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

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device that can motivate users to improve their energy usage. This information processing device comprises: an acceptance unit that accepts input of a target quantity of a designated form of energy as an upper limit on the usage of said energy in a prescribed period; an acquisition unit that acquires a first usage quantity of the designated form of energy at a current time within the prescribed period; an estimation unit that uses the usage quantity acquired by the acquisition unit as a basis for estimating a second usage quantity of the designated form of energy at the end of the prescribed period; a generation unit that generates an image illustrating at least one from among a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relationship between the second usage quantity and the target quantity; and an output unit that outputs the image.

Description

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

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that notify information related to energy usage.

[0002] In recent years, smart homes have been disclosed that control home appliances according to the user's situation, etc. Patent Literature 1 discloses a home appliance management server that can manage home appliances in a smart home manner.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-202461

[0004] Although such smart homes are highly convenient, their use requires electricity, gas, etc., and the more you use them, the higher the bill becomes. Therefore, while people want to reduce their usage as much as possible, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not motivate them to do so.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can notify information related to energy usage and increase a user's motivation to improve energy usage.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit for the usage of the energy in a specified period of time, an acquisition unit that acquires a first usage amount of the specified energy at the current time within the specified period, an estimation unit that estimates a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period based on the usage amount acquired by the acquisition unit, a generation unit that generates an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount, and an output unit that outputs the image.

[0007] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a receiving step in which a computer receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit for the usage of the specified energy in a specified period of time; an acquisition step in which a first usage amount of the specified energy at the current time within the specified period of time is acquired; an estimation step in which a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period of time is estimated based on the usage amount acquired in the acquisition step; a generation step in which an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount is generated; and an output step in which the image is output.

[0008] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, an information processing program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to implement the following: a reception function that receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit for the usage of the specified energy in a specified period; an acquisition function that acquires a first usage amount of the specified energy at the current time within the specified period; an estimation function that estimates a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period based on the usage amount acquired by the acquisition function; a generation function that generates an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount; and an output function that outputs the image.

[0009] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, the generation unit may be configured to generate an image with a relatively brighter color tone the lower the second usage amount is from the target amount, and to generate an image with a relatively darker color tone the higher the second usage amount is from the target amount.

[0010] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, the image may be a landscape image showing a natural scene, and the generation unit may be configured to generate a landscape image that is relatively rich in nature the lower the second usage amount is from the target amount, and to generate a landscape image that is relatively poor in nature the higher the second usage amount is from the target amount.

[0011] In addition, in the above information processing device, the information processing device may include a memory unit that stores a learning model that has learned the relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount, and the image that should be displayed in the case of the second usage amount and the target amount, and the generation unit may generate an image based on the learning model, the target amount received by the reception unit, and the second usage amount estimated by the estimation unit based on the first usage amount acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0012] In addition, in the above-mentioned information processing device, the information processing device may be provided with a memory unit that stores a landscape image to be displayed according to the ratio of the second usage amount to the target amount, and the generation unit may generate a landscape image according to the ratio of the second usage amount to the target amount.

[0013] In the information processing device, the predetermined energy may be electricity.

[0014] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention can display a landscape image according to the relative positional relationship between the amount of energy consumption predicted to be used in a predetermined period of time and a target amount set as an upper limit of the predetermined energy consumption. Therefore, in order to improve the landscape image, the user of the information processing device can maintain or increase their motivation to reduce energy consumption.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management system; Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device; Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a server; Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are diagrams showing an example of an application screen including a landscape image; Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are diagrams showing an example of an application screen including a landscape image; and Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of an information processing device.

[0016] Hereinafter, an information processing device according to an aspect of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] <Embodiment> <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management system according to the present invention.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1 , the management system includes a server 200 that manages various home appliances in a building and an information processing device 100 used by a user 10. The information processing device 100 is an information processing terminal held by the user 10 and may be a computer system implemented by a smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC, or the like. The server 200 is an information processing device that is communicatively connected to and manages various electrical appliances in a building 20 (e.g., lighting 21, air conditioning device 22, motorized curtains 23, etc., but is not limited to these). The server 200 may be a so-called server device, a computer system implemented by a PC, or the like. The building 20 may be a house where the user 10 resides, a facility or building used by an organization to which the user 10 belongs, or a predetermined area of ​​an outdoor facility. In the management system according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 exchanges information with the server 200 and notifies the information processing device 100 of the user 10 of whether or not a target for energy usage within a predetermined period set by the user 10 can be achieved. This notification may include an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the energy expected to be used in a predetermined period and a target amount as an upper limit of the amount of energy used in the predetermined period. In this embodiment, the image is described as a landscape image, but this is not limited to a landscape image. Furthermore, in this embodiment, electricity is used as an example of energy, but this is not limited to electricity and any energy necessary for daily life may be used, such as gas, water, oil, heavy oil, coal, etc. A detailed description will be given below.

