Information processing device and program

Abstract

An information processing device according to the present disclosure includes: an acquisition means that acquires a time spent by a user in a predetermined area on the basis of location information of the user or acquires an amount of money spent by the user for the predetermined area; and a determination means that determines the degree of relationship between the user and the area. The determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the predetermined area on the basis of the time spent by the user in the predetermined area for a specific purpose within a specific period of time, or the amount of money spent by the user for the specific purpose in the predetermined area.

Description

Information processing device and program

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

[0002] In recent years, remote work has become commonplace in many companies, creating environments where people can work outside of the office. Due to these changes, a trend known as workcation, in which employees working in one area stay in another area (such as a rural area) for a few days to work remotely, is gaining attention. At the same time, it is expected that an increasing number of people will develop an interest in the area after spending time there, and will return to the area repeatedly, deepening their ties with the area through their activities there.

[0003] The population of people who have diverse connections with a region is called the "related population." The term "related population" refers to people who have diverse connections with a region, and is neither the "settlement population" who have immigrated, nor the "exchange population" who have come as tourists. Rural areas are facing the challenge of a shortage of people to carry out regional development due to population decline and aging, but in some regions, people who will bring about change, especially young people, are beginning to enter the region, and it is hoped that people from outside the region, known as "related population," will become the leaders of regional development. Patent Document 1 proposes technology to quantify the level of interest that related population has in a region in order to evaluate related population.

[0004] Patent No. 7181657

[0005] In Patent Literature 1, a message about a region is sent to users (users interested in a particular region) managed by a predetermined local government service or a regional service. Then, by analyzing the behavior of the users who received the message (such as clicking on links included in the email or rating posts on social media), the level of interest in the region among related populations can be measured. While this technology can quantitatively grasp the level of interest of users who come into contact with information, there are cases where an evaluation that takes into account more substantial relationships between users and the region is desired.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to realize a technology that can evaluate the relationship between related population and a region, taking into account the actual relationship between the user and the region.

[0007] In order to solve this problem, for example, an information processing device of the present invention has the following configuration: That is, it has an acquisition means that acquires the length of time a user has stayed in a predetermined area or acquires the amount of money the user has spent in the predetermined area based on the user's location information, and a determination means that determines the degree of relationship between the user and the area, wherein the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the predetermined area based on the length of time the user has stayed in the predetermined area for a specific purpose within a specific period of time or the amount of money spent in the predetermined area for a specific purpose.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to evaluate the relationship between the relevant population and the area by taking into account the actual relationship between the user and the area. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0009] The accompanying drawings are included in the specification, constitute a part thereof, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description thereof, are used to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 1 illustrates an overview of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an information providing server as an example of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a table for determining the degree of relationship between a user and a region according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a table for determining the degree of relationship between a user and a region according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Flowchart showing a series of operations related to information provision processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3 illustrates an example of display information for a My Page according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 illustrates an example of display information for a details screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 illustrates an example of display information for a reward screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 6 illustrates an example of user information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] <Regarding the degree of related population according to this embodiment> The information processing system according to this embodiment determines the degree of relationship between a user and a specific region (i.e., the degree of related population) and presents the degree of relationship to the user. In other words, the degree of related population in this invention means "the degree to which the related population continuously contributes to the local economy." The degree of relationship between a user and a region can be expressed, for example, by a rank (e.g., platinum, gold) as described below. In this way, by visualizing and providing the relationship between the user and a specific region in which the user is interested, the user is motivated to further improve the degree of relationship with the region.

[0012] The system also provides users with information about rewards from local governments based on the degree of their relationship with a specific region. Examples of rewards include offers such as accommodation vouchers and event invitations in the region. The higher the user's rank (i.e., the degree of their relationship with the region), the more luxurious, difficult to obtain, or difficult to access rewards may be set. This motivates users to achieve a higher rank in a specific region (i.e., deepen their relationship with the region).

[0013] The building of a relationship between a user and a specific region may begin, for example, as an opportunity for an employee working in a city center to stay in a rural area for a few days (workcation). In other words, a user may become interested in the region after a stay there, and may then return to the region repeatedly, deepening their relationship with the region through their activities there. By deepening a user's relationship with a region, it is expected that the occupancy rate of accommodations and restaurants (e.g., during off-season periods) will increase, and consumption by active urban consumers will be stimulated. For example, if an urban user stays at a local accommodation (e.g., an unused accommodation facility in a rural area), it is expected that they will use transportation outside the region, dine at the accommodation, and participate in events. In this way, the system according to this embodiment connects users with local communities, increasing the number of people connected to the region and revitalizing the region.

