information is reproduced differs between one of the presentation information created in response to at least one of the received log information and one of the received time information and another of the presentation information created in response to at least one of the received other log information and another of the received time information.

11. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the presentation information is displayed as an image and presented to the user.

12. The control device described in claim 11, wherein the determination of the presentation form includes determining at least one of the display layout of the image and the syntax of the sentences contained in the image when the presentation information is displayed, and at least one of the display layout of the image and the syntax of the sentences contained in the image when the presentation information is displayed differs between one of the presentation information created in response to at least one of the received log information and one of the received time information and the other of the presentation information created in response to at least one of the received other log information and other of the received time information.

13. A control method executed by a control device for presenting presentation information to a user, comprising: a receiving step of receiving at least one of log information and time information from a device connected for communication via a network; a presentation information creating step of determining a presentation form for the presentation information according to at least one of the received log information and the time information, and creating the presentation information according to the determined presentation form; and a transmitting step of transmitting the created presentation information to a presentation device connected for communication via the network, thereby presenting the presentation information to the user.

14. A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 13.

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