[0019] <Configuration of Information Processing Device 100> Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the information processing device 100 included in the management system. As described above, the information processing device 100 is an information processing terminal used by the user 10, and may be a general smartphone. Therefore, the information processing device 100 may be able to implement the same functions that a general smartphone can implement. As shown in Fig. 2, the information processing device 100 includes a communication unit 110, an input unit 120, an output unit 130, a storage unit 140, and a control unit 150. The functional units included in the information processing device 100 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other.

[0020] The communication unit 110 has a function of transmitting and receiving information to and from other devices via wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 110 may receive information indicating the amount of power usage from, for example, the server 200 as an external device, and transmit the information to the control unit 150. The communication unit 110 may also transmit specified information to a specified destination in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 150. For example, the communication unit 110 may transmit setting information regarding the settings of a home appliance to the server 200.

[0021] The input unit 120 has a function of accepting input from the user of the information processing device 100 and transmitting it to the control unit 150. The input unit 120 can be realized, for example, by hardware keys provided on the information processing device 100, or soft keys such as a touch panel or touch keys. Note that input to the input unit 120 may be input by voice, in which case the input unit 120 is realized by a microphone. The input unit 120 may, for example, accept input of a target amount of power usage for a predetermined period and transmit it to the control unit 150.

[0022] Here, the target amount of power usage is a target upper limit of power usage in a predetermined period, and the lower the usage, the better. The predetermined period may be any period, for example, one month, but is not limited to one month and may be one week, one day, three months, or one year.

[0023] The output unit 130 has a function of outputting data instructed by the control unit 150. The output unit 130 may output, for example, a landscape image generated by the control unit 150 based on the correlation between the amount of power usage and the target amount of power usage. The landscape image may be an image including a natural scene, or may be an image including animals, plants, mountains, and rivers. The output by the output unit 130 may be realized by displaying text or images on a monitor (display device) attached to or connected to the information processing device 100, or by outputting audio from a speaker or earphones (audio output device) attached to or connected to the information processing device 100. Alternatively, the output by the output unit 130 may be realized by transmitting information to an external device via the communication unit 110.

[0024] The storage unit 140 is a recording medium that stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the information processing device 100. The storage unit 140 may be realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these. The storage unit 140 may store a management application 141 that generates a landscape image based on the correlation between a target amount of power usage and the amount of power usage over a predetermined period. The storage unit 140 may be realized by cloud storage accessible by the information processing device 100. The storage unit 140 may also include a ROM or RAM that serves as a work area for executing programs.

[0025] The management application 141 may be an application program for managing the power used by the user 10, and notifies the user 10 whether or not the target power usage amount, which indicates the amount of power usage that the user wants to keep below in a predetermined period, is likely to be achieved based on the actual amount of power usage. The management application 141 outputs information indicating whether the user 10 is likely to achieve the target by generating and outputting a landscape image based on the correlation between the predicted amount of power usage in a predetermined period based on the current power usage status and the target amount of power usage.

[0026] The control unit 150 is a processor that executes the processes to be realized by the information processing device 100, using various programs and various data stored in the storage unit 140. That is, the control unit 150 may execute the management application 141 to generate and output a landscape image based on the correlation between the target amount of power usage set by the user 10 and the amount of power usage.

[0027] The control unit 150 includes a receiving unit 151 , an acquiring unit 152 , an estimating unit 153 , a generating unit 154 , and an output unit 155 .