[0014] <Configuration of Information Processing System> An information processing system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The information system 10 includes, for example, an information providing server 100, an external server 101, and a communication device 102. Each of these devices is connected via a network 104, and can communicate between the devices using, for example, a predetermined Internet protocol.

[0015] The communication device 102 is, for example, a mobile terminal used by a user, and includes electronic devices such as a smartphone, a personal computer, and a tablet terminal.

[0016] The information providing server 100 is an example of an information processing device, and executes an information providing process described below. By executing the information providing process, the information providing server 100 determines the degree of relationship between the user and a predetermined area, and provides information indicating the determined degree of relationship with the predetermined area to the communication device 102. Furthermore, the information providing server 100 provides the user's communication device 102 with a reward provided by a local government related to the predetermined area, depending on the degree of relationship between the user and the predetermined area.

[0017] The services provided by executing a computer program on the information providing server 100 are managed, for example, by a service provider (also simply referred to as a relationship service provider) that provides various services based on the relationship between a user and a region. The information providing server 100 as hardware may be managed by the relationship service provider, or may be managed by another business that operates a data center or the like. Note that the functions realized by the information providing server 100 may be realized in an edge node that may be placed between a server and a communication device. Note that the edge node is also an example of an information processing device.

[0018] The external servers 101 are various types of servers operated separately by a provider or local government other than the related service provider. The external servers 101a, 101b, ... are servers that may be operated by separate service providers. In accordance with the user's usage permission, the external servers 101a, 101b, ... provide, for example, the user's payment information (e.g., credit card or electronic money usage history) to the information providing server 100, or provide the user's hometown tax payment history information to the information providing server 100. When the external servers 101a, 101b, ... are not particularly distinguished from each other, they are simply referred to as the external servers 101.

[0019] <Configuration of Information Providing Server> Next, with reference to FIG. 2, an example of the functional configuration of the information providing server 100 as an example of an information processing device will be described. Note that each of the functional blocks described with reference to the figure may be integrated or separated, and the described functions may be realized by different blocks. Also, what is described as hardware may be realized by software, and vice versa. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example is described in which the information providing server is a single device, but the information providing server may be configured by multiple devices, or may be configured as one or more virtual machines.

[0020] The communication unit 201 includes a communication circuit or a communication module that can communicate with both the external server 101 and the communication device 102 via a network.

[0021] The control unit 202 includes a processor 210 and a memory 211. The processor 210 may be composed of one or more processors. The control unit 202 controls the operation of each unit of the information providing server 100 by causing the processor 210 to execute a computer program stored in the memory 211 or the storage unit 204. Furthermore, the function of each unit included in the control unit 202 is realized, for example, by the processor 210 executing a program.

[0022] The memory 211 is a volatile storage medium such as a DRAM, and temporarily stores parameters and processing results for the control unit 202 to execute a computer program. The power supply unit 203 is a power source for providing power for the operation of each unit of the information providing server 100.

[0023] The storage unit 204 includes a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory, and stores setting values ​​and computer programs required for the operation of the information providing server 100. The computer programs stored in the storage unit 204 include an operating system and various applications for realizing the various functions of the information providing server 100. The storage unit 204 includes, for example, user information 220, stay time information 221, consumption amount information 222, and reward information 223.

[0024] The user information 220 includes information about users who are users of the system. For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , the user information 220 includes a user identifier 901, favorite setting information 902, and information 903 about the degree of relationship between the region and the user. The user identifier 901 is information that identifies the user. The favorite setting information 902 is information that indicates the local government that the user has set as a favorite. The user can set multiple local governments as favorites. The information 903 about the degree of relationship between the region and the user includes information about the degree of relationship between the region and the user for each local government that has been set as a favorite. The information 903 about the degree of relationship between the region and the user is determined and set by the information provision process, which will be described later.

