Item providing system

Abstract

This item provision system provides an item in a virtual space, the item provision system comprising: an instruction acquisition unit that acquires, from a user, a generation instruction including type information about an item; a standard data acquisition unit that acquires standard data for the item indicated in the type information; an input information generation unit that generates input information including information extracted by a given extraction criterion from user information unique to the user; a prompt output unit that outputs prompt information including the standard data and the input information to an item generation system; and an item possession unit that associates, with the user, the generated item generated by the item generation system.

Description

Item provision system

[0001] The present invention relates to an item provision system.

[0002] In recent years, services have been provided that allow users to have various experiences, such as interacting as avatars in a virtual space known as the Metaverse, and communicating with other users. In the virtual space, just like in the real world, users can produce, own, and use the produced items. One example of such a service is a technology that allows users to select a clothing model they want to dress their avatar in and apply the selected clothing model to the avatar as a texture (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2016-61477 A

[0004] Users who enjoy virtual space services have a desire to have their avatars possess and use items specific to the user, in addition to items selected from a selection of items prepared in advance.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an item that is unique to the avatar of a user who is active in a virtual space.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, an item provision system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an item provision system that provides an item to be possessed, used, and / or utilized by a user in a virtual space, and includes: an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an item creation instruction from a user, where the creation instruction includes type information indicating the type of item; a standard data acquisition unit that acquires pre-stored standard data constituting the item indicated by the type information; an input information generation unit that generates input information including information extracted according to given extraction criteria from user information unique to the user that is associated with the user; a prompt output unit that outputs the standard data and the input information as prompt information to be input into the item creation system, where the item creation system generates a created item, which is an item constructed based on the standard data in accordance with the input information, in response to input of the prompt information; and an item holding unit that associates the created item generated by the item creation system with the user.

[0007] According to the above aspect, input information to be input to an item generation system is generated based on user information. Since the user information is information specific to the user, the input information is information specific to the user. The generated input information and standard data are output as prompt information to be input to the item generation system, allowing the item generation system to generate a generated item. By associating the generated item with the user, it is possible to provide the user's avatar with a generated item specific to the user.

[0008] It becomes possible to provide unique items to the user's avatar active in the virtual space.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a virtual space management system and a virtual space management device including an item provision system of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of standard data stored in a standard data storage unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of user attribute information stored in a user attribute information storage unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of speech history information stored in an utterance history information storage unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of generation of input information to be included in prompt information. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of generation of a generated item by an item generation system. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a generated item storage unit and stored generated items. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of an item provision method in the item provision system. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of an item provision program. FIG. 10 is a hardware block diagram of an item provision device (virtual space management device).

[0010] An embodiment of an item providing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. When possible, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a virtual space management system and a virtual space management device including an item provision system according to the present embodiment. The virtual space management system 1 is a system for managing a virtual space, such as a metaverse, built on a network, and is configured to include a virtual space management device 10, as an example. As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual space management system 1 includes the virtual space management device 10 and a user's terminal T. By accessing the item provision system 10A via a network N using the terminal T, the user can cause the user's avatar to act in the virtual space. The item provision system 10A of the present embodiment is a system that provides items that a user can possess, use, and / or utilize in the virtual space, and is configured, for example, as a part of the function of the virtual space management system 1.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the virtual space management device 10 functionally comprises a virtual space control unit 11, an instruction acquisition unit 12, a standard data acquisition unit 13, an input information generation unit 14, a prompt output unit 15, and an item holding unit 16. The item provision system 10A is configured with the instruction acquisition unit 12, the standard data acquisition unit 13, the input information generation unit 14, the prompt output unit 15, and the item holding unit 16. The prompt output unit 15 and the item holding unit 16 are configured to be accessible to an item generation system 19. Note that, although the item generation system 19 is included in the item provision system 10A in this embodiment, it may also be configured external to the item provision system 10A. The functional units 11 to 16 may be configured in a single device as illustrated in FIG. 1, or may be distributed across multiple devices.

[0013] Each functional unit of the item providing system 10A is configured to be able to access a standard data storage unit 21, a user attribute information storage unit 22, an utterance history information storage unit 23, and a generated item storage unit 24. The standard data storage unit 21 is a storage means (storage) that stores standard data. The user attribute information storage unit 22 is a storage means that stores user attribute information. The utterance history information storage unit 23 is a storage means that stores utterance history information. The generated item storage unit 24 is a storage means for storing generated items.

