Information providing system and information providing method

Abstract

This information providing system comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires color vision information indicating color vision of a person involved in the provision of information; a color determination unit that determines a color related to an article, on which information is to be provided, on the basis of the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit; and an information providing unit that provides information on the article relating to the color determined by the color determination unit.

Description

Information provision system and information provision method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information providing system and an information providing method for providing information about an item.

[0002] Color processing that takes color-blind people into consideration has been known for some time. For example, a color processing device described in Patent Document 1 acquires color values ​​to be processed, calculates a color vision degree coefficient that represents the degree of color vision deficiency based on the population distribution of test results obtained from a color vision test administered to a predetermined group, calculates color conversion coefficients used to convert the acquired color values ​​based on the correspondence between the color vision degree coefficients and the sensitivity characteristics of L-, M-, and S-cones, and performs color conversion processing on the color values ​​using the color conversion coefficients.

[0003] Patent No. 5924289

[0004] It is conceivable to provide information on products with colors that take into account the color vision of a person who is purchasing a product such as clothing. For example, it is conceivable to provide information on products that appear the same color to a person with color vision deficiency as to a person with color vision deficiency. By providing such information, a person with color vision deficiency can purchase an appropriate product that takes into account their color vision. It is also conceivable to provide the above information for items other than products. The color processing device disclosed in the above Patent Document 1 does not necessarily have sufficient functionality from this perspective.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an information provision system and an information provision method that can appropriately provide information about items while taking into account the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the information provision system according to the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires color vision information indicating the color vision of the person to whom information is to be provided, a color determination unit that determines the color of an item for which information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit, and an information provision unit that provides information on the item related to the color determined by the color determination unit.

[0007] In the information provision system according to the present disclosure, the color of an article for which information is to be provided is determined based on color vision information indicating the color vision of the person providing the information, and information on the article related to the determined color is provided. Therefore, the information provision system according to the present disclosure can provide appropriate information on the article taking into account the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0008] The acquisition unit may acquire, as the color vision information, information indicating the wavelength-specific sensitivity characteristics of the cones of the person providing the information. With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately and reliably determine the color of the item about which information is being provided. As a result, it is possible to provide information about the item while appropriately and reliably taking into account the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0009] The color determination unit may determine the color of the product for which information is to be provided based on a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information. With this configuration, the product information can be provided taking into consideration a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information. For example, if the person providing the information is color-blind, the product information can be provided taking into consideration the color vision of a person with normal color vision.

[0010] The acquisition unit may also acquire reference color information indicating a reference color that serves as a reference when providing information, and the color determination unit may determine the color of the product for which information is to be provided based on the reference color information acquired by the acquisition unit. With this configuration, it is possible to provide information about the product based on a specific color.

[0011] Incidentally, the present disclosure can be described not only as an information provision system as described above, but also as an information provision method as follows. These are essentially the same, with only different categories, and provide similar actions and effects.

[0012] That is, the information providing method according to the present disclosure is an information providing method that is an operating method of an information providing system, and includes an acquisition step of acquiring color vision information indicating the color vision of the person to whom the information is to be provided, a color determination step of determining the color of an article about which information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired in the acquisition step, and an information providing step of providing information about the article related to the color determined in the color determination step.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide information about an item appropriately, taking into consideration the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0014] 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 2 is a graph illustrating an example of sensitivity characteristics of an L cone, an M cone, and an S cone; 3 is a flowchart illustrating an information providing method that is a process executed in the information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information providing system and an information providing method according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows the functional configuration of an information provision system 10 according to this embodiment. The information provision system 10 is a system (device) that provides information about an item. In this embodiment, the item for which information is provided is a product. For example, the information provision system 10 provides product information to a party involved in the information provision and a user who intends to purchase the product. Specifically, the information provision system 10 transmits product information to a terminal 20 used by the user, thereby providing the product information to the user.

[0017] The product may be, for example, clothing. Clothing generally refers to clothing worn by a user, including clothes, underwear, hats, scarves, gloves, and footwear. The product may also be any product as long as it is color-related. The provision of product information may be, for example, information about products recommended to the user, or information about products available for purchase by the user. The information providing system 10 may have a function for selling products. The function for selling products may be similar to the function of conventional e-commerce using a website, for example. In this case, the provision of information by the information providing system 10 may be performed by the product seller.

[0018] The information providing system 10 may provide product information in a manner other than the above. Furthermore, the information providing system 10 may provide information to a party other than a user (a party involved in providing information). Furthermore, the information providing system 10 may provide information on items other than products.