[0025] The stay time information 221 includes the user's stay time in each area based on the user's location information. The stay time information 221, for example, records the user's stay time for each area. The stay time information 221 may be, for example, the time obtained by measuring the time the user spent within a geofence corresponding to the area. For example, if each area is associated with a local government, the stay time information 221 may represent the time the user spent in each local government. Alternatively, if the area of ​​the local government is divided into multiple areas, the stay time information 221 may indicate, for example, the user's stay time in each of a first area (center) and a second area (periphery) of the area of ​​the local government. Note that the area of ​​the local government can be divided in various ways, such as by dividing it into tourist destinations and non-tourist destinations.

[0026] The consumption amount information 222 includes the amount of money spent by the user in each region. For example, the consumption amount information 222 includes the amount of money spent by the user in each region and the amount of money spent by the user outside the region on goods sold or services provided by the local government corresponding to each region. That is, the consumption amount information 222 may include the amount of money spent by the user on dining, accommodation, etc. within the region when visiting the region, the amount of hometown tax donations to the region, and the amount of money spent at antenna shops related to the region. For example, if each region is associated with a local government, the consumption amount information 222 may represent the amount of money spent by the user in each local government. Alternatively, if the area of ​​a local government is divided into multiple regions, the consumption amount information 222 may represent the amount of money spent by the user in each of the first and second regions of the local government.

[0027] The reward information 223 includes information about rewards provided by local governments in a specific region according to the degree of relationship between the user and the region. The reward information includes, for example, information about offers such as accommodation vouchers and invitations to events in the specific region.

[0028] The staying time acquisition unit 212 acquires the location information of the communication device 102 from the communication device 102 as the user's location information. Furthermore, based on the acquired user's location information, the staying time acquisition unit 212 measures, for example, the time the user stays within a geofence corresponding to an area, and acquires the user's staying time in the area. The staying time acquisition unit 212 adds up the cumulative value of the staying time in the area that is already stored in the staying time information 221 and the newly acquired staying time. In this way, the staying time acquisition unit 212 can acquire (a new cumulative value of) the user's staying time in the area. The staying time acquisition unit 212 can update the staying time information 221 with the cumulative value of the user's staying time in the area.

[0029] The stay time acquisition unit 212 can acquire the cumulative value of stay time for any period (for example, by accessing the stay time information 221). For example, the stay time acquisition unit 212 can acquire the cumulative value of stay time for the period from the beginning of the year to which the current time belongs to until the current time, or the cumulative value of stay time for the year prior to the year to which the current time belongs (for example, the year 2022).

[0030] Furthermore, if each region is associated with a local government in the stay time information 221, for example, the stay time acquisition unit 212 can acquire the time spent by the user in each local government. Alternatively, if the area of ​​the local government is divided into multiple regions in the stay time information 221, the stay time acquisition unit 212 can acquire the user's stay time in each of, for example, a first region (center) and a second region (periphery) of the area of ​​the local government. As described above, the area of ​​the local government can be divided in various ways, such as dividing it into tourist destinations and non-tourist destinations, and the stay time acquisition unit 212 can acquire the user's stay time for each of the regions divided in various ways.

[0031] The consumption amount acquisition unit 213 acquires the amount of consumption by the user in a region. The consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can acquire the amount of consumption by the user in a region, such as for eating and drinking, lodging, etc., from, for example, the external server 101a, and update the cumulative value of the consumption amount for each region in the consumption amount information 222. The consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can also acquire the amount of hometown tax donations to a region and the amount of consumption at an antenna shop in the region from, for example, the external server 101b or the external server 101a, and update the cumulative value of the consumption amount for each region in the consumption amount information 222. As described above with respect to the stay time acquisition unit 212, the consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can also acquire the cumulative value of the consumption amount for an arbitrary period of time, or the cumulative value of the consumption amount for each region when multiple regions are associated with a local government, regarding the amount of consumption by the user in a region.

[0032] In addition to acquiring information from the external server 101, the consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can also acquire the amount of money spent by the user in a local area from the communication device 102. For example, after a user stays at a local hotel and pays in cash, the hotel provides the user with a receipt. The communication device 102 can photograph the receipt and perform image recognition processing on the photographed image to acquire the amount of the payment, the name of the store or service provider related to the payment (e.g., XX Hotel), and the time, and transmit the information to the information providing server 100. The consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can receive payment information from the communication device 102 and record the payment information as consumption amount information.

[0033] The relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship between the user and a region. Specifically, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship between the user and a region based on the user's stay time in the region within a specific period of time and the amount of money spent in the region.