[0014] The standard data storage unit 21, the user attribute information storage unit 22, the speech history information storage unit 23, and the generated item storage unit 24 may be configured in the same device as the device in which the item provision system 10A is configured, as illustrated in Figure 1, or may be configured in a separate device that is accessible to the item provision system 10A.

[0015] Next, the functional units of the virtual space management device 10 and the item provision system 10A will be described. The virtual space control unit 11 manages the virtual space. Specifically, the virtual space control unit 11 defines and models a three-dimensional virtual space and places various objects and user avatars in the virtual space based on their respective control information. The virtual space control unit 11 also provides the terminal T with an image rendered based on the avatar's viewpoint (virtual camera).

[0016] The instruction acquisition unit 12 acquires an instruction to generate an item from a user. The generation instruction indicates a request from the user to the virtual space management system to generate an item. An item is an object that a user or the user's avatar possesses, uses, and / or utilizes in a virtual space. An item is not limited to any object as long as it is such an object, but in this embodiment, the item is, for example, clothing. In the following, this embodiment will explain an example in which the item is clothing.

[0017] Specifically, the instruction acquisition unit 12 receives and acquires a generation instruction based on, for example, a user's input on the terminal T. The generation instruction may be issued by the user's avatar in a virtual space.

[0018] The creation instruction includes type information indicating the type of the item. If the item is clothing, the type information may be information indicating one of the types of clothing, such as a shirt, pants, or hat.

[0019] The standard data acquiring unit 13 acquires pre-stored standard data constituting the item indicated in the type information. Specifically, the standard data acquiring unit 13 may acquire the standard data from the standard data storage unit 21. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the configuration of the standard data storage unit 21 and the data stored therein. As shown in FIG. 2, the standard data storage unit 21 stores standard data associated with each item type indicating the type of clothing, such as a shirt, pants, and hat.

[0020] The standard data may be data constituting the shape of an item. For example, the standard data "data_s_h" associated with the item type "shirt" may be data constituting the shape of the shirt, or may be point cloud data constituting the shape of the shirt. In this case, the standard data may be data that does not include information such as color or pattern.

[0021] The standard data may also be associated with each region in the virtual space. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the standard data storage unit 21 stores standard data for each item type for each region, such as Hokkaido, Tokyo, and Okinawa. In this case, the standard data acquisition unit 13 acquires the location of the user's avatar in the virtual space and acquires standard data associated with the region to which the location belongs. Note that, although the example of the standard data storage unit 21 in FIG. 2 shows the standard data for each region stored in a single database, the standard data for each region may also be stored in separate databases for each region.

[0022] When a generation instruction including type information "shirt" is obtained from an avatar located at a location corresponding to Tokyo in the virtual space, the standard data acquisition unit 13 acquires standard data "data_s_t" associated with the item type "shirt" in the region "Tokyo" from the standard data storage unit 21.

[0023] The input information generation unit 14 generates input information including information extracted from user information associated with a user and specific to the user according to a given extraction criterion. The input information is information to be input to the item generation system, as will be described in detail later.

[0024] The user information may be user attribute information indicating the attributes of the user. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of user attribute information stored in the user attribute information storage unit 22. As shown in Fig. 3, the user attribute information storage unit 22 stores information indicating the gender, age, hobbies and preferences of each user as user attribute information in association with a user ID that identifies the user.

[0025] The user attribute information storage unit 22 may be configured as one function of a so-called City OS. City OS is the basic software for a city, and is the software platform that runs application software in fields such as administration, logistics, and transportation. City OS enables information sharing with other municipalities, companies, research institutions, etc., and realizes the provision of services optimized for residents.

[0026] The user attribute information storage unit 22 may also acquire and store user attribute information managed by the city OS. In this way, by referencing or acquiring user attribute information managed by the city OS, the item distribution system 10A of this embodiment can acquire appropriate user attribute information even when the user moves between cities.