[0019] The information provided by the information providing system 10 is based on the user's color vision and the color of the product. The information provided by the information providing system 10 takes color vision variability into consideration. Color vision variability refers to a situation in which people differ in their ability to recognize or distinguish colors.

[0020] As a classification of color vision types, there are five types of color vision: C type (Common), P type (Protanope), D type (Deuteranope), T type (Tritanope), and A type (Acromatic).

[0021] Type C is a group that has three types of cones: L cones, M cones, and S cones. L cones are photoreceptor cells that are highly sensitive to light in the long wavelength range, such as red. M cones are photoreceptor cells that are highly sensitive to light in the medium wavelength range, such as green. S cones are photoreceptor cells that are highly sensitive to light in the short wavelength range, such as blue. In the case of Japanese people, 95% of men and 99% of women belong to type C. Type C people are also said to have general color vision.

[0022] Meanwhile, people with P, D, T, and A types are also called colorblind. P type is a group consisting of P type strong (Protanopia) who do not have L cones and P type weak (Protanomaly) in which the sensitivity of L cones is shifted and similar to that of M cones. D type is a group consisting of D type strong (Deuteranopia) who do not have M cones and D type weak (Deuteranomaly) in which the sensitivity of M cones is shifted and similar to that of L cones. T type is a group that does not have S cones. A type is a group that has only one type of cone or no cones at all. P type and D type account for the majority of colorblind people, while T type and A type account for an extremely small proportion.

[0023] For example, if the user has color vision deficiency (minority color vision), the information providing system 10 provides information on products (e.g., clothing) with colors that are the same or have only a small difference between the colors that the user can recognize (distinguish) and the colors that a person with general color vision (a person with majority color vision, a normal person) can recognize. This allows the color-blind user to use products with colors that are the same in color recognition as a person with general color vision.

[0024] Alternatively, the information providing system 10 may provide information on the color of a product that can be recognized by a person with color vision deficiency (a color that is different from the color of the product that can be recognized by a person with general color vision) as product information. This allows a user with color vision deficiency to recognize the color of the product that can be recognized by a person with general color vision when purchasing a product. The information providing system 10 may also provide information on products other than those described above. Furthermore, the user does not need to be color-blind and may be a user with general color vision.

[0025] The information provided by the information providing system 10 can help people with different color vision to have a common understanding of colors and promote mutual understanding regarding color recognition or discrimination.

[0026] Specifically, the information providing system 10 is a PC (personal computer) or a server device, which is a computer including hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory. The functions of the information providing system 10, which will be described later, are realized by these components operating through programs or the like. The information providing system 10 may be realized by a single computer, or may be realized by a computer system configured by connecting multiple computers to each other via a network.

[0027] In this embodiment, the information providing system 10 transmits and receives information to and from the terminal 20 via a communication network such as the Internet. The information providing system 10 has a communication function for transmitting and receiving information to and from other devices. However, depending on the mode in which the information providing system 10 is implemented, the information providing system 10 may not have a communication function.

[0028] The terminal 20 is a terminal used by a user. The terminal 20 is a device having a communication function for transmitting and receiving information to and from the information providing system 10. Specifically, the terminal 20 is a terminal such as a PC or a smartphone.

[0029] Next, the functions of the information providing system 10 according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG.

[0030] The acquisition unit 11 is a functional unit that acquires color vision information indicating the color vision of the person providing the information. The acquisition unit 11 may acquire, as the color vision information, information indicating the sensitivity characteristics of the cones for each wavelength of the person providing the information. The acquisition unit 11 may also acquire reference color information indicating a reference color that serves as a reference when providing the information.

[0031] Color vision information is information that indicates the user's color vision. For example, color vision information is information that indicates the sensitivity characteristics of the user's cones (L cones, M cones, and S cones) for each wavelength. Sensitivity characteristics are also called spectral characteristics. Figure 2 is a graph showing examples of the sensitivity characteristics of each cone for a person with normal color vision and a person with color weakness. The horizontal and vertical axes of the graph indicate wavelength (nm) and relative sensitivity, respectively. The color-blind person shown in Figure 2 corresponds to P-type weakness. Compared to a person with normal color vision (C-type), the sensitivity characteristics of the M cones and L cones in this person have a greater degree of overlap. These differences in sensitivity characteristics result in differences in color recognition or discrimination.

[0032] For example, the terminal 20 transmits information indicating the user's sensitivity characteristics, which correspond to the graph in Fig. 2, to the information providing system 10 in response to a user operation. The transmission of information from the terminal 20 may be performed via a website for selling products (the same applies below). Alternatively, the transmission of information from the terminal 20 may be performed by other methods.