[0034] The relationship degree determination unit 214 may determine the degree of relationship between a user and a region using, for example, the table shown in FIG. 4A as an example. That is, if the user's stay time in a region is 100 hours or more and the user's consumption amount in the region is 100,000 yen or more, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship between the user and the region to be silver rank. Similarly, if the user's stay time in a region is 150 hours or more and the user's consumption amount is 200,000 yen or more, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship to be gold rank. Furthermore, if the user's stay time in a region is 200 hours or more and the user's consumption amount is 300,000 yen or more, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship to be platinum rank.

[0035] The relationship degree determination unit 214 may refer to the table shown in FIG. 4A and determine that the relationship degree is silver rank if at least one of the user's stay time in an area within a specific period and the amount of money spent in the area is equal to or greater than the value shown in the table (e.g., 100 hours or 100,000 yen).

[0036] The above-mentioned amount of consumption may be determined for each amount of consumption for a specific purpose, such as the amount of consumption for accommodation, the amount of consumption for eating and drinking, and the amount of consumption for souvenirs. Furthermore, the above-mentioned duration of stay may be determined for each duration of stay for a specific purpose, such as the duration of stay for accommodation, the duration of stay for eating and drinking, and the duration of stay for shopping. In this case, for example, the relationship degree determination unit 214 may determine that the relationship degree is silver rank when at least one of the duration of stay for a specific purpose by the user in a region within a specific period of time and the amount of consumption for a specific purpose in the region is equal to or greater than a value shown in the table (e.g., 100 hours or 100,000 yen).

[0037] In addition, in the description of this embodiment, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the relationship degree between a user and a region using the user's stay time in the region within a specific period and the amount of consumption in the region. However, the relationship degree determination unit 214 may use other information in addition to the stay time and the amount of consumption. For example, the relationship degree determination unit 214 may further use at least one of the number of days of stay and the number of visits shown in FIG. 4B to determine the relationship degree between the user and the region. By using the number of days of stay, the user is required to visit the region over a number of days (repeatedly) greater than or equal to the condition in order to improve the relationship degree with the region. Similarly, when the number of visits is used, the user is required to visit the region over a number of days (repeatedly) greater than or equal to the condition in order to improve the relationship degree with the region. In this way, by additionally using conditions such as the number of days of stay or the number of visits, the user can be motivated to increase their stay and consumption. The relationship degree determination unit 214 may determine the degree of relationship between the user and the area by using at least one of the number of days of stay and the number of times of stay instead of the length of stay. Also, the number of days of stay may be used instead of or in addition to the number of times of stay and the number of days of stay shown in FIG.

[0038] On the other hand, instead of using a table, the relationship degree determination unit 214 may determine the degree of relationship between a user and a region using a function whose input parameters are the user's stay time in the region within a specific period and the amount of money spent in the region. For example, the function f(x, y) = ax + by may be used, where x is the user's stay time in the region and y is the amount of money spent in the region, and the coefficients a and b are determined appropriately, and the rank may be determined according to the value of f(x, y). Of course, the function is not limited to this example, and a higher-order function or a nonlinear function may also be used.

[0039] Furthermore, as described above, when multiple regions correspond to a local government, the relationship degree determination unit 214 can take into account the length of stay and the amount of consumption in each of the multiple regions. For example, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship between the user and the region (local government) by applying different weightings to at least one of the length of stay in a first region and the amount of consumption in a second region among the multiple regions. In this way, for example, if the weighting of the center is increased between a first region (center) and a second region (periphery) of the local government area, a user who spends more time and / or more money in the center will be given a higher rank. In other words, it is possible to motivate users to stay in the center and consume in the center. In other words, it is possible to guide users to their desired region among the multiple regions.

[0040] The relationship degree determining unit 214 may set an expiration date for the determined degree of relationship, and control the degree of relationship so that it decays over time after the expiration date.

[0041] The reward acquisition unit 215 acquires the above-mentioned reward information from the external server 101, records the information in the reward information 223, and updates the reward information 223.