[0027] The input information generation unit 14 may generate input information including attribute information extracted from the user attribute information, using as an extraction criterion the extraction of attribute information of a predetermined attribute item from among a plurality of attribute items included in the user attribute information. For example, if the extraction criterion is the extraction of information regarding hobbies and interests from the user attribute information, the input information generation unit 14 extracts and acquires information regarding hobbies and interests "at01" from the attribute information associated with the user ID "U01" in response to a generation instruction from the user with user ID "U01," and generates input information including the acquired information "at01."

[0028] The user information may be speech history information, which is a history of speech made by a user's avatar in a virtual space. Fig. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of speech history information stored in the speech history information storage unit 23. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the speech history information storage unit 23 stores, as speech history information, speech contents associated with a user ID that identifies a user and an utterance ID that identifies the utterance history.

[0029] The input information generation unit 14 may generate input information based on utterance history information, using as an extraction criterion the extraction of related phrases set in advance as phrases related to the item. For example, the extraction criterion may be to extract a keyword related to the item, "clothes," from the utterance history, acquire a given amount of sentences around the keyword (e.g., a predetermined number of characters or number of sentences before and after the keyword) from the utterance history as an input unit, and extract words, excluding particles, auxiliary verbs, etc., from words obtained by morphological analysis of the acquired input sentences, as information to be included in the input information.

[0030] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a portion of the input information generation process. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the input information generation unit 14 extracts "clothes," a keyword kw representing an item, from the target user's utterance history information stored in the utterance history information storage unit 23, and acquires, for example, a sentence sp including the keyword kw "clothes." Then, the input information generation unit 14 performs morphological analysis on the sentence sp and acquires a predetermined independent word other than a particle or an auxiliary verb as a word wd to be included in the input information.

[0031] The input information generation unit 14 may construct the input information using words wd acquired from the speech histories. Alternatively, the input information generation unit 14 may acquire words and phrases from each of a predetermined number of speech histories including a keyword kw related to an item by the method described with reference to FIG. 5, and construct the input information based on a predetermined number of words and phrases that appear most frequently among the acquired words and phrases.

[0032] Furthermore, the method of generating input information is not limited to the example described above, and the input information generation unit 14 may generate input information based on, for example, behavior history information indicating the behavior history of a user's avatar in a virtual space. The input information generation unit 14 may extract information related to items from the behavior history information according to predetermined extraction criteria, and generate input information based on the extracted information.

[0033] The prompt output unit 15 outputs the standard data and input information as prompt information to be input to the item creation system 19. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the generation of a created item by the item creation system. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the prompt output unit 15 constructs prompt information pd based on the standard data sd acquired by the standard data acquisition unit 13 and the input information id generated by the input information generation unit 14, and inputs the constructed prompt information pd to the item creation system 19.

[0034] The item generation system 19 generates a generated item gi in response to input of prompt information pd. The generated item gi is an item configured based on standard data in response to the input information. The item generation system 19 may be configured using so-called generative AI. Generative AI is generally a large-scale machine learning model constructed by deep learning using large amounts of data and content, and outputs images, text, etc. based on the input prompt.

[0035] In this embodiment, the item generation system 19 outputs a generated item, which is an item in which characteristics corresponding to the input information are applied to an item represented by the standard data in response to input of prompt information composed of standard data constituting the shape of the item and input information specific to the user. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 , the item generation system 19 of this embodiment outputs, as a generated item GI, clothing whose shape is defined by the standard data sd, with elements such as color and pattern corresponding to the input information id. In this way, the generated item GI output by the item generation system 19 may include at least a portion of a color that is not included in the item configuration of the standard data sd input to the item generation system 19. Note that the generated item may be composed of point cloud data, similar to the standard data.

[0036] The item holding unit 16 associates a generated item generated by the item generation system 19 with a user. Specifically, the item holding unit 16 acquires the generated item from the item generation system 19, associates the acquired generated item with the user, and stores the acquired generated item in the generated item storage unit 24.

[0037] 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the created item storage unit 24 and the stored created items. As shown in FIG. 7, the created item storage unit 24 stores data constituting the created item in association with a user ID that identifies the user. For example, the item holding unit 16 stores data constituting the created item, "item_s_h_011," in association with the user ID "U01" of the user who issued the creation instruction, in the created item storage unit 24.

[0038] The item holding unit 16 may store prompt information that is the basis of the generated item instead of storing the generated item in the generated item storage unit 24. In this case, the prompt output unit 15 inputs the prompt information stored in the generated item storage unit 24 as one aspect of the generated item to the item generation system 19 configured as the latest Generative AI, thereby enabling the generated item to be generated each time.