[0028] The receiving unit 151 receives input of a target amount for a predetermined energy as an upper limit of the energy usage amount for a predetermined period of time. In the present embodiment, the predetermined energy refers to, but is not limited to, electricity. The predetermined period is one month, but is not limited to one month. The target amount as an upper limit of the usage amount is a target amount for suppressing the amount of energy usage below the target amount, and it is preferable that the actual usage amount be as low as possible below this target amount. The receiving unit 151 receives from the user 10 via the input unit 120 the target amount of electricity usage. The target amount of electricity usage may be a numerical value indicating the amount of electricity (kWh) itself, or it may be an electricity usage fee to be paid to an electric power company or the like that supplies electricity when the target amount of electricity is used. This is because the electricity usage fee is expressed as a target amount of electricity usage, which is a unit that is easy for the user 10 to recognize. The target amount of electricity usage received by the receiving unit 151 is set in the management application 141.

[0029] The acquisition unit 152 acquires the current amount of electricity usage (first usage) as a predetermined energy source within a predetermined period. For example, the acquisition unit 152 may acquire the amount of electricity usage from the start of the predetermined period to the present from a smart electricity meter installed in the building 20. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 152 may acquire the amount of electricity usage by analyzing an image captured by a camera that captures the smart meter. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 152 may acquire the amount of electricity usage by measuring the amount of electricity supplied per unit time to each home appliance from a distribution board. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 152 may acquire the amount of electricity usage reported by each home appliance or smart device via a network. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 152 may acquire from the server 200 the amount of electricity usage acquired by the server 200 using the above-described method. Here, the amount of electricity usage may basically refer to the amount of electricity usage for the entire building 20, but may also be divided into predetermined units (e.g., per room).

[0030] The acquisition unit 152 transmits the acquired amount of power usage (first amount of usage) to the estimation unit 153 .

[0031] The estimation unit 153 estimates the amount of energy (electricity) usage (second usage) at the end of a predetermined period based on the amount of electricity usage (first usage) transmitted from the acquisition unit 152. As an example, the estimation unit 153 may estimate the second usage by dividing the amount of electricity usage transmitted from the acquisition unit 152 by the number of days elapsed in the predetermined period and multiplying the value obtained by the division by the number of days in the predetermined period. For example, assume that the predetermined period is one month (30 days), the current date and time is the 10th, and the current usage (first usage) is 120 kWh. In this case, the estimation unit may estimate that the amount of electricity usage in the predetermined period (second usage) is 120 / 10×30=360 kWh.

[0032] Alternatively, the estimation unit 153 may estimate the second usage amount by using a learning model that estimates the amount of electricity usage at the end of a predetermined period, using the amount of electricity usage (first usage amount) transmitted from the acquisition unit 152 as input. That is, a learning model that learns the relationship between the amount of electricity usage at a certain timing in a predetermined period in the building 20 of the user 10 of the information processing device 100 and the amount of electricity actually used at the end of the predetermined period may be prepared, and the first usage amount may be input to this learning model to estimate the second usage amount. This learning model may be stored in the storage unit 140 in advance, or may be generated by the management app 141 through learning and stored in the storage unit 140. When the learning model is used, the amount of electricity usage (second usage amount) can be estimated by taking into account the electricity usage tendency of the user 10 over the predetermined period.

[0033] The estimation unit 153 transmits the estimated amount of power usage (second amount of usage) to the generation unit 154 .

[0034] The generation unit 154 generates a landscape image based on the correlation between the amount of power usage (second usage) for a predetermined period transmitted from the estimation unit 153 and the target amount of power usage received by the reception unit 151. The generation unit 154 may generate a landscape image that is relatively rich in nature the lower the amount of power usage (second usage) is compared to the target amount of power usage, and may generate a landscape image that is relatively sparse in nature the higher the amount of power usage (second usage) is compared to the target amount of power usage. A landscape image that is rich in nature may be a landscape image that depicts a relatively large number of plants and animals, a landscape image that depicts a large variety of plants and animals, or both. Furthermore, a landscape image rich in nature may be an image (video) showing animated animals moving vividly, flowers blooming, or flowers rustling in the wind. A landscape image rich in nature may be one in which there are a relatively large number of moving animals, or the amount of animal movement (a relatively long distance traveled within the image, or a relatively large number of movements within a given time period within the image), or a relatively large number of blooming flowers. A landscape image lacking in nature may be one in which there are a relatively small number of animals and plants depicted, or a small variety of animals and plants, or both. A landscape image lacking in nature may be an image (video) showing few animated animals moving or only a few flowers blooming. A landscape image lacking in nature may be one in which there are a relatively small number of moving animals, or the amount of animal movement (a relatively short distance traveled within the image, or a relatively small number of movements within a given time period within the image), or a relatively small number of blooming flowers.