[0033] When information indicating sensitivity characteristics is transmitted from the terminal 20, the acquisition unit 11 receives and acquires the information indicating sensitivity characteristics transmitted from the terminal 20. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 11 may previously store a correspondence between color vision types and the above-mentioned sensitivity characteristics, and acquire the information indicating the above-mentioned sensitivity characteristics of the user based on the correspondence. In this case, the terminal 20 transmits information indicating the user's color vision type in response to an operation by the user, etc. The acquisition unit 11 receives the information indicating the color vision type transmitted from the terminal 20. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the information indicating the above-mentioned sensitivity characteristics, which is stored in correspondence with the color vision type indicated in the received information, as the information indicating the above-mentioned sensitivity characteristics of the user.

[0034] The acquisition unit 11 may acquire color vision information by a method other than the above. Furthermore, the color vision information may be information other than the above-described information indicating sensitivity characteristics, as long as it indicates the user's color vision and can be used in the processing described below. The acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired color vision information to the color determination unit 12.

[0035] In an aspect using a reference color that serves as a reference when providing information, which will be described later, the acquisition unit 11 also acquires reference color information indicating the reference color. The reference color is, for example, specified by the user. The reference color is used, for example, when providing information on a color of a product that can be recognized by a user with color-blindness (a color that is different from the color of the product that can be recognized by a person with general color vision) as information on the product, in relation to the color of the product that can be recognized by a person with general color vision. In this case, the reference color is the color of the product that can be recognized by a person with general color vision. Any conventional information that can express a color (for example, information expressed in RGB) may be used as the information indicating the color (reference color).

[0036] For example, the acquisition unit 11 receives and acquires the reference color information transmitted from the terminal 20 by a user operation or the like. The acquisition unit 11 may also acquire the reference color information by a method other than the above. The acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired reference color information to the color determination unit 12.

[0037] The color determination unit 12 is a functional unit that determines the color of the article for which information is provided, based on the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit 11. The color determination unit 12 may determine the color of the article for which information is provided, based on a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information. The color determination unit 12 may also determine the color of the article for which information is provided, based on the reference color information acquired by the acquisition unit 11. For example, the color determination unit 12 makes the following determination.

[0038] The color determination unit 12 receives color vision information from the acquisition unit 11. The color determination unit 12 stores, for example, a correspondence between color vision information that can be acquired by the acquisition unit 11 and a color determined for the color vision information. The colors stored in association with the color vision information conform to a predetermined standard. For example, the colors are colors that can be recognized with no or only a small difference by a color-blind person with color vision indicated by the color vision information and a person with general color vision. The colors have a spectrum configured so that the response of the color vision (the cones of the user) of a color-blind person viewing the color matches the response of the color vision of a person with general color vision viewing the color, or the difference is less than a certain value. The spectrum is a plot of the relationship between wavelength (nm) and reflectance (%). The colors may be prepared in advance through experiments, computer calculations, or the like.

[0039] The color determination unit 12 determines the color stored in association with the color vision information input from the acquisition unit 11 as the color of the product for which information is provided. The color determination unit 12 may determine the color of the product itself as the color of the product to be provided. In this case, the color determination unit 12 may store the color vision information in association with the product of the above color.

[0040] When reference color information is used to determine the color of a product for which information is provided, the color determination unit 12 inputs the reference color information from the acquisition unit 11 in addition to the color vision information. In this case, the color determination unit 12 pre-stores, for example, a correspondence between combinations of color vision information and reference color information that can be acquired by the acquisition unit 11 and colors determined for the color vision information. The colors stored in association with the combinations of color vision information and reference color information conform to a predetermined standard. For example, the colors are colors that can be recognized by color-blind people (colors that are different from the product colors that can be recognized by people with general color vision) that are recognizable by people with general color vision. The colors have a spectrum configured so that the response of the color vision of a color-blind person (the cones of the user) when viewing the colors matches the response of the color vision of a person with general color vision when viewing the reference colors, or is within a certain difference. Note that the colors may be prepared in advance through prior experiments, computer calculations, or the like, as in the above case.

[0041] As described above, the color corresponding to the color vision information may reflect a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information. For example, if the color vision indicated by the color vision information is the color vision of a person with color weakness, the color vision of a person with normal color vision, which is different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information, may be reflected in the color corresponding to the color vision information. However, the color corresponding to the color vision information does not necessarily have to reflect a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information.

