Communication resource distribution device and communication resource distribution method

Abstract

The present invention determines, on the basis of a QoE characteristic of each service and the degree of data acquisition importance for each user, distribution of communication resources for data acquisition within a range that does not exceed communication resources of a communication device while prioritizing a high QoE characteristic for a user for whom the degree of data acquisition importance is high.

Description

Communication resource allocation device and communication resource allocation method

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication resource allocation device and a communication resource allocation method.

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining a method for allocating communication resources of a communication device.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, a scheduler is provided that accumulates received packets for each flow and determines resource allocation for each flow, and manages a QoE (Quality of Experience) function that indicates the relationship between resource allocation and user QoE to determine resource allocation. Here, QoE refers to the service quality / user experience quality that a user feels for a network service.

[0004] JP 2011-172150 A

[0005] There is a CPS (Cyber-Physical System) that collects various data from the real world and feeds back the information and value created in cyberspace to the real world.

[0006] In CPS, in order to analyze multiple stream data collected from a vast area in cyberspace and feed the results back to the field in real time, it is necessary to allocate limited communication resources to important data that affect QoE due to cost and real-time requirements.

[0007] However, if communication resources for data acquisition are allocated based solely on QoE, there is a possibility that the QoE of the service will be reduced, for example, data from users for whom data acquisition is highly important, such as important customers, may not be acquired sufficiently.

[0008] In Patent Document 1, the importance of data acquisition for each user is not taken into consideration, and therefore it is not possible to determine to which users limited communication resources should be allocated.

[0009] An object of the present invention is to determine a method of allocating communication resources that takes into consideration the importance of data acquisition for each user and does not reduce the QoE of the entire service.

[0010] A communication resource allocation device according to one aspect of the present invention is a communication resource allocation device that determines a method for allocating communication resources for a communication device, and is characterized by having: a data acquisition unit that acquires data from multiple users; a memory unit that stores QoE characteristics, which are information indicating the level of QoE for each service, and the data acquisition importance, which is information indicating the importance of acquiring the data for each user; and a communication resource allocation determination unit that performs priority allocation processing to determine the allocation of the communication resources for data acquisition, based on the QoE characteristics for each service and the data acquisition importance for each user, by prioritizing the increase in the QoE characteristics of users with high data acquisition importance, within a range that does not exceed the communication resources of the communication device.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine a method of allocating communication resources that does not reduce the QoE of the entire service, taking into consideration the importance of data acquisition for each user.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication resource allocation system; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of QoE characteristics for each service; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data acquisition importance for each user connected to the same communication device and communication resource allocation for data acquisition; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of determination of data acquisition importance based on user characteristics; and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of display of communication resource allocation results for data acquisition; FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a second embodiment; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a third embodiment; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a fifth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a sixth embodiment; and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for communication resource allocation according to a seventh embodiment.

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] First, the configuration of the communication resource allocation system will be described with reference to FIG.

[0015] In the communication resource allocation system, a plurality of communication devices 5 are connected to a communication resource allocation device via communication lines.

[0016] The communication resource allocation device has a data acquisition request unit 1 that requests acquisition of data necessary for maintaining and improving the QoE of a service from a user, a data acquisition unit 2 that acquires data necessary for maintaining and improving the QoE of a service from a user, a communication resource allocation determination unit 3 that determines the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition, and an interface unit 4 that displays various information related to the QoE characteristics of each service and the importance of data acquisition for each user, as well as the results of communication resource allocation for data acquisition.

[0017] The communication resource allocation determination unit 3 determines the communication resource allocation for data acquisition based on the QoE characteristics of each service and the importance of data acquisition of each user, giving priority to increasing the QoE of users with high importance of data acquisition within a range that does not exceed the resources of the communication device 5.

[0018] The data required to maintain and improve the QoE of a service may differ depending on the type of service. For example, in the case of a service that introduces appropriate recommended products based on a user's attributes and preferences, the data may include facial images, clothing images, and user questionnaire response information that are required to estimate the user's attributes and preferences. In the case of a service that returns appropriate responses based on the content of a user's utterance, the data may include the user's speech and image recognition results of the user's facial expression.

[0019] The data acquisition unit 2 is composed of, for example, sensors such as a microphone for acquiring audio and a camera for acquiring images and videos, and a database for storing audio, images, videos, questionnaire responses, etc.

[0020] The communication resource allocation determination unit 3 has a processing unit 31 and a storage unit 32. The processing unit 31 stores information received from the data acquisition request unit 1 in the storage unit 32. The information stored in the storage unit 32 includes, for example, a QoE characteristic 321 for each service, and a data acquisition importance and communication resource allocation for data acquisition 322 for each user connected to the same communication device.

[0021] The information stored in the storage unit 32 is read, written, and rewritten by the interface unit 4. Note that this configuration merely shows an example of a logical configuration, and there are no restrictions on the physical configuration. For example, the physical configuration may be such that the communication resource allocation determination unit 3 is mounted on the same device as the data acquisition request unit 1, the data acquisition unit 2, and the interface unit 4.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows an example of QoE characteristics 321 for each service in a table format.

[0023] The service is identification information of a service that requires data acquisition. The QoE is information indicating the level of QoE for each service. The condition is information indicating the conditions for achieving each QoE. A communication resource allocation method using the QoE characteristics for each service will be described later.

[0024] FIG. 4A shows an example of the importance of data acquisition for each user connected to the same communication device and the allocation of communication resources 322 for data acquisition in the form of a table.

[0025] When there are multiple communication devices, the data acquisition importance for each user and the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition may be set for each communication device. The user is identification information of the user who is the target of data acquisition. The data acquisition importance is information indicating the level of importance of acquiring data for each user. The data acquisition communication resources are information indicating the amount of communication resources allocated for each user to be used for data acquisition. A communication resource allocation method using the data acquisition importance for each user will be described later.

[0026] FIG. 4B shows an example of determining the importance of data acquisition based on user characteristics in the form of a table.

[0027] The data acquisition importance is a parameter that indicates the importance of data acquisition for each user in each service. The data acquisition importance is a parameter that indicates which user's data should be acquired preferentially in order to improve the profits and customer satisfaction of the service, for example, based on the characteristics and policies of the service.

