Controller, audio system, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To play back music to enable a comfortable awakening at a wake-up time.　[Solution] A wireless terminal 2 acquires biological information regarding a user from a wearable device 3 a prescribed time before a wake-up time, and if there are unselected music pieces among playback candidates that are associated with a physical condition indicated by the acquired biological information, then selects a music piece to be played back from the unselected music pieces, and if all the playback candidates have already been selected, then selects a music piece to be played back from the playback candidates on the basis of the degree of improvement in the physical condition indicated by biological information regarding the user before and after awakening. The wireless terminal 2 then outputs, to a wireless speaker 1, a playback instruction which involves the designation of the music piece to be played back and the wake-up time, and causes the wireless speaker 1 to play back the music piece to be played back at the wake-up time. The wireless terminal 2 also acquires the biological information regarding the user a prescribed time after the wake-up time from the wearable device 3, and stores this biological information after the wake-up and the biological information before the awakening in association with the music piece to be played back.

Description

Controllers, audio systems, and programs

[0001] The present invention relates to an audio system having an alarm function, and more particularly to a controller used in an audio system having an alarm function.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses an alarm system that can provide a more comfortable wake-up experience. This alarm system predicts the time period during which the user is in REM sleep based on the user's biological information acquired over time. If the predicted time periods include a time period that includes the planned wake-up time set by the user, that time period is identified as the wake-up time period. If no such time period exists, the system identifies the time period closest to the planned wake-up time as the wake-up time period. The system then determines the time closest to the planned wake-up time within the wake-up time period as the wake-up time. The system then acquires the user's biological information at the wake-up time and plays and outputs music corresponding to the acquired biological information to prompt the user to wake up.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-311534

[0004] However, the alarm system described in Patent Document 1 may cause a discrepancy between the planned wake-up time set by the user and the actual wake-up time when music is played and output. Therefore, it is not suitable for users who want to accurately set their wake-up time, i.e., users who want to wake up reliably at the time they set. Furthermore, although the system acquires the user's biometric information at the wake-up time and plays and outputs music according to the acquired biometric information, it is unclear whether the music truly contributes to a comfortable wake-up.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology for playing music so that a person can wake up comfortably at the wake-up time.

[0006] To solve the above problem, in the present invention, a controller of an audio device stores music information for multiple candidate songs for playback for each user's physical condition, and also stores biometric information of the user before and after waking up, linked to music information for songs played on the audio device. The controller acquires the user's latest biometric information from a wearable device that monitors the user's biometric information a predetermined time before the user's wake-up time. If there are any unselected songs among the candidate songs for playback linked to the physical condition indicated by the acquired biometric information, the controller selects a song from among the unselected songs. If all songs have been selected, the controller selects a song from the candidate songs for playback based on the degree of improvement in the user's physical condition indicated by the biometric information before and after waking up, and outputs a playback instruction to the audio device, including music information for the selected song and a specified wake-up time. In response to this, the audio device plays and outputs the song specified in the playback instruction when the wake-up time specified in the playback instruction arrives. Next, a predetermined time after the wake-up time, the controller acquires the user's latest biometric information from the wearable device and stores this biometric information after waking up together with the biometric information before waking up, linked to the music information of the music specified in the playback instruction.

[0007] For example, the present invention provides a controller for an audio device, comprising: a music information storage means storing music information for multiple pieces of music to be played back for each physical condition of a user; a biometric information storage means storing biometric information of the user before and after waking up, linked to music information for music played back by the audio device; a biometric information acquisition means acquiring the biometric information of the user from a wearable device that monitors the biometric information of the user a predetermined time before or after the wake-up time; and a music selection means that, if there is an unselected piece of music among the pieces of music to be played back, the music information of which is stored in the music information storage means linked to the physical condition indicated by the biometric information acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means before the predetermined time before the wake-up time, selects a piece of music from among the unselected pieces of music, or, if all pieces have been selected, references the biometric information storage means and selects a piece of music from the pieces of music to be played back based on the degree of improvement in the physical condition indicated by the biometric information before and after waking up. The system includes a playback instruction means for outputting to the audio device a playback instruction accompanied by song information of the song selected by the song selection means and the wake-up time specification, and a biometric information update means for linking the biometric information of the user before and after waking up acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means to the song information of the song specified in the playback instruction and storing the linked information in the biometric information storage means.