[0039] The item holding unit 16 may accept a sharing designation from a first user among a plurality of users for a generated item associated with a second user different from the first user, and associate the generated item designated for sharing with the first user as a shared item.

[0040] Specifically, to explain an example with reference to Figure 7, when a user with user ID "U01" wishes to share a generated item possessed by a user with user ID "U02", the item holding unit 16 can accept a sharing specification from the terminal T of the user with user ID "U01" (or the avatar of that user) for a generated item, for example, "item_s_o_021", among the generated items associated with user ID "U02".

[0041] When such a sharing specification is accepted, the item holding unit 16 may associate the generated item "item_s_o_021" with the user ID "U01" as a shared item. This allows the avatar of the user with the user ID "U01" to use the generated item "item_s_o_021" generated according to the unique information of the user with the user ID "U02" in the virtual space.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the item providing method in the item providing system 10A.

[0043] In step S1, the instruction acquisition unit 12 acquires an instruction to create an item from a user. In step S2, the standard data acquisition unit 13 acquires, from the standard data storage unit 21, standard data constituting the item indicated in the item type information included in the creation instruction.

[0044] In step S3, the input information generating unit 14 generates input information including information extracted from user information unique to the user according to given extraction criteria.

[0045] In step S4, the prompt output unit 15 outputs the standard data and the input information as prompt information for inputting to the item generation system 19. That is, the prompt output unit 15 inputs the prompt information to the item generation system 19.

[0046] In step S5, the item holding unit 16 acquires the created item generated by the item generation system 19. Then, in step S6, the item holding unit 16 stores the created item in the created item storage unit 24 in association with the user.

[0047] Next, an item provision program for causing a computer to function as the item provision system 10A of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 9. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the item provision program. The item provision program P1 is configured to include a main module m10 that controls the item provision process in the item provision system 10A in an overall manner, an instruction acquisition module m12, a standard data acquisition module m13, an input information generation module m14, a prompt output module m15, and an item possession module m16. Each of the modules m12 to m16 realizes a function for each of the functional units 12 to 16.

[0048] The item providing program P1 may be transmitted via a transmission medium such as a communication line, or may be stored in a recording medium M1 as shown in FIG.

[0049] According to the item provision system 10A, item provision method, and item provision program P1 of this embodiment described above, input information id to be input to the item generation system 19 is generated based on user information. Since user information is information unique to a user, the input information id is also information unique to the user. The generated input information id and standard data sd are output as prompt information pd to be input to the item generation system 19, allowing the item generation system 19 to generate a generated item gi. By associating the generated item gi with a user, it becomes possible to provide a generated item gi unique to the user to the user's avatar.

[0050] The item distribution system according to the present disclosure may have the following configurations: The actions and effects of each configuration are described below.

[0051] An item provision system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an item provision system that provides an item to be possessed, used, and / or utilized by a user in a virtual space, and includes: an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an item creation instruction from a user, the creation instruction including type information indicating the type of item; a standard data acquisition unit that acquires pre-stored standard data constituting the item indicated by the type information; an input information generation unit that generates input information including information extracted according to given extraction criteria from user information unique to the user that is associated with the user; a prompt output unit that outputs the standard data and the input information as prompt information to be input into the item creation system, the item creation system generating a created item that is an item constructed based on the standard data in accordance with the input information in response to input of the prompt information; and an item holding unit that associates the created item generated by the item creation system with the user.

[0052] According to the above aspect, input information to be input to an item generation system is generated based on user information. Since the user information is information specific to the user, the input information is information specific to the user. The generated input information and standard data are output as prompt information to be input to the item generation system, allowing the item generation system to generate a generated item. By associating the generated item with the user, it is possible to provide the user's avatar with a generated item specific to the user.

[0053] In addition, in an item provision system relating to another aspect, the standard data may be associated with each region in the virtual space, and the standard data acquisition unit may acquire standard data associated with the user's location in the virtual space.

[0054] According to the above aspect, standard data previously associated with the region where the user is located is output as prompt information to be input to the item creation system, thereby providing the user with a created item specific to the region where the user is located.