[0028] The importance of data acquisition is determined, for example, according to the characteristics of the user. The characteristics of the user are parameters that represent the characteristics of the user, such as gender, age, body type, etc. Alternatively, the characteristics of the user are parameters that represent the usage pattern of the service, such as the cumulative usage time of the service, the cumulative usage amount of the service, and the evaluation of the service.

[0029] An example of a method for determining the importance of data acquisition based on user characteristics is shown below.

[0030] For example, if Service A sells men's clothing whose main customer base is men in their 40s with a plus-sized build, it is important to obtain data on this main customer base, so the conditions for setting the importance of obtaining data for Service A to "high" include gender being "male," age being "30s to 50s," and body type being "plus-sized."

[0031] For example, if the user characteristics are represented as shown in Figure 4B, by referring to the parameters of gender, age, and body type, the importance of data acquisition for service A of user X, who meets the conditions of gender "male," age "30s to 50s," and body type "overweight," is set to "high," while the importance of data acquisition for service A of user Y, who does not meet the same conditions, is set to "low."

[0032] Furthermore, if service B operates a mail-order sales site for products and content that users are interested in, and the operation policy prioritizes increasing sales among regular customers, then, for example, since acquiring data on regular customers is important, the importance of acquiring data for service B is set to "high" if the cumulative service usage time is "10 hours or more," the cumulative service usage amount is "100,000 yen or more," and the service is rated "high."

[0033] For example, if the user characteristics are represented as shown in Figure 4B, by referring to the parameters of the cumulative usage time of the service, the cumulative usage amount of the service, and the evaluation of the service, the data acquisition importance of service B for user X, who meets the conditions of a cumulative usage time of the service of "10 hours or more," a cumulative usage amount of the service of "100,000 yen or more," and an evaluation of the service of "high," is set to "high," while the data acquisition importance of service B for user Y, who does not meet the same conditions, is set to "low."

[0034] Furthermore, if service C operates a mail-order sales site for products and content that users are interested in, and the operation policy is to prioritize increasing sales to new customers, for example, obtaining data on new customers will be important, and the importance of obtaining data for service C will be set to "high" if the following conditions are met: cumulative service usage time is "less than 10 hours," cumulative service usage amount is "less than 100,000 yen," and the service rating is "low."

[0035] For example, if the user characteristics are represented as shown in Figure 4B, by referring to the parameters of the cumulative usage time of the service, the cumulative usage amount of the service, and the evaluation of the service, the data acquisition importance of service C for user Y, who meets the conditions of cumulative usage time of the service being "less than 10 hours," cumulative usage amount of the service being "less than 100,000 yen," and evaluation of the service being "low," is set to "high," while the data acquisition importance of service C for user X, who does not meet the same conditions, is set to "low."

[0036] FIG. 5 shows an example of a display of various information from the interface unit 4 and the results of communication resource allocation for data acquisition.

[0037] The service is identification information of the service that requires data acquisition. The QoE is information that indicates the level of QoE for each service. The conditions are information that indicates the conditions for achieving each QoE. The user is identification information of the user that is the target of data acquisition. The data acquisition importance is information that indicates the level of importance of acquiring data for each user. The data acquisition communication resources are information that indicates the amount of communication resources allocated to each user that are used for data acquisition. These pieces of information may be read, written, and rewritten by the interface unit 4.

[0038] Next, a processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 1. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0039] In step S101, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request from the data acquisition request unit 1. The data acquisition request may include, for example, the data acquisition importance for each connected user for each communication device, location information for each user, and the name of the service for which data is to be acquired. When the data acquisition importance for each user is received, the processing unit 31 may store the received data acquisition importance for each user in the data acquisition importance for each user and the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition in the storage unit 32. For example, if the data acquisition importance for each user and the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition in the storage unit 32 are expressed for each communication device as in table 322 shown in FIG. 4, the received data acquisition importance for each user may be set in the user and data acquisition priority columns of each row.

[0040] In step S102, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device based on the QoE characteristics for each service when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0041] If the result of the determination is that the resource is less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is determined and then the process proceeds to step S103; if the resource exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is discarded and then the process proceeds to step S104.

[0042] The QoE characteristics for each service may be set, for example, so that the QoE is "high" when the data acquisition throughput is above a certain threshold, and "low" when the data acquisition throughput is below a certain threshold, or similarly, the QoE level may be set in multiple stages, such as 1 to 10, using multiple thresholds.

[0043] The communication device may be, for example, a wireless access point or a wired switch, and the resource of the communication device may be, for example, an upper limit value of throughput determined by the characteristics of the device. The allocation of communication resources for data acquisition may be, for example, an allocation of communication bandwidth to each user terminal. The communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated may be calculated as an estimated value based on, for example, the distance between the communication device and the user terminal.

[0044] For example, if the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in Figure 3, the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is expressed as in table 322 shown in Figure 4, and the name of the service to be acquired as the target of data acquisition is set as "A" in the data acquisition request received in step S101 above, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance is maximized.

[0045] Therefore, for user "X" whose data acquisition importance is set to the highest "High" in table 322, the required communication resources can be calculated when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition throughput of user "X" is "50Mbps" so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest "High," and it can be determined whether the required communication resources are less than or equal to the resources of the communication device to which user "X" is connected.

[0046] In this case, if the data acquisition throughput for user "X" is determined to be "50 Mbps," "50 Mbps" may be recorded in the data acquisition throughput column for user "X" in table 322. In all of the following embodiments, the data acquisition throughput column in table 322 may be used to record the determined data acquisition throughput.

[0047] In step S103, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S102 above when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated in steps S102 and S103 for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0048] If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocating communication resources for data acquisition to the users is determined, and step S103 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of data acquisition importance. In the process of step S103 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance connected to the communication device, if the total of the communication resources required so far calculated for the users connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocating communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the certain data acquisition importance is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S104.

[0049] If the result of step S103 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S105.

[0050] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S103 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated in step S103 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S104.

[0051] For example, if the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in Figure 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is expressed as in table 322 shown in Figure 4, the name of the service to be acquired as the target of data acquisition is set as "A" in the data acquisition request received in step S101 above, and in step S102, the communication resources required when data acquisition communication resources are allocated so that the QoE of a user with the highest data acquisition importance of "high" who is connected to the communication device is maximized, is calculated, and it is determined whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0052] If the result of the determination is that the resource is less than the resources of the communication device, the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the next highest data acquisition importance is maximized. Therefore, the communication resources required for allocating resources to user "Y", who is set to the next highest data acquisition importance of "low" in table 322, so that the data acquisition throughput of user "Y" is "50 Mbps" while satisfying the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest, "high", is minimized, are calculated.