[0042] The color determination unit 12 may determine the color of the product for which information is to be provided by a method other than using the above-described correspondence information stored in advance. For example, the color determination unit 12 may calculate a color according to the above-described predetermined standard based on color vision information. When reference color information is used to determine the color of the product for which information is to be provided, the reference color information may be used for the above calculation. Furthermore, a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information may be used for the above calculation. For example, if the color vision indicated by the color vision information is the color vision of a color-blind person, the color vision of a person with normal color vision, which is different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information, may be used for the above calculation. Any method may be used for the above calculation.

[0043] The color determination unit 12 outputs information indicating the determined color to the information providing unit 13. Furthermore, when the reference color information is used to determine the color and is also used by the information providing unit 13 as described below, the color determination unit 12 outputs the reference color information to the information providing unit 13.

[0044] The information providing unit 13 is a functional unit that provides information on an item related to the color determined by the color determining unit 12. For example, the information providing unit 13 provides the following information.

[0045] The information providing unit 13 receives information indicating a color from the color determination unit 12. For example, if the color determined by the color determination unit 12 is the color of a product, the information providing unit 13 provides information about the product of the color indicated by the input information. Specifically, the information providing unit 13 stores an association between a color and a product of that color, and determines the product of the color indicated by the input information based on the association. Note that the color determined by the color determination unit 12 and the color of the product for which information is provided do not need to match, and may be close to each other. When a product of a specific color is determined by the color determination unit 12, the information providing unit 13 provides information about the product.

[0046] Specifically, the information providing unit 13 provides the information by transmitting the information to the terminal 20. The information may be transmitted to the terminal 20 via, for example, a website for selling products (the same applies below). Alternatively, the information may be transmitted to the terminal 20 by other methods.

[0047] The information transmitted to the terminal 20 may be a product recommendation. The product information transmitted to the terminal 20 may be any information related to the product, such as the product name, image, and price. The information providing unit 13 stores the product information to be provided in advance.

[0048] The product related to the information transmitted to the terminal 20 may be a product that is not currently in stock for sale. In this case, for example, when a user purchases the product in response to the transmission of information to the terminal 20, the product may be manufactured. In this way, the product related to the information transmitted to the terminal 20 may be provided on a custom-made basis. By providing information as described above, for example, it is possible to purchase a product with colors that are the same or have only a small difference between the colors recognizable by a color-blind person and the colors recognizable by a person with normal color vision, as described above.

[0049] Furthermore, the information providing unit 13 may input reference color information from the color determination unit 12 and provide information using the reference color information as well. For example, the information providing unit 13 may provide information indicating that the color determined by the color determination unit 12 for a product whose color is indicated by the reference color information (a color recognizable by a person with general color vision) is a color recognizable by a person with color blindness, as product information to be provided. By providing information in this manner, for example, when a user with color blindness purchases a product, the user can recognize the color of the product recognizable by a person with general color vision.

[0050] The information provided by the information providing unit 13 does not necessarily have to be the above information, as long as it is information about the product related to the color determined by the color determining unit 12. Furthermore, the information providing unit 13 may provide information in a manner other than the above.

[0051] Furthermore, the information providing unit 13 may provide information to a party other than the user (the terminal 20). For example, the information providing unit 13 may provide information to a product manufacturer, etc. The above is the function of the information providing system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0052] Next, an information provision method, which is a process executed by the information provision system 10 according to this embodiment (an operation method performed by the information provision system 10), will be described using the flowchart of Fig. 3. In this process, first, the acquisition unit 11 acquires information necessary for information provision (S01, acquisition step). The information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 includes color vision information indicating the color vision of the user involved in the information provision. The information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 may also include reference color information indicating a reference color that serves as a reference when providing information.

[0053] Next, the color determination unit 12 determines the color of the product for which information is to be provided based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 (S02, color determination step). Next, the information on the product related to the color determined by the color determination unit 12 is provided by the information providing unit 13 (S03, information providing step). This completes the information providing method according to this embodiment.

[0054] In this embodiment, the color of the product for which information is to be provided is determined based on color vision information indicating the color vision of the person providing the information, and information on the product related to the determined color is provided. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide information on products and other products appropriately, taking into account the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0055] As a result, for example, as described above, a color-blind user can use products with colors that are not different from those perceived by people with general color vision. Furthermore, when purchasing a product, a color-blind user can recognize the product's colors that can be recognized by people with general color vision. As described above, this embodiment allows people with different color vision to have a common understanding of colors and promotes mutual understanding regarding color recognition or discrimination. Furthermore, this embodiment allows information to be provided that takes color vision diversity into consideration.

[0056] Furthermore, as in the present embodiment, information indicating the wavelength-specific sensitivity characteristics of the cones of the person providing the information may be used as color vision information. This configuration allows the color of the product for which information is being provided to be determined appropriately and reliably. As a result, product information can be provided while appropriately and reliably taking into account the color vision of the person providing the information.