[0055] In addition, in an item provision system relating to another aspect, the user information may include speech history information, which is a history of the user's speech in the virtual space, and the input information generation unit may generate the input information based on the speech history information, using as an extraction criterion the extraction of related phrases that have been set in advance as phrases related to the item.

[0056] According to the above aspect, since the input information is composed of words and phrases included in the user's utterance history, it is possible to output information specific to the user as prompt information.

[0057] In addition, in an item provision system according to another aspect, the user information may include user attribute information indicating attributes of the user, and the input information generation unit may generate input information including the attribute information extracted from the user attribute information, using as an extraction criterion the extraction of attribute information of a predetermined attribute item from among a plurality of attribute items included in the user attribute information.

[0058] According to the above aspect, since the input information is configured from predetermined attribute information of the user attribute information, it is possible to output information specific to the user as prompt information.

[0059] In another aspect of the item provision system, the item holding unit may accept a sharing designation from a first user of multiple users for a generated item associated with a second user different from the first user, and associate the generated item designated for sharing with the first user as a shared item.

[0060] According to the above aspect, when a sharing specification is received from a first user for a generated item generated and owned by a second user, the generated item is associated with the first user. This allows the system to be configured so that the first user can use the generated item on an equal basis with the second user. Therefore, the generated item of the second user can be shared with the first user.

[0061] In another aspect of the item provision system, the standard data is data that constitutes the shape of the item, and the generated item may have at least a portion of a color that is not included in the standard data input into the item generation system as part of the item's configuration.

[0062] According to the above aspect, it is possible to obtain a generated item in which a feature specific to the user is expressed in an item represented by standard data.

[0063] In an item provision system according to another aspect, the item may be clothing that can be worn by a user's avatar in a virtual space.

[0064] According to the above aspect, it is possible to provide a user-specific clothing item to be worn by an avatar.

[0065] The block diagram shown in FIG. 1 shows functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Furthermore, the method for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or multiple devices.

[0066] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

[0067] For example, the item distribution system 10A according to one embodiment of the present invention may function as a computer. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the item distribution system 10A according to this embodiment. The item distribution system 10A may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

[0068] In the following description, the term "apparatus" may be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the item distribution system 10A may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in FIG. 9, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0069] Each function in the item distribution system 10A is realized by loading specified software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations and control communication via a communication device 1004 and the reading and / or writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0070] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, the functional units 12 to 16 shown in FIG. 1 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0071] The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, and data from the storage 1003 and / or the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the functional units 12 to 16 of the item distribution system 10A may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and executed by the processor 1001. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by a single processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented on one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line.

[0072] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of at least one of, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), or the like. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, and the like for implementing the item providing method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0073] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other appropriate medium including memory 1002 and / or storage 1003.

[0074] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via a wired and / or wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0075] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0076] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected to a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured as a single bus, or may be configured as different buses between the devices.

[0077] The item delivery system 10A may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented by at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0078] The notification of information is not limited to the aspects / embodiments described in the present disclosure and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI) and Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB) and System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, or the like.

[0079] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (New Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-Wide Band), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems, and next-generation systems enhanced based on these. Furthermore, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.) may also be applied.

[0080] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0081] In the present disclosure, a specific operation described as being performed by a base station may be performed by its upper node in some cases. In a network consisting of one or more network nodes having a base station, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with a terminal may be performed by at least one of the base station and another network node other than the base station (for example, an MME or an S-GW, etc., but are not limited to these). Although the above example illustrates a case where there is one other network node other than the base station, a combination of multiple other network nodes (for example, an MME and an S-GW) may also be used.

[0082] Information etc. may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer), or may be input / output via multiple network nodes.

[0083] Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or managed in a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to another device.