[0053] By comparing the communication resources of user "X" calculated in step S102, the sum of the communication resources of user "Y" calculated in step S103, and the communication resources of the communication device, it is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated in steps S102 and S103 for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0054] In step S104, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S102 above when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition for the next highest QoE for the user with a data acquisition importance level who discarded the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition in step S102 or step S103 above, and determines whether the sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded, calculated after step S102 for each user connected to the communication device, is less than or equal to the resources of the communication device.

[0055] If the result of the determination is that the resources of the communication device are less than the calculated resource allocation result for data acquisition for the user, the process from step S103 onwards is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0056] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S104 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded and calculated after step S102 becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0057] Even if, as a result of repeating step S104, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with the data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with the data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S105 is proceeded to.

[0058] For example, if the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in Figure 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is expressed as in table 322 shown in Figure 4A, the name of the service to be acquired as the target of data acquisition is set to "A" in the data acquisition request received in step S101 above, and in step S102, the communication resources required when allocating data acquisition communication resources so as to maximize the QoE of the user connected to the communication device with the highest data acquisition importance of "high" is calculated.

[0059] If the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device and exceeds the resources of the communication device, the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the next highest data acquisition importance level, "low." Therefore, for user "X" whose data acquisition importance level is set to "high" in table 322, the communication resources required when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition communication resources are minimized and the data acquisition throughput of user "X" is set to "0 Mbps" while satisfying the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest, "low."

[0060] By comparing the communication resources of user "X" calculated in step S103 with the communication resources of the communication device, it is determined whether the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated for each user connected to the communication device from step S102 onwards, is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0061] In step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S102, the processing unit 31 executes the processing from step S102 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S102. When the processing from step S102 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S102 to step S104, it decides not to allocate resources to that user.

[0062] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S102 to S105 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0063] In step S106, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S105.

[0064] In this way, the communication resource allocation device of Example 1 of the present invention determines the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition based on the QoE characteristics of each service and the importance of data acquisition of each user, giving priority to improving the QoE characteristics of users with high importance of data acquisition, within a range that does not exceed the communication resources of the communication device.

[0065] For example, when communication resources for data acquisition are tight or when it is desired to improve the real-timeness and analytical accuracy of acquired data utilization (AI analysis, etc.), it is desirable to acquire only important data. However, allocating communication resources for data acquisition based solely on the importance of data acquisition may result in a decrease in QoE (satisfaction).

[0066] For example, in terms of the QoE characteristics of service A, if a data acquisition throughput of 50 Mbps or more is considered high satisfaction and if it is less than 50 Mbps it is considered low satisfaction, then suppose that data acquisition communication resources are allocated to each user of service A connected to a certain wireless spot so that the throughput of users with a "high" data acquisition importance is twice that of users with a "low" data acquisition importance. In this case, the throughput for users with a "high" data acquisition importance is 40 Mbps, and for users with a "low" data acquisition importance is 20 Mbps, resulting in "low satisfaction" for all users.

[0067] Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, communication resources are allocated based on the QoE characteristics of each service so that the QoE of users for whom data acquisition is highly important is increased.

[0068] For example, if the QoE characteristics of service A are high satisfaction when the throughput is 50 Mbps or higher and low satisfaction when it is less than 50 Mbps, data acquisition communication resources are allocated to each user of service A connected to a certain wireless spot so that users with a "high" data acquisition importance receive 50 Mbps and users with a "low" data acquisition importance receive 0 Mbps. As a result, users with a "high" data acquisition importance receive "high satisfaction." If the throughput is less than 50 Mbps and the QoE is low, even 20 Mbps is the same as 0 Mbps, so communication resources are not allocated to users with a "low" data acquisition importance.

[0069] In this way, in the first embodiment of the present invention, for example, the communication resource for data acquisition for user X, whose data acquisition importance is "high," is set to 50 Mbps, while the communication resource for data acquisition for user Y, whose data acquisition importance is "low," is set to 0 Mbps (see FIG. 4A).

[0070] In the first embodiment of the present invention, by narrowing down the acquisition of information to only that which is important from the viewpoint of QoE, it is possible to achieve a QoE that is appropriate for the service policy even when communication resources are tight. Furthermore, by not acquiring data that is unnecessary from the viewpoint of QoE, real-timeness and analytical accuracy are improved, and communication resources can be allocated to acquiring data that could not be acquired in the past, thereby improving QoE.

[0071] In the second embodiment, when the QoE or the importance of data acquisition changes dynamically in the communication resource allocation of the first embodiment, the resource allocation is changed based on the change in the QoE or the importance of data acquisition.

[0072] For example, in a service in which the QoE decreases as the waiting time increases, if the amount of QoE decrease varies for each user depending on the user's personality, etc., the data acquisition importance of users whose QOE is likely to decrease can be temporarily increased, and resource allocation can be changed based on the changed data acquisition importance.

[0073] Furthermore, for example, when a change occurs such as an increase or decrease in the number of users connected to a communication device or a connection to another communication device due to user movement or turning a terminal on / off, resource allocation may be changed based on the importance of data acquisition after the change.

[0074] This allows resources to be allocated according to the changed QoE or importance of data acquisition, even for services in which the QoE or importance of data acquisition changes dynamically, which is expected to have the effect of maintaining or improving the QoE.

[0075] 1 , when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the QoE of a user with the highest importance of data acquisition connected to a certain communication device is maximized and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, a determination is made as to whether the total required communication resources is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device based on the changed QoE and importance of data acquisition. Furthermore, the processing from step S103 onward is also different from that of the first embodiment in that communication resources are allocated based on the changed QoE and importance of data acquisition.

[0076] The procedure for allocating communication resources according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 6. The operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0077] In step S201, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request from the data acquisition request unit 1, similarly to step S101.

[0078] In step S202, the processing unit 31 calculates, based on the changed QoE and data acquisition importance, the communication resources required for a certain communication device when allocating data acquisition communication resources so that the data acquisition communication resources are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0079] It is determined whether the sum of the communication resources required for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is determined and the process proceeds to step S203. If the total exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is discarded and the process proceeds to step S204.