[0042] The display information generation unit 216 generates display information to be displayed on the communication device 102. For example, the display information generation unit 216 generates display information for a My Page that displays the names of local governments individually set as favorites by the user. The display information generation unit 216 also generates display information for a details screen that displays the user's stay time and consumption amount for each region or each local government. The display information generation unit 216 also generates display information for a reward screen that displays information on rewards provided by the region or each local government. Details of the My Page, details screen, and reward screen will be described later. The display information generation unit 216 generates each piece of display information and transmits this display information to the communication device 102 via the communication unit 201. Instead of generating various screen information, the display information generation unit 216 may transmit information required to configure each screen to the communication device 102, and the display screen may be configured on the communication device 102 side.

[0043] <Configuration of communication device> Next, an example of the functional configuration of the communication device 102 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. In this embodiment, a case where a smartphone is used as an example of a communication device will be described. Note that each of the functional blocks described with reference to the following figures may be integrated or separated, and the described functions may be realized by different blocks. Furthermore, what is described as hardware may be realized by software, and vice versa.

[0044] The communication unit 301 includes, for example, a communication circuit, and communicates with the information providing server 100 by connecting to the Internet via mobile communication such as LTE, or by connecting to a network via wireless LAN communication.

[0045] The control unit 302 includes a processor 310 and a memory 311, and controls the operation of each unit in the communication device 102 by, for example, having the processor 310 execute a computer program stored in the storage unit 307. The processor 310 includes one or more processors, and the memory 311 includes, for example, a volatile memory such as a DRAM.

[0046] The operation unit 303 includes buttons and a touch panel provided in the communication device 102, and accepts user operations on the buttons and GUIs for various operations displayed on the display unit 306. The power supply unit 304 provides power to each unit of the communication device 102.

[0047] The imaging device 305 is, for example, a camera mechanism including an imaging element, and can take an image in response to instructions from the control unit 302. For example, after paying in cash for meals or lodging at a destination, the user can take an image of the receipt. For example, the receipt contains the amount paid, details of the payment, the time of payment, etc., and the control unit 302 performs image recognition processing on the captured image of the receipt to obtain the amount paid, the name of the store or service provider related to the payment, and the time. The control unit 302 transmits the obtained information to the information providing server 100.

[0048] The display unit 306 includes a display device such as an LCD or OLED. The display unit 306 displays a GUI based on display information received from the information providing server 100 in response to an instruction from the control unit 302. The control unit 302 executes, for example, a web browser or a dedicated application, to cause the display unit 306 to display the display information received from the information providing server 100.

[0049] The storage unit 307 includes a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores programs and setting values ​​executed by the control unit 302. The computer programs stored in the storage unit 307 include an operating system and various applications for implementing the various functions of the communication device 102.

[0050] <Series of Operations of Information Providing Process in Information Providing Server> Next, a series of operations of the information providing process executed in the information providing server 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. This process is realized by the processor 210 of the control unit 202 executing a computer program recorded in the storage unit 204.

[0051] In S501, the staying time acquisition unit 212 acquires the location information of the communication device 102 from the communication device 102 as the user's location information, as described above.

[0052] In S502, the control unit 202 determines whether the user has selected a specific local government (as a favorite). As described above with reference to FIG. 9, the user information 220 includes favorite setting information 902. If the user information 220 includes a local government selected as a favorite, the control unit 202 proceeds to S503; otherwise, the control unit 202 ends this series of processes.

[0053] In S503, as described above, the staying time acquisition unit 212 acquires the staying time of the user in the area by, for example, measuring the time that the user stayed within the geofence corresponding to the area, and updates the staying time information 221. The staying time acquisition unit 212 acquires (the cumulative value of) the staying time of the user in the predetermined area (within a specific period) from the staying time information 221.

[0054] In S504, as described above, the consumption amount acquisition unit 213 acquires the amount of money spent by the user within the region from the external server 101, and updates the cumulative value of the consumption amount for each region in the consumption amount information 222. The consumption amount acquisition unit 213 acquires (the cumulative value of) the amount of money spent for a specific region (within a specific period) from the consumption amount information 222.

[0055] In S505, the relationship degree determination unit 214 determines the degree of relationship between the user and a specific area based on the user's stay time in the area within a specific period and the amount of money spent in the area, as described above. The relationship degree determination unit 214 records the determined degree of relationship in the user information 220 (information 903 on the degree of relationship between the user and the area).

[0056] In S506, the display information generation unit 216 provides information indicating the degree of relationship between the user and the predetermined area together with the name of the local government as display information to the communication device 102. For example, the display information generation unit 216 can provide display information for My Page 600 shown in FIG. 6 to the communication device 102.