[0035] Furthermore, the generation unit 154 may generate a relatively brighter landscape image the lower the power usage (second usage) is compared to the target power usage, and may generate a relatively darker landscape image the higher the power usage (second usage) is compared to the target power usage. Here, a bright landscape image may refer to a landscape image with a bright overall color tone, and a dark landscape image may refer to a landscape image with a dark overall color tone. A bright color tone may refer to a landscape image with a high overall saturation of colors used in the image. A bright color tone may refer to a landscape image with a high overall brightness of colors used in the image. Conversely, a dark color tone may refer to a landscape image with a low overall saturation of colors used in the image. A dark color tone may refer to a landscape image with a low overall brightness of colors used in the image. In this embodiment, the color tone may refer to either brightness or saturation, or may refer to both. A bright landscape image may be a landscape image with a relatively bright color scheme and may be an image that uses relatively more warm colors within the image, while a dark landscape image may be a landscape image with a relatively dark color scheme and may be an image that uses relatively more cool colors within the image.

[0036] An example of a landscape image generated by the generation unit 154 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.

[0037] 4 and 5 show example application screens of the management application 141 that include landscape images generated by the generation unit 154. For comparison, it is assumed that the current time point within the predetermined period in FIGS. 4 and 5 is the same.

[0038] FIG. 4A illustrates an example of an application screen 401 generated by the management application 141 and output by the output unit 130 of the information processing device 100. As illustrated in FIG. 4A , the application screen 401 includes a landscape image 410, a comment field 420 displaying comments corresponding to the power usage status, and a power information field 430. The landscape image 410 is an image generated by the generation unit 154. The power information field 430 includes a monthly usage status 4301, a monthly usage forecast 4302, and a monthly target 4303. The monthly usage status 4301 is the amount of electricity usage (first usage) acquired by the acquisition unit 152. The monthly usage forecast 4302 is the amount of electricity usage (second usage) estimated by the estimation unit 153 at the end of a predetermined period. The monthly target 4303 is a target upper limit of power usage for a predetermined period, which is received from the user 10 by the reception unit 151.

[0039] 4A, this month's predicted usage 4302 is significantly lower than this month's target 4303. As a result, the generation unit 154 generates an image of a natural landscape 410, including birds, rabbits, squirrels, and butterflies, and the image is displayed as shown in the figure. Also, a comment indicating that the power usage status is quite good is displayed in the comment field 420.

[0040] FIG. 4( b ) is an example of an app screen 402 generated by the management app 141, showing a different power usage status from that shown in FIG. 4( a ). As shown in FIG. 4( b ), like the app screen 401, the app screen 402 includes a landscape image 411, a comment field 421, and a power information field 431. Comparing the current month's usage status 4301 in FIG. 4( a ) with the current month's usage status 4311 in FIG. 4( b ) reveals that the current month's usage is higher. However, the current month's predicted usage 4312 estimated based on this power usage is lower than the current month's target 4313. As a result, the generation unit 154 generates a landscape image 411 that is rich in nature but includes fewer plants and animals than the landscape image 410. The landscape image 411 may have a darker color tone than the landscape image 410.

[0041] 5A is a diagram showing an example of an application screen 402 generated by the management application 141, which shows a different power usage status from that shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. As shown in FIG. 5A, similar to the application screen 401 and the application screen 402, the application screen 501 includes a landscape image 510, a comment field 520, and a power information field 530.

[0042] As can be seen by comparing this month's usage status 5301 in FIG. 5( a) with this month's usage status 4311 in FIG. 4( b), the amount of power usage is higher in FIG. 5( a). This month's predicted usage 5302, estimated based on this amount of power usage, exceeds this month's target 5303. As a result, the generation unit 154 generates a landscape image 510 that is slightly less natural and contains fewer plants and animals than the landscape image 411. The landscape image 510 may be an image with a darker color tone than the landscape image 411.