[0080] For example, if the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in FIG. 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device changes from table 322 shown in FIG. 4A, where the data acquisition importance for user "X" is "low" and the data acquisition importance for user "Y" is "high," and the name of the service to be acquired is set as "A" in the data acquisition request received in step S201, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance is maximized.

[0081] Therefore, for user "Y" whose data acquisition importance is set to the highest "High" in table 322, the required communication resources are calculated when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition throughput of user "Y" is "50Mbps" while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest "High," minimizing the communication resources for data acquisition, and it is determined whether the required communication resources are less than or equal to the resources of the communication device to which user "Y" is connected.

[0082] In step S203, based on the changed QoE and data acquisition importance, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S202 above when allocating data acquisition communication resources so that the data acquisition communication resources are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest data acquisition importance connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0083] It is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device in steps S202 and S203 is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the users is determined, and step S203 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of importance of data acquisition.

[0084] In the processing of step S203 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance level who is connected to the communication device, if the total sum of the communication resources required so far calculated for the user connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance level is discarded and the process proceeds to step S204.

[0085] If the result of step S203 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S205.

[0086] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S203 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated in step S203 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S204.

[0087] In step S204, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S202 above when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance level whose data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded in step S202 or step S203 above is next highest.

[0088] It is determined whether the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded and that have been calculated for each user connected to the communication device in step S202 and subsequent steps is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the user is determined, and the processing in step S203 and subsequent steps is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0089] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S204 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated after step S202, becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0090] Even if, as a result of repeating step S204, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S205 is proceeded to.

[0091] In step S205, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S202, the processing unit 31 executes the processing from step S202 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S202. When the processing from step S202 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S202 to step S204, it decides not to allocate resources to that user.

[0092] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S202 to S205 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0093] In step S206, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S205, similar to step S106 above.

[0094] In Example 3, the resource allocation is changed based on the wireless communication environment for each user in the communication resource allocation of Example 1. For example, when the communication device is a wireless AP, even with the same communication resources, resources for only one user can be allocated to a user far from the wireless AP, but resources for two users can potentially be allocated to a user close to the wireless AP. Therefore, the resource allocation may be changed based on the distance from the wireless AP, radio wave strength, etc.

[0095] This may enable resources to be allocated to more users even with the same communication device, which is expected to have the effect of maintaining and improving the QoE of the entire service.

[0096] In the third embodiment, for example, in step S101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, information on the wireless communication environment for each user is received together with a data acquisition request from the data acquisition request unit 1. Also, in step S104 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, for the same communication device as in step S102, before determining whether the total sum of communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance level for which the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition has been discarded is next highest and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, the resource allocation is changed based on the wireless communication environment for each user, which is different from the first embodiment in that

[0097] The processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 7. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0098] In step S301, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request and information about the wireless communication environment for each user from the data acquisition request unit 1. The wireless communication environment for each user may be, for example, the distance from the wireless AP or the radio wave intensity.

[0099] In step S302, similarly to step S102, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0100] If the result of the determination is that the resource is less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is determined and then the process proceeds to step S303; if the resource exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is discarded and then the process proceeds to step S304.

[0101] In step S303, similarly to step S103, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S302 above when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0102] It is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device in steps S302 and S303 is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the users is determined, and step S303 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of importance of data acquisition.

[0103] In the processing of step S303 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance level who is connected to the communication device, if the total sum of the communication resources calculated so far for the user connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance level is discarded and the process proceeds to step S304.

[0104] If the result of step S303 shows that the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition calculated up to that point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S305. Also, if the result of the determination at the beginning of step S303 shows that the total sum exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition calculated for the users in step S303 is discarded, and then the process proceeds to step S304.

[0105] In step S304, the processing unit 31 allocates data acquisition communication resources to the same communication device as in step S302 above, for users with a data acquisition importance level who discarded the data acquisition communication resource allocation result in step S302 or step S303 above, based on the information about the wireless communication environment received in step S301 above, so as to maximize the number of users who satisfy the condition that the QoE for which the data acquisition communication resource allocation result in step S302 or step S303 is discarded, while satisfying the condition that the sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded, calculated for each user connected to the communication device after step S302, is less than the resources of the communication device, and determines the allocation result.

[0106] Then, the communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition for the next highest QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance whose communication resource allocation result for data acquisition was discarded in step S302 or step S303 are calculated.

[0107] It is determined whether the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated for each user connected to the communication device in step S302 and thereafter, is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the user is determined, and the processing in step S303 and thereafter is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0108] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S304 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded and calculated after step S302 becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0109] Even if, as a result of repeating step S304, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S305 is proceeded to.

[0110] For example, when the QoE characteristics for each service are represented as in table 321 shown in FIG. 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is represented as in table 322 shown in FIG. 4, with user "Z" having a data acquisition importance of "high" added, and the information on the wireless communication environment received in step S301 above has the radio wave strength for user "X" set to "-40 dBm" and the radio wave strength for user "Z" set to "-80 dBm," and the QoE for the user whose data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded in step S302 above is "high," data acquisition communication resources are allocated so as to maximize the number of users who satisfy the condition for the QoE to be "high" for the user whose data acquisition importance is "high" and whose data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded in step S302 above.

[0111] For this reason, for users "X" and "Z" who have the highest data acquisition importance set to "High" in table 322, when "X" has high radio wave strength, the communication resources required when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition throughput of user "X" is "50 Mbps" while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest, "High," is minimized, are calculated based on the correspondence between radio wave strength and throughput of the communication device that is set in advance, and it is determined whether the required communication resources are less than or equal to the resources of the communication device to which user "X" is connected.

[0112] If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are equal to or less than the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for user "X" may be determined, and a similar determination may be made for user "Z." If the required communication resources exceed the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," a similar determination is made for the condition that results in the next highest QoE, "low."

[0113] In step S305, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S302, the processing unit 31 executes the processes from step S302 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S302.

[0114] When the processing from step S302 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S302 to step S304, it is decided that no resources will be allocated to that user.

[0115] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S302 to S305 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0116] In step S306, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S305, similar to step S106.