[0084] The determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0085] The aspects / embodiments described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0086] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0087] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0088] Software, instructions, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and / or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0089] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0090] It should be noted that terms explained in this disclosure and / or terms necessary for understanding this specification may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

[0091] As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0092] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be expressed as absolute values, as relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or as other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0093] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0094] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0095] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0096] When designations such as "first," "second," etc. are used in this disclosure, any reference to an element does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0097] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0098] To the extent that the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used herein or in the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or," as used herein or in the claims, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0099] In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0100] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0101] The item provision system 10A of the present disclosure may have the following configuration: [1] An item provision system that provides an item to be owned, used, and / or utilized by a user in a virtual space, comprising: an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction to create the item from a user, the creation instruction including type information indicating a type of item; a standard data acquisition unit that acquires pre-stored standard data constituting the item indicated by the type information; an input information generation unit that generates input information including information extracted according to given extraction criteria from user information unique to the user that is associated with the user; a prompt output unit that outputs the standard data and the input information as prompt information to be input into an item creation system, the item creation system generating a created item that is an item configured based on the standard data in accordance with the input information in response to the input of the prompt information; and an item holding unit that associates the created item generated by the item creation system with the user. [2] The item provision system described in [1], wherein the standard data is associated with each region in the virtual space, and the standard data acquisition unit acquires standard data associated with a location of the user in the virtual space. [3] The item provision system according to [1] or [2], wherein the user information includes speech history information that is a history of speech made by the user in the virtual space, and the input information generation unit generates the input information based on the speech history information, using as the extraction criterion the extraction of related terms that are set in advance as terms related to the item. [4] The item provision system according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the user information includes user attribute information that indicates attributes of the user, and the input information generation unit generates the input information including the attribute information extracted from the user attribute information, using as the extraction criterion the extraction of attribute information of a predetermined attribute item from among a plurality of attribute items included in the user attribute information.[5] The item provision system according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the item holding unit accepts, from a first user among a plurality of users, a sharing designation for the generated item associated with a second user different from the first user, and associates the generated item designated for sharing with the first user as a shared item. [6] The item provision system according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the standard data is data constituting the shape of the item, and the generated item has at least a part of a color that is not included in the configuration of the item in the standard data input to the item generation system. [7] The item provision system according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the item is clothing that can be worn by an avatar of the user in the virtual space.

[0102] 1...Virtual space management system, 10...Virtual space management device, 10A...Item provision system, 11...Virtual space control unit, 12...Instruction acquisition unit, 13...Standard data acquisition unit, 14...Input information generation unit, 15...Prompt output unit, 16...Item possession unit, 19...Item generation system, 21...Standard data storage unit, 22...User attribute information storage unit, 23...Speech history information storage unit, 24...Generated item storage unit, M1...Recording medium, m10...Main module, m12...Instruction acquisition module, m13...Standard data acquisition module, m14...Input information generation module, m15...Prompt output module, m16...Item possession module, P1...Item provision program, pd...Prompt information, sd...Standard data, id...Input information, gi...Generated item.

Claims

1. An item provision system that provides an item to be possessed, used and / or utilized by a user in a virtual space, comprising: an instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction to create the item from a user, the creation instruction including type information indicating a type of item; an instruction acquisition unit that acquires pre-stored standard data constituting the item indicated in the type information; an input information generation unit that generates input information including information extracted using given extraction criteria from user information specific to the user that is associated with the user; a prompt output unit that outputs the standard data and the input information as prompt information to be input into an item generation system, the item generation system generating a generated item, which is an item constructed based on the standard data in accordance with the input information, in response to the input of the prompt information; and an item possession unit that associates the generated item generated by the item generation system with the user.

2. The item provision system of claim 1, wherein the standard data is associated with each region in the virtual space, and the standard data acquisition unit acquires standard data associated with the user's location in the virtual space.

3. The item provision system of claim 1, wherein the user information includes speech history information which is a history of the user's speech in the virtual space, and the input information generation unit generates the input information based on the speech history information with the extraction criterion being to extract related phrases that are preset as phrases related to the item.

4. The item provision system of claim 1, wherein the user information includes user attribute information indicating attributes of the user, and the input information generation unit generates the input information including the attribute information extracted from the user attribute information, using as the extraction criterion the extraction of attribute information of a specified attribute item from among a plurality of attribute items included in the user attribute information.

5. The item provision system of claim 1, wherein the item holding unit accepts a sharing designation from a first user among a plurality of users for the generated item associated with a second user different from the first user, and associates the generated item designated for sharing with the first user as a shared item.

6. The item providing system of claim 1, wherein the standard data is data that constitutes the shape of the item, and the generated item has at least a portion of a color that is not included in the configuration of the item in the standard data input to the item generation system.

7. The item providing system according to claim 1, wherein the item is clothing that can be worn by the user's avatar in the virtual space.

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