[0057] Furthermore, as in the present embodiment, the color of the product for which information is to be provided may be determined based on a color vision different from that indicated by the color vision information. With this configuration, product information can be provided taking into consideration color vision different from that indicated by the color vision information. For example, if the person providing the information is color-blind, product information can be provided taking into consideration the color vision of people with normal color vision.

[0058] Furthermore, as in the present embodiment, the color of the product for which information is provided may be determined based on reference color information as well. With this configuration, product information can be provided based on a specific color.

[0059] The items according to this embodiment are classified into various categories. The categories include, for example, food, clothing, and shelter, clothing / fashion, school / children, brands / advertising, toys, and others. Specific examples of items included in these categories are as follows: Items related to food, clothing, and shelter include, for example, clothing, food containing coloring agents, tableware, tablecloths, wallpaper, furniture, bedding, etc. Items related to food, clothing, and shelter may also be a combination of wallpaper, furniture, bedding, etc., and lighting. Examples of clothing / fashion-related items include umbrellas, hats, hairpins, hair ties, headbands, hair bands, glasses, sunglasses, earrings, pierced earrings, earphones, cosmetics, nail art items (nail polish, gel, stickers, etc.), necklaces, ties, scarves, mufflers, shawls, tie pins, inner tops, outer tops, inner bottoms, outer bottoms, gloves, wristbands, bracelets, watches, smart watches, rings, smartphone cases, bags, belts, socks, leggings, tights, stockings, anklets, shoes, sandals, geta (wooden clogs), slippers, fans, folding fans, handkerchiefs, towels, etc. Examples of school / child-related items include stationery, notebooks, letter sets, tool cases, school bags, textbooks / teaching materials, uniforms, gym clothes, indoor shoes, paint sets, lunch boxes, crayons, sticky notes, files, binders, etc. Examples of brand / advertising related items include items with logos, signs, advertising items, and packaging (drinks, sweets, book covers, CD jackets). Examples of toy related items include stuffed toys / dolls, play kitchen supplies, and clay. Other items include candles, soap, and business cards. As such, the items according to this embodiment are diverse, and each category includes specific items. This makes it possible to accommodate a variety of uses or situations.

[0060] The information provision system and information provision method disclosed herein have the following configuration. [1] An information provision system comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires color vision information indicating the color vision of a person to whom information is to be provided; a color determination unit that determines the color of an article to whom information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit; and an information provision unit that provides information on the article to whom information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit. [2] The information provision system described in [1], wherein the acquisition unit acquires, as the color vision information, information indicating the sensitivity characteristics for each wavelength of the cones possessed by the person to whom information is to be provided. [3] The information provision system described in [1] or [2], wherein the color determination unit determines, as the color of the article to whom information is to be provided, the color of the article to whom information is to be provided based on a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information. [4] The information provision system described in any of [1] to [3], wherein the acquisition unit also acquires reference color information indicating a reference color that serves as a reference when providing information, and the color determination unit determines the color of the article to whom information is to be provided based also on the reference color information acquired by the acquisition unit. [5] An information provision method that is a method for operating an information provision system, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring color vision information indicating the color vision of a person to whom information is to be provided; a color determination step of determining the color of an article to which information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired in the acquisition step; and an information provision step of providing information on an article to which the color determined in the color determination step is to be provided.

[0061] 10...information providing system, 11...acquisition unit, 12...color determination unit, 13...information providing unit, 20...terminal.

Claims

1. An information provision system comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires color vision information indicating the color vision of a person to whom information is to be provided; a color determination unit that determines the color of an article to which information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired by the acquisition unit; and an information provision unit that provides information of the article to which the color has been determined by the color determination unit.

2. An information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires, as the color vision information, information indicating the sensitivity characteristics for each wavelength of the cones possessed by the person to whom the information is provided.

3. An information provision system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the color determination unit determines the color of the article about which information is provided based on a color vision different from the color vision indicated by the color vision information.

4. An information provision system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquisition unit also acquires reference color information indicating a reference color that serves as a standard when providing information, and the color determination unit determines the color of the item about which information is to be provided based also on the reference color information acquired by the acquisition unit.

5. An information provision method which is an operating method of an information provision system, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring color vision information indicating the color vision of a person to whom information is to be provided; a color determination step of determining the color of an article to which information is to be provided based on the color vision information acquired in the acquisition step; and an information provision step of providing information of an article to which the color determined in the color determination step is to be provided.

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