[0117] In Example 4, resource allocation is changed based on previously acquired data in the communication resource allocation of Example 1. For example, if it is considered that a user who has previously acquired a large amount of data can utilize the existing data even if the amount of data acquisition is reduced, and therefore QoE is unlikely to decrease, the amount of resource allocation to the user may be reduced and allocated to other users.

[0118] On the other hand, a user who has acquired a large amount of data in the past may be considered a frequent user, so the resource allocation amount of other users may be reduced and a larger resource allocation amount may be allocated to that user. Whether to reduce or increase the resource allocation amount of that user may be determined based on the policy of the service provider, etc.

[0119] This means that even if the same communication device is used, resources may be allocated preferentially to users for whom data acquisition is considered more important, based on the service provider's policies, which is expected to maintain and improve the QoE of the service as a whole.

[0120] In the fourth embodiment, for example, in step S101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, information on previously acquired data is received together with a data acquisition request from the data acquisition request unit 1. In step S104 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the resource allocation is changed based on previously acquired data for the same communication device as in step S102 before determining whether the total sum of communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance level for which the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition has been discarded is next highest and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0121] A processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 8. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0122] In step S401, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request and information about previously acquired data from the data acquisition request unit 1. The information about previously acquired data may be, for example, information indicating the amount of data previously acquired for each user.

[0123] In step S402, similarly to step S102, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0124] If the result of the determination is that the resource is less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for the user is determined and then the process proceeds to step S403; if the resource exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for the user is discarded and then the process proceeds to step S404.

[0125] In step S403, similarly to step S103, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S402 above when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0126] It is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device in steps S402 and S403 is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the users is determined, and step S403 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of importance of data acquisition.

[0127] In the processing of step S403 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance level who is connected to the communication device, if the total sum of the communication resources calculated so far for the user who is connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance level is discarded and the process proceeds to step S404.

[0128] If the result of step S403 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S405.

[0129] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S403 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated in step S403 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S404.

[0130] In step S404, the processing unit 31 determines the priority of data acquisition communication resource allocation among users with a data acquisition importance level who have discarded the data acquisition communication resource allocation result in step S402 or step S403 for the same communication device as in step S402, based on the information about previously acquired data received in step S401, while satisfying the condition that the sum of the required communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated after step S402 for each user connected to the communication device, is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0131] The communication resources for data acquisition are allocated in descending order of priority so as to maximize the number of people who satisfy the conditions for the QoE resulting from the discarding of the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition in step S402 or step S403, and the allocation result is determined.

[0132] Thereafter, the communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition for the next highest QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance whose communication resource allocation result for data acquisition was discarded in step S402 or step S403 above are calculated, and it is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded and calculated after step S402 for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0133] If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocating communication resources for data acquisition to the user is determined, and then the processing from step S403 onwards is executed for the user with the next highest data acquisition importance. If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocating communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the highest data acquisition importance is discarded, and then step S404 is repeated in descending order of QoE for the users with the highest data acquisition importance until the total sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded in step S402 onwards becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0134] Even if, as a result of repeating step S404, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to connect to the communication device that has not been discarded and calculated so far is determined, and then step S405 is proceeded to.

[0135] For example, when the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in FIG. 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is shown in table 322 in FIG. 4, with user "Z" having a data acquisition importance of "high" added, the information on previously acquired data received in step S401 above is set to the amount of data previously acquired by user "X" being "40 GB" and the amount of data previously acquired by user "Z" being "80 GB," the service policy pre-set in memory unit 32 has a condition set to "give priority to data acquisition by users who have previously acquired a smaller amount of data," and the QoE for the users whose data acquisition communication resource allocation results were discarded in step S402 above is "high," data acquisition communication resources are allocated so as to maximize the number of users who satisfy the condition for the QoE to be "high" for users whose data acquisition importance is "high" and whose data acquisition communication resource allocation results were discarded in step S402 above.

[0136] For this reason, for users "X" and "Z" who have the highest data acquisition importance set to "High" in table 322, and who have acquired a small amount of data in the past, the communication resources required for allocating resources to minimize communication resources for data acquisition and to achieve a data acquisition throughput of "50 Mbps" for user "X" can be calculated, while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest, "High," and it can be determined whether the required communication resources are less than or equal to the resources of the communication device to which user "X" is connected.

[0137] If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are equal to or less than the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for user "X" may be determined, and a similar determination may be made for user "Z." If the required communication resources exceed the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," a similar determination may be made for the condition for the next highest QoE, "low."

[0138] In step S405, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S402, the processing unit 31 executes the processes from step S402 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S402.

[0139] When the processing from step S402 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S402 to step S404, it is decided not to allocate resources to that user. The results of all communication resource allocation for data acquisition determined in the processing from step S402 to step S405 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to 0.

[0140] In step S406, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S405, similar to step S106 above.

[0141] In Example 5, the resource allocation is changed based on the real-timeness required for each service in the communication resource allocation of Example 1. For example, communication resources for data acquisition may be allocated preferentially to a user of a service with high real-timeness, in which the QoE will decrease if an appropriate response is not returned immediately based on the content of the user's utterance, over a user of another service with low real-timeness, in which the QoE will not decrease if a detailed analysis result is returned several minutes after receiving the user's request.

[0142] This means that even if the same communication device is used, it may be possible to allocate resources preferentially to users who are thought to need to obtain data more quickly, based on the real-time performance required for each service, which is expected to have the effect of maintaining and improving the QoE of the entire service.

[0143] In the fifth embodiment, for example, in step S101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a data acquisition request is received from the data acquisition request unit 1 along with information on the real-time nature required for each service.

[0144] In step S104 of the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the resource allocation is changed based on the real-time performance required for each service before determining whether the total sum of communication resources required for the same communication device as that in step S102 when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance level for which the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition has been discarded is next highest and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, is less than or equal to the resources of the communication device.

[0145] A processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 9. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0146] In step S501, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request and information regarding the real-time performance required for each service from the data acquisition request unit 1. The information regarding the real-time performance required for each service may be, for example, an upper limit of delay allowed for each service.

[0147] In step S502, similar to step S102, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device when data acquisition communication resources are allocated so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated for each user connected to the communication device is less than or equal to the resources of the communication device.

[0148] If the result of the determination is that the resource is less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is determined and the process proceeds to step S503; if the resource exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user is discarded and the process proceeds to step S504.