[0043] 5(b) is an example of an application screen 402 generated by the management application 141, and shows an example in which the power usage status differs from those shown in FIGS. 4(a), 4(b), and 5(a). As shown in FIG. 5(b), like the application screens 401, 402, and 510, the application screen 501 includes a landscape image 511, a comment field 521, and a power information field 531.

[0044] As can be seen by comparing this month's usage status 5311 in Figure 5(b) with this month's usage status 5301 in Figure 5(a), the amount of power usage is higher in Figure 5(b). This month's usage forecast 5312 estimated based on this amount of power usage is significantly higher than this month's target 5313. As a result, the generation unit 154 generates a landscape image 511 that is even less pristine (no flora or fauna) and contains even fewer flora and fauna than the landscape image 511. This landscape image 511 may be an image with darker colors than the landscape image 410.

[0045] In this way, the generation unit 154 generates a landscape image based on the relative relationship between the amount of power usage (second usage, predicted usage for this month) and the target amount (target for this month).

[0046] In the landscape images in Figures 4 and 5, the darkness of the image is represented by vertical hatching, and the image color tone becomes darker in the order of Figure 4(a), Figure 4(b), Figure 5(a), and Figure 5(b).

[0047] As an example, the generation unit 154 may generate a landscape image using a learning model.

[0048] The learning model may be a model that learns the correspondence between the target power usage amount and power usage amount (second usage amount) and the landscape image that should be generated when the target power usage amount and power usage amount (second usage amount) are met. The landscape image learned here is such that the lower the power usage amount relative to the target usage amount, the more natural the image, and the higher the power usage amount relative to the target usage amount, the less natural the image. The learning model may be generated using a VAE, a flow-based model, an autoregressive model, or the like, but is not limited to these. The generation unit 154 may generate the landscape image using so-called image generation AI.

[0049] Alternatively, the generation unit 154 may be configured to generate a landscape image based on the difference obtained by subtracting the amount of power usage (second usage) from the target amount of power usage. Specifically, points required for displaying each plant or animal to be included in the landscape image may be allocated, and the calculated difference may be used to consume points for displaying each plant or animal to generate the landscape image. This landscape image may be generated by adding the number of plants or animals equal to the number of points consumed based on the difference to a basic image (displaying certain plants or animals) that serves as a basis when the target amount of power usage matches the amount of power usage. For example, points may be allocated to each plant or animal to be displayed, such as 10 points for displaying a rabbit and 2 points for displaying a butterfly. If the difference obtained by subtracting the amount of power usage from the target amount of power usage is 20, two rabbits may be added to the landscape image. Here, this difference may be a ratio of the amount of power usage (second usage) to the target amount of power usage, and the points may be determined based on this ratio. For example, if the percentage is 5%, 10 points are awarded, if 10%, 15 points, if 105%, -10 points, and so on, and the points may be allocated to display plants and animals, etc., to generate a landscape image. Furthermore, if the amount of power usage is greater than the target amount of power usage, the amount of plants and animals corresponding to the difference may be deleted from the plants and animals displayed in the basic image to generate a landscape image.

[0050] Alternatively, the generation unit 154 may be configured to prepare a plurality of landscape images in advance, set a range of ratios of the second usage amount to the target amount for the landscape images, and generate (select) the landscape image to be displayed by selecting a landscape image that corresponds to the range to which the calculated ratio applies at the time of generating the landscape image.

[0051] Furthermore, when animating a landscape image, the generation unit 154 may generate a landscape image in which the animals, etc. displayed in the landscape image move more or move more frequently, the larger the difference obtained by subtracting the power usage (second usage) from the target power usage, or the smaller the ratio of the power usage (second usage) to the target power usage. Furthermore, the generation unit 154 may generate a landscape image in which the animals, etc. displayed in the landscape image move less or move less frequently, the smaller the difference obtained by subtracting the power usage (second usage) from the target power usage, or the more negative the difference, or the larger the ratio of the power usage (second usage) to the target power usage. For the animation of each animal, several movement patterns may be stored in advance, and animation may be performed by appropriately setting parameters defining the amount of movement for each movement pattern.

[0052] Furthermore, the generation unit 154 may generate a comment regarding the amount of electricity usage in addition to the landscape image. As with the landscape image, the comment may be generated using a learning model that has learned the relationship between the amount of electricity usage and the target amount used in a predetermined period and the comment to be displayed at that time.