[0057] My Page 600 shown in FIG. 6 is a screen that displays the names of local governments that the user has set as favorites and information indicating the degree of relationship between the user and the local government. User image 601 includes, for example, a profile image of the user uploaded by the user. User image 601 may be an icon or avatar image set by the user. Name 602 includes the user's name. Local government name 603 includes the name of a local government that the user has set in advance as a favorite local government. The display information generation unit 216 may generate display information using favorite setting information 902 in the user information 220 as local government name 603.

[0058] The display information generation unit 216 generates display information to include names of local governments 603 and information 604 indicating the degree of relationship between the user and the area corresponding to each local government name. The information 604 indicating the degree of relationship between the user and the area includes information indicating the degree of relationship, such as platinum or silver, and information indicating that the degree is for a specific period (e.g., 2022, 2021, etc.).

[0059] When the communication device 102 is displaying My Page 600 and the user presses the local government name 605, for example, "Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture," the communication device 102 transmits the operation content to the information providing server 100. In response to the designation of the local government name 605, the information providing server 100 generates display information for the detailed information 700 shown in FIG.

[0060] Detailed information 700 shown in FIG. 7 includes a name 701 of the selected local government and information 702 indicating the degree of relationship between the user and the area corresponding to the name of the selected local government. Detailed information 700 also includes information 703 indicating the user's current situation. For example, information 703 indicating the user's current situation includes the user's cumulative stay time (e.g., 24 hours) in the area during a specific period (e.g., within the year to which the current time belongs) and the cumulative amount of money spent in the area during the specific period (e.g., 12,000 yen). Information 703 indicating the user's current situation also includes the user's cumulative stay time (e.g., 72 hours) in the area during the entire period and the cumulative amount of money spent in the area during the entire period (e.g., 42,000 yen). In response to the user pressing the "See more" button on the communication device 102, the information providing server 100 may generate detailed information 700 to further include information indicating the user's status in other years such as 2022, 2021, etc.

[0061] The detailed information 700 may further include a breakdown of the amount of consumption 704. The breakdown of the amount of consumption 704 may include information such as the date of the consumption and the object of the consumption in addition to the amount of consumption.

[0062] The display information generating unit 216 may further include information necessary for improving the rank in the detailed information 700. For example, the display information generating unit 216 compares the current stay time and expenditure (in the stay time information 221 and expenditure amount information 222) with the stay time and expenditure amount required to achieve the next rank (as defined in FIG. 4A, for example). The stay time and expenditure amount required to achieve the next rank may then be included in the detailed information 700. Furthermore, instead of the stay time and expenditure amount, the display information generating unit 216 may display information such as the number of nights stayed, the number of days of stay, the number of meals and drinks consumed, and the number of events attended, which correspond to the stay time and expenditure amount required to improve the rank. This display information may clarify the goal of improving the rank and motivate the user to improve their relationship with the local government. Furthermore, whether the information displayed for improving the rank is the stay time, expenditure amount, number of nights stayed, or number of days of stay may be controlled according to a setting value transmitted from the local government's communication terminal. This allows the type of services to which users are directed to be set for each local government or region.

[0063] The description will be made again with reference to Fig. 5. In S507, the reward acquisition unit 215 acquires reward information from the external server 101 and updates the reward information 223, as described above.

[0064] In S508, the display information generation unit 216 provides display information for the reward screen 800 to the communication device 102. The reward screen 800 may be provided in response to the user pressing an offer button (not shown) included in the My Page 600 or the detailed information 700. As shown in FIG. 8 , the reward screen 800 includes information on rewards from local governments according to the degree of relationship between the user and a specific region. For example, the reward information 801 includes information on an offer provided by a local government in response to the degree of relationship between the user and Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture being platinum rank. The offer information 801 includes promotional images and explanatory text provided by the local government. Similarly, the reward information 802 includes information on an offer provided by a local government in response to the degree of relationship between the user and Daisen City, Akita Prefecture being silver rank.

[0065] When the reward information is provided by the display information generating unit 216, the control unit 202 ends this series of processes.