[0149] In step S503, similarly to step S103, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S502 above when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized, and determines whether the sum of the communication resources required calculated in steps S502 and S503 for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0150] If the result of the determination is that the resources are less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the users is determined, and step S503 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of data acquisition importance. In the processing of step S503 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance who connects to the communication device, if the total of the communication resources required so far calculated for the users connecting to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the certain data acquisition importance is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S504.

[0151] If the result of step S503 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S505.

[0152] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S503 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated in step S503 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S504.

[0153] In step S504, the processing unit 31 determines the priority of data acquisition communication resource allocation among users with a data acquisition importance level who have discarded the data acquisition communication resource allocation result in step S502 or step S503 for the same communication device as in step S502, based on the information regarding the real-time performance required for each service received in step S501, while satisfying the condition that the sum of the required communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated after step S502 for each user connected to the communication device, is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0154] The communication resources for data acquisition are allocated in descending order of priority so as to maximize the number of people who satisfy the conditions for increasing the QoE for which the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition was discarded in step S502 or step S503, and the allocation result is determined.

[0155] Thereafter, the communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition for the next highest QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance for which the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition was discarded in step S502 or step S503 above are calculated, and it is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded and calculated after step S502 for each user connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device.

[0156] If the result of the determination is that the resources of the communication device are less than the calculated resource allocation result for data acquisition for the user, the process from step S503 onwards is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0157] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S504 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the total sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded and that have been calculated after step S502 becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0158] Even if, as a result of repeating step S504, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S505 is proceeded to.

[0159] For example, when the QoE characteristics for each service are added to table 321 shown in FIG. 3, with the condition for the QoE of service name "B" to be "high" being "data acquisition throughput of 20 Mbps or more" and the condition for the QoE to be "low" being "data acquisition throughput of less than 20 Mbps," and when the data acquisition importance for each user connecting to the communication device is added to table 322 shown in FIG. 4, with user "Z" having a data acquisition importance of "high," the service to which user X is connected is set to "A," and the service to which user Z is connected is set to "B," in the user list for each service set in memory unit 32.

[0160] The information regarding the real-time performance required for each service received in step S501 above includes the upper limit of delay allowed for service "A" set to "50 ms" and the upper limit of delay allowed for service "A" set to "100 ms," and the service policy preset in memory unit 32 includes the condition "give priority to data acquisition for services with a smaller upper limit of delay allowed for the service."

[0161] If the QoE of the users whose data acquisition communication resource allocation results are discarded in step S502 is "high," the data acquisition communication resources are allocated so as to maximize the number of users whose data acquisition importance is "high" and whose data acquisition communication resource allocation results are discarded in step S502, and who satisfy the condition for the QoE to be "high."

[0162] For this reason, for users "X" and "Z" who are set to the highest "High" data acquisition importance in table 322, and who are connected to service "A" which has the smallest upper limit of delay allowable for the service, the required communication resources are calculated when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition throughput of user "X" is "50Mbps" while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest "High" and so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, and it is determined whether the required communication resources are less than the resources of the communication device to which user "X" is connected.

[0163] If the result of the determination is that the required communication resources are equal to or less than the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for user "X" is determined, and a similar determination is made for user "Z." If the required communication resources exceed the resources of the communication device connected to user "X," a similar determination is made for the conditions for the next highest QoE, "low."

[0164] In step S505, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S502, the processing unit 31 executes the processes from step S502 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S502.

[0165] When the processing from step S502 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S502 to step S504, it is decided that no resources will be allocated to that user.

[0166] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S502 to S505 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0167] In step S506, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S505, similar to step S106 above.

[0168] In the sixth embodiment, the communication resource allocation in the first embodiment is changed using a score based on the importance of data acquisition.

[0169] For example, if a user with a high importance of data acquisition is in a poor communication environment, allocating resources to that one user may result in insufficient resources being allocated to multiple users with a low importance of data acquisition, which may result in a decrease in overall QoE depending on the service policy.

[0170] Here, if the resource allocation method is changed so that users with a high importance of data acquisition are assigned a score of "3 points per user" and users with a low importance of data acquisition are assigned a score of "2 points per user," and resources are allocated so as to maximize the total score of all users from whom data is acquired, and if resources can be allocated to two users with a low importance of data acquisition by not allocating resources to one user with a high importance of data acquisition but a poor communication environment, then the score of "4 points" for the two users with a low importance of data acquisition will be higher than the score of "3 points" for the one user with a high importance of data acquisition, and it can be determined that it would be better to allocate resources to the two users with a low importance of data acquisition.

[0171] This allows the desirable proportion of resources to be allocated to users with each level of data acquisition importance to be reflected as a score based on the service's policy, which is expected to have the effect of maintaining and improving the QoE of the service as a whole.

[0172] In the sixth embodiment, for example, in step S101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a data acquisition request is received from the data acquisition request unit 1 together with information about a score based on the importance of data acquisition.

[0173] In step S104 of the flowchart of Example 1 shown in Figure 1, the resource allocation is different from Example 1 in that, for the same communication device as in step S102, before determining whether the total amount of communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance for which the data acquisition communication resource allocation result has been discarded is the next highest and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, is less than or equal to the resources of the communication device.

[0174] A processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 10. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0175] In step S601, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request and information regarding a score based on the data acquisition importance from the data acquisition request unit 1. The score based on the data acquisition importance may be, for example, a score per user for each data acquisition importance.

[0176] In step S602, similar to step S102, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0177] It is determined whether the sum of the communication resources required for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is determined and the process proceeds to step S603. If the sum exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is discarded and the process proceeds to step S604.

[0178] In step S603, similarly to step S103, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S602 above when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0179] It is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device in steps S602 and S603 is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the users is determined, and step S603 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of importance of data acquisition.

[0180] In the processing of step S603 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance level who is connected to the communication device, if the total sum of the communication resources required so far calculated for the user connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance level is discarded and the process proceeds to step S604.

[0181] If the result of step S603 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S605.

[0182] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S603 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated at step S603 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S604.