[0053] The output unit 155 outputs the landscape image generated by the generation unit 154. That is, the output unit 155 causes the output unit 130 to output an application screen including the landscape image as an application screen of the management application 141 as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

[0054] This concludes the description of the configuration of the information processing device 100.

[0055] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 200. As described above, the server 200 is a computer system realized as a so-called server device, and in this embodiment, the server 200 acquires the amount of power used in the building 20 and transmits it to the information processing device 100. Note that the server 200 may also have a function of managing and controlling various home appliances (electrical devices) arranged in the building 20.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3, the server 200 includes a communication unit 210 , an input unit 220 , an output unit 230 , a storage unit 240 , and a control unit 250 .

[0057] The communication unit 210 has a function of transmitting and receiving information to and from other devices via wired or wireless communication. The communication unit 210 may receive information requesting power usage from the information processing device 100 as an external device, for example, and transmit the information to the control unit 250. The communication unit 210 may also transmit specified information to a specified destination in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 250. For example, the communication unit 210 may transmit information indicating the current power usage amount for a predetermined period to the information processing device 100.

[0058] The input unit 220 has a function of receiving input from a user of the server 200 and transmitting the input to the control unit 250. The input unit 220 can be realized, for example, by hardware keys provided on the server 200, or soft keys such as a touch panel or touch keys. Note that input to the input unit 220 may be voice input, in which case the input unit 220 is realized by a microphone. The server 200 does not necessarily have to include the input unit 220.

[0059] The output unit 230 has a function of outputting data instructed by the control unit 250. The output by the output unit 230 may be realized by displaying text or images on a monitor (display device) attached to or connected to the server 200, or by outputting audio from a speaker or earphones (audio output device) attached to or connected to the server 200. Alternatively, the output by the output unit 230 may be realized by transmitting information to an external device via the communication unit 210. For example, the output unit 230 may output (transmit) information indicating the current amount of power usage to the information processing device 100 via the communication unit 110 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 250.

[0060] The storage unit 240 is a recording medium that stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 200. The storage unit 240 is realized, for example, by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these. The storage unit 240 may store a control program 241 that acquires the current amount of power usage in the building 20 and transmits it to the information processing device 100. The storage unit 240 may be realized by cloud storage accessible by the server 200. The storage unit 240 may also constitute a ROM or RAM that serves as a work area for executing the program. The control program 241 may have a function of controlling various electrical devices provided in the building 20.

[0061] The control unit 250 is a processor that executes the processes to be realized by the server 200, using the various programs and data stored in the storage unit 240. That is, the control unit 250 executes the control program 241 to acquire the current amount of power usage from the information processing device 100 and transmit information indicating the acquired amount of power usage.

[0062] The control unit 250 includes a management unit 251. The control unit 250 may also include a home appliance control unit 252.

[0063] The management unit 251 manages the amount of electricity consumed in the building 20, and in response to a request from the information processing device 100, transmits information on the amount of electricity currently used during a specified period to the information processing device 100 via the communication unit 110.

[0064] The home appliance control unit 252 has a function of controlling each electrical appliance connected to the server 200. The control of the electrical appliances by the home appliance control unit 252 may be automatic control according to the status of the building 20, or may be control based on instructions from a user 10 of the building 20. The status of the building 20 may be, for example, whether the user 10 is in the building 20 or not, where the user 10 is in the building 20 if present, whether the current time is day or night, the level of the outside temperature or the indoor temperature, the brightness of the room, etc., and this information may be acquired from various sensors (which may be, but are not limited to, a human presence sensor, a temperature sensor, an illuminance sensor, etc.) installed in the building 20 and connected to the server 200 so as to be able to communicate with the server 200.

[0065] The above is an example of the configuration of the server 200.

[0066] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100. As shown in Fig. 6, the reception unit 151 of the information processing device 100 receives an input of a target amount as an upper limit of power usage for a predetermined period from the user 10 via the input unit 120 (step S601). The control unit 150 sets the received target amount in the management application 141 (step S602).