[0066] The above description describes various functions of the information providing server 100, but the functions of the information providing server 100 are not limited to these. The information providing server 100 may have functions for registering and modifying the user's name, email address, areas the user passes through on their travels, the area where the user's workplace is located, and the area where the user's home is located. In this case, the stay time acquisition unit 212 and the consumption amount acquisition unit 213 can exclude the areas the user passes through on their travels, the area where the user's workplace is located, and the area where the user's home is located from the areas to be processed. Therefore, the information providing server 100 does not include these set areas in the areas when calculating the degree of relationship between the user and the area. In this way, the information providing server 100 can reduce or omit the processing load of calculating the stay time and consumption amount for areas where the user frequently stays or spends money. In other words, the processing load of each unit of the control unit 202 and the update load of the memory unit 204 can be significantly reduced.

[0067] Furthermore, in the series of operations described with reference to FIG. 5 , if a local government is previously set in the favorite setting information 902, the information providing server 100 acquires the length of stay and the amount of money spent for the area corresponding to the local government. In other words, for a specific area (local government) selected by the user from among areas where the user has stayed or areas where the user has spent money, the information providing server 100 determines the degree of relationship between the user and the area. In this way, calculations of the length of stay and the amount of money spent, and calculations to determine the degree of relationship between the user and the area can be performed for a limited area. In other words, the processing load can be significantly reduced compared to when calculations are performed for information on all areas in which the user has been involved.

[0068] Alternatively, the information providing server 100 may prevent the registration of local governments corresponding to areas through which the user travels, the area where the user's workplace is located, and the area where the user's home is located when registering favorite settings for setting local governments to be displayed on the My Page 600. Even in this way, the information providing server 100 can reduce the processing load of calculating the length of stay and the amount of money spent for areas where the user stays or spends money very frequently.

[0069] As described above, in this embodiment, the information providing server 100 acquires the user's stay time in a predetermined area based on the user's location information, and also acquires the amount of money the user spent in the predetermined area. Then, based on the user's stay time in the predetermined area within a specific period and the amount of money spent in the predetermined area, the information providing server 100 determines the degree of relationship between the user and the predetermined area. In this way, the relationship between the related population and the area can be evaluated taking into account the actual relationship between the user and the area.

[0070] Furthermore, the information providing server 100 provides the user's communication device with information indicating the degree of relationship with the determined specified area, along with the name of the local government corresponding to the specified area. In this way, the user can easily understand the degree of relationship between the user and the local government. Furthermore, by allowing the user to understand the current relationship, if there is a change in the relationship between the user and the local government, it is possible to easily understand the change. In other words, the user can be motivated to aim for a higher degree of relationship with the local government.

[0071] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the invention. This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-119270, filed on July 21, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring the time spent by a user in a specified area based on the user's location information, or the amount of consumption by the user in a specified area; and a determination means for determining the degree of relationship between the user and the area, wherein the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the specified area based on the time spent by the user in the specified area for a specific purpose within a specific period of time, or the amount of consumption for a specific purpose in the specified area.

2. An information processing device comprising: a time acquisition means for acquiring the time spent by the user in a specified area based on the user's location information; an amount acquisition means for acquiring the amount of money spent by the user in the specified area; and a determination means for determining the degree of relationship between the user and the area, wherein the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the specified area based on the time spent by the user in the specified area within a specific period of time and the amount of money spent in the specified area.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a providing means for providing information indicating the degree of relationship with the determined specified area, together with the name of the local government corresponding to the specified area, to the user's communication device.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and a specific area selected by the user from among areas in which the user has stayed or areas in which the user has spent money.

5. The information processing device of claim 2, characterized in that the amount of consumption by the user in the specified area includes the amount of consumption by the user in the specified area and the amount of consumption by the user outside the specified area for goods sold or services provided by a local government corresponding to the specified area.

6. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the specified area by applying different weightings to at least one of the duration of stay in each area and the amount of consumption in each area for a first area and a second area among the specified areas.

7. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination means determines the degree of relationship between the user and the specified area based on at least one of the number of times or number of days the user stays in the specified area during the specific period.

8. The information processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that the determination means excludes from the specified area areas the area through which the user passes during travel, the area in which the user's workplace is located, and the area in which the user's home is located.

9. The information processing device of claim 3, further comprising a reward acquisition means for acquiring information on rewards provided by a local government associated with a region, wherein the provision means further provides to the user's communication device information on rewards provided by the local government related to the specified region in accordance with the degree of relationship with the specified region.

10. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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