[0183] In step S604, the processing unit 31 allocates data acquisition communication resources to the same communication device as in step S602, for users with a data acquisition importance level for which the data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded in step S602 or step S603, so as to maximize the sum of the scores based on data acquisition importance for users with a data acquisition importance level equal to or lower than the data acquisition importance level for which the data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded, while satisfying the condition that the sum of the required communication resources that were not discarded, calculated after step S602 for each user connected to the communication device, is less than the resources of the communication device, using the score based on the data acquisition importance received in step S601, and determining the allocation result.

[0184] Then, the communication resources required when the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition for the next highest QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance whose communication resource allocation result for data acquisition was discarded in step S602 or step S603 are calculated.

[0185] It is determined whether the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated for each user connected to the communication device in step S602 and subsequent steps, is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the user is determined, and the processing in step S603 and subsequent steps is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0186] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S604 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the total sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded after step S602 becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0187] Even if, as a result of repeating step S604, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S605 is proceeded to.

[0188] For example, the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in FIG. 3, the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device is expressed as in table 322 shown in FIG. 4, and the information regarding the score based on the data acquisition importance received in step S601 above is set as "3 points per user" for users with a "high" data acquisition importance and "2 points per user" for users with a "low" data acquisition importance.

[0189] If the QoE after discarding the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition in step S602 is "high," the communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the total score based on the importance of data acquisition is maximized among all combinations of allocations that satisfy the condition that the QoE after discarding the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition in step S602 is "high" while satisfying the condition that the total required communication resources is less than or equal to the resources of the communication device.

[0190] For example, if all the combinations of allocations that satisfy the above conditions are "allocation only to X," "allocation only to Y," and "allocation to neither X nor Y," the total score for "allocation only to X" will be "3 points," the total score for "allocation only to Y" will be "2 points," and the total score for "allocation to neither X nor Y" will be "0 points." Therefore, the combination "allocation only to X" that has the largest total score may be selected.

[0191] In step S605, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S602, the processing unit 31 executes the processing from step S602 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S602. When the processing from step S602 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S602 to step S604, it is determined that no resources will be allocated to that user.

[0192] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S602 to S605 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0193] In step S606, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S605, similar to step S106 above.

[0194] In the seventh embodiment, the communication resource allocation in the first embodiment is changed based on parameters that affect the QoE.

[0195] For example, if the image quality of a camera, which is the image sensor from which data is acquired, is a parameter that affects QoE, and a certain camera is set to acquire images in low image quality mode based on a policy such as a service congestion countermeasure, the characteristics of the QoE will change and the QoE will not increase even if more resources are allocated. Therefore, it may be better to reduce the resource allocation to the user who uses that camera and allocate resources preferentially to other users, which could improve the overall QoE.

[0196] This means that even if a parameter affecting QoE changes, resources can be allocated based on the characteristics of the QoE after the change so that the QoE is high for users with each data acquisition importance level, which is expected to maintain and improve the QoE of the service as a whole.

[0197] In the seventh embodiment, for example, in step S101 in the flowchart of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , information on parameters that affect QoE is received from the data acquisition request unit 1 along with a data acquisition request, and in step S102, when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the QoE of a user with the highest importance of data acquisition connected to a certain communication device is maximized and the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized, it is determined whether the total required communication resources is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device based on the QoE characteristics of each service after changes due to the parameters that affect QoE, which is different from the first embodiment.

[0198] Similarly, the process from step S103 onwards also differs from the first embodiment in that communication resources are allocated based on the QoE characteristics of each service after changes due to parameters that affect the QoE.

[0199] A processing procedure for allocating communication resources according to the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 11. Note that the operation of this flowchart is executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

[0200] In step S701, the processing unit 31 receives a data acquisition request and information about parameters that affect the QoE from the data acquisition request unit 1. The parameters that affect the QoE may be, for example, the image quality of a camera that is an image sensor from which data is acquired, or the sound quality of a microphone that is an audio sensor from which data is acquired. The information about the parameters that affect the QoE may be, for example, the QoE characteristics for each service after a change due to the parameters that affect the QoE.

[0201] In step S702, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for a certain communication device when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the highest importance of data acquisition connected to the communication device is maximized, based on the QoE characteristics for each service after changes due to parameters that affect the QoE.

[0202] It is determined whether the sum of the communication resources required for each user connected to the communication device is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is determined and the process proceeds to step S703. If the total exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated allocation result of communication resources for data acquisition for the users is discarded and the process proceeds to step S704.

[0203] For example, if the QoE characteristics for each service are expressed as in table 321 shown in FIG. 3, and the data acquisition importance for each user connected to the communication device and the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition are shown in table 322 shown in FIG. 4A, where the data acquisition importance for user "X" changes to "low" and the data acquisition importance for user "Y" changes to "high," and the name of the service to be acquired is "A," the condition for the QoE to become "high" is set to "data acquisition throughput of 20 Mbps or more," and the condition for the QoE to become "low" is set to "data acquisition throughput of less than 20 Mbps," then communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so that the QoE of the user with the highest data acquisition importance is the highest.

[0204] Therefore, for user "Y" whose data acquisition importance is set to the highest "High" in table 322, the required communication resources are calculated when resources are allocated so that the data acquisition throughput for user "Y" is "20Mbps" while setting the condition in table 321 that the QoE of service "A" is the highest "High," minimizing the communication resources for data acquisition, and it is determined whether the required communication resources are less than or equal to the resources of the communication device to which user "Y" is connected.

[0205] In step S703, the processing unit 31 calculates the communication resources required for the same communication device as in step S702 above, based on the QoE characteristics for each service after changes due to parameters that affect the QoE, when allocating communication resources for data acquisition so that the communication resources for data acquisition are minimized while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition who is connected to the communication device is maximized.

[0206] It is determined whether the sum of the required communication resources calculated for each user connected to the communication device in steps S702 and S703 is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the users is determined, and step S703 is repeated in the same manner in descending order of importance of data acquisition.

[0207] In the processing of step S703 for a user with a certain data acquisition importance level who is connected to the communication device, if the total sum of the communication resources required so far calculated for the user connected to the communication device exceeds the resources of the communication device, the calculated result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance level is discarded and the process proceeds to step S704.

[0208] If the result of step S703 is that the sum of the required communication resources calculated for all users connected to the communication device is less than the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition calculated up to this point for all users connected to the communication device is determined, and then the process proceeds to step S705.