[0067] The acquisition unit 152 of the information processing device 100 acquires the current amount of power usage in a predetermined period (step S603). For example, at the end of a day, the acquisition unit 152 requests information indicating the current amount of power usage from the server 200. The acquisition unit 152 then receives the information indicating the amount of power usage transmitted from the server 200. The acquisition unit 152 thereby acquires information indicating the amount of power usage (first usage amount). The acquisition unit 152 transmits the acquired amount of power usage to the estimation unit 153.

[0068] When the estimation unit 153 receives the amount of electricity usage (first usage), the estimation unit 153 estimates a total amount of electricity usage (second usage) to be used in a predetermined period (step S604). The estimation unit 153 transmits the estimated total amount of electricity usage (second usage) to the generation unit 154.

[0069] The generation unit 154 generates a landscape image relating to the amount of electricity usage based on the relative positional relationship between the transmitted total amount of electricity usage (second amount of usage) and the set target amount of electricity usage (step S605). The generation unit 154 transmits the generated landscape image to the output unit 155.

[0070] The output unit 155 outputs an application screen of the management application 141 including the transmitted scenic image (step S606), and the process ends.

[0071] The above is an example of the operation of the information processing device 100.

[0072] In this embodiment, the server 200 simply acquires the amount of power being used and sequentially transmits it to the information processing device 100, and therefore a detailed description using a flowchart will be omitted.

[0073] <Summary> As described in the above embodiment, the information processing device 100 generates and displays a landscape image based on the correlation between the amount of energy ultimately planned to be used over a predetermined period and the target amount. The better the energy usage status (the lower the planned usage), the more natural and bright the landscape image that is generated and displayed. Therefore, by viewing the landscape image, the user 10 of the information processing device 100 can maintain or increase their motivation to improve their own energy usage status.

[0074] <Supplementary Note> The information processing device according to the above embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be realized by other methods. Various modifications will be described below.

[0075] (1) In the above embodiment, the information processing device 100 estimates a landscape image based on the relative relationship between the target amount of power usage and the amount of power usage expected to be used in a predetermined period. This estimation may be based on the relationship between the amount of power usage and the electricity bill, rather than the relationship between the power usage and the electricity bill.

[0076] That is, the estimation unit 153 may estimate the electricity fee to be paid this month from the electricity fee paid for the current amount of electricity used, and the generation unit 154 may generate a landscape image based on the relative relationship between the estimated electricity fee and the electricity fee set as a target. In this case, if a learning model is used to generate the landscape image, the learning model is a model that has learned the relationship between the electricity fee that is likely to be paid at the end of a predetermined period and the target amount as the upper limit of the electricity fee, and the landscape image that should be generated in that case.

[0077] (2) In the above embodiment, the generation unit 154 generates a landscape image showing a natural scene, but this is not limited to the above. The generation unit 154 may generate an image that can maintain or increase the motivation of the user 10 to limit the use of a predetermined amount of energy as much as possible, and may generate a better (more colorful, brighter) image the lower the amount of energy use relative to the target amount. As an example, the landscape image may be an image of an amusement park, and the image may show more attraction facilities, characters, and people enjoying them as the amount of energy use relative to the target amount is reduced. Furthermore, these facilities or characters may be animated, and the image (video) may show a relatively greater amount of animation (amount of movement or number of movements) as the amount of energy use relative to the target amount is reduced. For example, if the facility is an amusement park, the animation of the facility may be an animation of a merry-go-round moving, electric lights flashing, or fireworks being displayed. Furthermore, character animation may involve the character moving around within the image or making larger limb movements, and the lower the amount of energy used relative to the target amount, the more positive emotional expression the character will have, such as happiness or enjoyment, and the higher the amount of energy used relative to the target amount, the more negative emotional expression the character will have, such as sadness or anger.

[0078] (3) In the above embodiment, the server 200 may receive control settings for various home appliances via the information processing device 100 of the user 10 .

[0079] The control settings may be settings for controlling each electrical device individually, or may be settings for more generally controlling multiple electrical devices collectively. Controlling multiple electrical devices collectively may be, for example, setting a mode for controlling the electrical devices, such as an outing mode or a sleep mode. In each mode, a predetermined operating state of the electrical devices is set, and the server 200 may control each electrical device according to the setting.