[0209] If the result of the determination at the beginning of step S703 is that the resource of the communication device is exceeded, the result of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user calculated at step S703 is discarded, and the process proceeds to step S704.

[0210] In step S704, the processing unit 31 calculates, based on the QoE characteristics for each service after changes due to parameters that affect the QoE, the communication resources required when allocating communication resources for data acquisition to the same communication device as in step S702 above so as to minimize the communication resources for data acquisition while satisfying the condition that the QoE of the user with the data acquisition importance level whose data acquisition communication resource allocation result was discarded in step S702 or step S703 above will be next highest.

[0211] It is determined whether the sum of the necessary communication resources that have not been discarded, calculated for each user connected to the communication device in step S702 and subsequent steps, is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device. If the result of the determination is that the sum is equal to or less than the resources of the communication device, the calculated communication resource allocation result for data acquisition for the user is determined, and the processing in step S703 and subsequent steps is executed for the user with the next highest importance of data acquisition.

[0212] If the resources of the communication device are exceeded, the calculated results of the allocation of communication resources for data acquisition to the user with the data acquisition importance level are discarded, and step S704 is repeated in order of highest QoE for the users with the data acquisition importance level until the total sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded after step S702 becomes equal to or less than the resources of the communication device.

[0213] Even if, as a result of repeating step S704, communication resources for data acquisition are allocated so as to achieve the lowest QoE for the user with that data acquisition importance, if the sum of the necessary communication resources that were not discarded exceeds the resources of the communication device, the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition for the user with that data acquisition importance is discarded, and the result of the communication resource allocation for data acquisition that has been calculated so far and that is not discarded and that connects to the communication device is determined, and then step S705 is proceeded to.

[0214] In step S705, similarly to step S105, if there is a communication device that has not yet executed step S702, the processing unit 31 executes the processing from step S702 onwards for the communication device that has not yet executed step S702. When the processing from step S702 onwards has been executed for all communication devices, if there is a user for whom resource allocation has not been determined in the processing from step S702 to step S704, it decides not to allocate resources to that user.

[0215] The communication resource allocation results for all data acquisition determined in the processes of steps S702 to S705 are notified to the data acquisition unit 2. After the notification, the total sum of the required communication resources calculated for each communication device is reset to zero.

[0216] In step S706, the data acquisition unit 2 acquires data based on the communication resource allocation result for data acquisition notified in step S705, similar to step S106.

[0217] According to the above embodiment, communication resources can be allocated so as not to reduce QoE while taking into consideration the importance of data acquisition. Furthermore, by not acquiring data with low importance, real-timeness and analytical accuracy can be improved, and resources can be allocated to acquiring data that could not be acquired in the past, which is expected to improve QoE.

[0218] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Data acquisition request unit 2 Data acquisition unit 3 Communication resource allocation determination unit 4 Interface unit 5 Communication device 4 Interface unit 31 Processing unit 32 Storage unit

Claims

1. A communication resource allocation device that determines a method for allocating communication resources of a communication device, comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires data from a plurality of users; a storage unit that stores a QoE characteristic, which is information representing the level of QoE for each service, and a data acquisition importance, which is information representing the importance of acquiring the data for each user; and a communication resource allocation determination unit that performs a priority allocation process for determining the allocation of the communication resources for data acquisition, giving priority to increasing the QoE characteristic of the user with a high data acquisition importance within a range not exceeding the communication resources of the communication device, based on the QoE characteristic for each service and the data acquisition importance for each user. A communication resource allocation device characterized by having these components.

2. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the communication resource allocation determination unit performs the priority allocation process so that the QoE characteristic of the user with a low data acquisition importance becomes low.

3. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the communication resource allocation determination unit calculates the communication resources for each user connected to the communication device, and repeatedly performs the priority allocation process in descending order of the data acquisition importance and the QoE characteristic until the sum of the calculated communication resources for each user becomes equal to or less than the communication resources of the communication device.

4. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 3, wherein the communication resource allocation determination unit performs the priority allocation process so that the communication resources for each user become minimum.

5. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the level of QoE of the QoE characteristic is set using a throughput threshold for data acquisition.

6. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, further comprising an interface unit that displays the QoE characteristic for each service, the data acquisition importance for each user, and the allocation result of the communication resources for each user.

7. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources based on a change in the QoE characteristic or the data acquisition importance.

8. The communication resource allocation device according to claim 1, wherein the communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources based on the wireless communication environment for each user.

9. The communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources based on data acquired by the user in the past. The communication resource allocation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

10. The communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources based on the real-time performance required for each service. The communication resource allocation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

11. The communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources using a score based on the importance of data acquisition. The communication resource allocation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

12. The communication resource allocation determination unit changes the allocation of the communication resources based on a parameter that affects the QoE characteristics. The communication resource allocation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that.

13. A communication resource allocation system in which at least one communication device and a communication resource allocation apparatus are connected via a communication line, the communication resource allocation system comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires data from a plurality of users; a storage unit that stores QoE characteristics, which are information indicating the level of QoE for each service, and data acquisition importance, which is information indicating the level of importance of acquiring the data for each user; and a communication resource allocation determination unit that performs a priority allocation process of determining the allocation of the communication resources for data acquisition, giving priority to increasing the QoE characteristics of the user with a high data acquisition importance within a range not exceeding the communication resources of the communication device, based on the QoE characteristics for each service and the data acquisition importance for each user. A communication resource allocation system, characterized by comprising.

14. A plurality of the communication devices are connected via the communication line, and the communication resource allocation determination unit determines the allocation of the communication resources for each communication device. The communication resource allocation system according to claim 13, characterized in that.

15. A communication resource allocation method for determining a communication resource allocation method of a communication device, comprising: a data acquisition step of acquiring data from a plurality of users by a data acquisition unit; a storage step of storing, in a storage unit, a QoE characteristic which is information representing the level of QoE for each service, and the data acquisition importance which is information representing the importance of acquiring the data for each user; and a communication resource allocation determination step of performing a priority allocation process of determining the allocation of the communication resources for data acquisition, giving priority to increasing the QoE characteristic of the user with a high data acquisition importance within a range not exceeding the communication resources of the communication device, based on the QoE characteristic for each service and the data acquisition importance for each user by a communication resource allocation determination unit. A communication resource allocation method characterized by comprising the above steps.

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