[0080] The information processing device 100 may also function as a so-called remote controller for controlling various home appliances. In this case, the information processing device 100 may instruct the server 200 on which electrical appliance to control and how to control it, and the electrical appliance may be controlled in accordance with the instructions received by the home appliance control unit 252 of the server 200.

[0081] (4) In the above embodiment, it may be impossible to obtain information about the power usage status at the timing of switching between predetermined periods. In such a case, the power usage prediction may use information about the power usage prediction at the previous time point. In this case, the same landscape image may be used, and the generation unit 154 may not need to generate a landscape image.

[0082] (5) In the above embodiment, the server 200 does not necessarily have the function of controlling various home appliances, and may only have the function of acquiring the power used by each of the home appliances and transmitting it to the information processing device 100.

[0083] (6) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the amount of electricity used is obtained from each home appliance or a smart meter, but the amount of energy used may be obtained from a gas meter in the case of gas, or from a water meter in the case of water. Furthermore, similar to the above, the amount of water or gas used may be obtained by analyzing an image of each meter.

[0084] (7) In the above embodiment, the method for generating a landscape image in the information processing device is specified by the processor of the information processing device executing a predetermined program (management application), etc. However, this may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or the like in the device. Furthermore, these circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the functions of the multiple functional units described in the above embodiment may be realized by a single integrated circuit. LSIs are sometimes called VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc. depending on the degree of integration.

[0085] The program may be recorded on a processor-readable recording medium, which may be a "non-transitory tangible medium" such as a tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, or programmable logic circuit. The program may also be supplied to the processor via any transmission medium capable of transmitting the program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). For example, the program may be downloaded from a network and executed using an information processing device such as a smartphone. The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0086] The above program can be implemented using, for example, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), or object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Objective-C, Java (registered trademark), C++, Python, and R, but these languages ​​are just examples.

[0087] (8) The various examples shown in the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate. For example, in the flowchart shown in Fig. 6, the process of step S601 may be performed at a different timing before the process of step S602 and subsequent steps is performed.

[0088] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Information processing device 110 Communication unit 120 Input unit 130 Output unit 140 Storage unit 150 Control unit 200 Server 210 Communication unit 220 Input unit 230 Output unit 240 Storage unit 250 Control unit

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: a receiving unit that receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit of usage of the energy in a specified period; an acquisition unit that acquires a first usage amount of the specified energy at a current point in time within the specified period; an estimation unit that estimates a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period based on the usage amount acquired by the acquisition unit; a generation unit that generates an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount; and an output unit that outputs the image.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the generation unit generates an image with a relatively brighter color tone the lower the second usage amount is from the target amount, and generates an image with a relatively darker color tone the higher the second usage amount is from the target amount.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the image is a landscape image showing a natural scene, and the generation unit generates a landscape image that is relatively rich in nature the lower the second usage amount is from the target amount, and generates a landscape image that is relatively poor in nature the higher the second usage amount is from the target amount.

4. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the information processing device is provided with a memory unit that stores a learning model that has learned the relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount, and an image that should be displayed in the case of the second usage amount and the target amount, and the generation unit generates the image based on the learning model, the target amount accepted by the acceptance unit, and the second usage amount estimated by the estimation unit based on the first usage amount acquired by the acquisition unit.

5. The information processing device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the information processing device is provided with a memory unit that stores a scenic image to be displayed according to the ratio of the second usage amount to the target amount, and the generation unit generates a scenic image according to the ratio of the second usage amount to the target amount.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the predetermined energy is electricity.

7. An information processing method comprising: a receiving step in which a computer receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit of usage of the energy in a specified period; an acquisition step in which a first usage amount of the specified energy at the current time within the specified period; an estimation step in which a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period based on the usage amount acquired in the acquisition step; a generation step in which an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount; and an output step in which the image is output.

8. An information processing program that causes a computer to realize the following: a receiving function that receives input of a target amount for a specified energy as an upper limit of usage of the energy in a specified period; an acquisition function that acquires a first usage amount of the specified energy at a current point in time within the specified period; an estimation function that estimates a second usage amount of the specified energy at the end of the specified period based on the usage amount acquired by the acquisition function; a generation function that generates an image showing at least one of a landscape, a character, and an animation based on the relative relationship between the second usage amount and the target amount; and an output function that outputs the image.

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