[0008] In this invention, if all of the playback candidates linked to the physical condition indicated by the user's latest biometric information obtained from the wearable device a predetermined time before the wake-up time have been selected, a song is selected from these playback candidates based on the degree of improvement in the user's biometric information before and after waking up due to music playback, and the audio device is caused to play this selected song when the user wakes up. Therefore, according to this invention, the more music is played when the user wakes up, the more music can be selected that is expected to improve the user's physical condition when they wake up, and music can be played to help the user wake up comfortably.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of operation of the audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of operation of the audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a continuation of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of a wireless speaker 1. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the wireless speaker 1. FIG. 6 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of a wireless terminal 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered content in a music information storage unit 202. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an example of registered content in a biometric information storage unit 203. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of the wireless terminal 2. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating the music selection process S302 of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating the malfunction cause / countermeasure confirmation process S308 of FIG. 9.

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an audio system according to the present embodiment.

[0012] As shown in the figure, the audio system according to this embodiment is configured to include a wireless speaker 1, a wireless terminal 2, a wearable device 3, and a media server 4. The media server 4 is connected to a network 5 such as a local area network (LAN). The wireless speaker 1, the wireless terminal 2, and the wearable device 3 are connected to the network 5 via wireless connections with an access point 6. The network 5 is connected to the Internet 8 via a gateway 7. Note that the media server 4 may be installed on the Internet 8 side.

[0013] The wireless speaker 1 acquires, plays, and outputs audio data of music from the media server 4. The wireless terminal 2 functions as a remote controller for the wireless speaker 1. The wearable device 3 is, for example, a smart watch, and periodically measures the user's biological information (body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen concentration, etc.). In addition, the wearable device 3 transmits the measured latest biological information of the user to the wireless terminal 2 in response to a request from the wireless terminal 2. The media server 4 transmits the audio data of music to the wireless speaker 1 in response to a request from the wireless speaker 1.

[0014] 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams for explaining an example of the operation of the audio system according to the present embodiment.

[0015] When the wireless device 2 detects that it is a predetermined time (e.g., three minutes) before the wake-up time preset by the user (S100), it transmits a biometric information request to the wearable device 3 (S101). In response to this, the wearable device 3 transmits the latest measured biometric information of the user to the wireless device 2 as the biometric information of the user before waking up (S102).

[0016] Next, when the wireless terminal 2 receives the biometric information of the user before waking up from the wearable device 3, it identifies the user's physical condition (good, normal, poor) before waking up based on the biometric information (S103). Specifically, if the values ​​of all items of biometric information (body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen concentration, etc.) are within a reference range determined based on the user's gender, age, etc., the user's physical condition before waking up is identified as "good." Furthermore, if there is an item of biometric information whose value is outside the reference range, the user's physical condition before waking up is identified as "normal" if the deviation of the value from the reference range is within a predetermined range, and the user's physical condition before waking up is identified as "poor" if the deviation is outside the predetermined range.

[0017] The wireless terminal 2 then stores multiple pieces of song information (such as song titles) for the playback candidate songs for each user's physical condition, and selects a song to be played on the wireless speaker 1 at the wake-up time from among the playback candidates linked to the user's physical condition before waking up (S104). Specifically, if there is an unselected song among the playback candidates linked to the user's physical condition before waking up, any song is selected as the playback candidate from among these unselected songs. On the other hand, if all of the playback candidates linked to the user's physical condition before waking up have been selected as playback candidates, the song to be played from among these playback candidates is selected based on the degree of improvement in the user's physical condition indicated by the user's biometric information before and after waking up when these playback candidates are played at the wake-up time.

[0018] Next, the wireless terminal 2 transmits to the wireless speaker 1 a reproduction instruction including the music information of the music to be reproduced and a wake-up time preset by the user (S105).

[0019] Next, when the wireless speaker 1 receives a playback instruction from the wireless terminal 2 specifying the song to be played and the wake-up time, it monitors for the arrival of the wake-up time. When it detects the arrival of the wake-up time (S106), it transmits a distribution request to the media server 4 specifying the song information of the song to be played specified in the playback instruction (S107). In response to this, the media server 4 starts distributing the audio data of the song to be played specified in the distribution request to the wireless speaker 1 (S108). The wireless speaker 1 then starts playing and outputting the audio data of the song to be played that was distributed from the media server 4 (S109).

[0020] Next, when the wireless device 2 detects that a predetermined time (e.g., three minutes) has passed since the wake-up time preset by the user (S110), it transmits a biometric information request to the wearable device 3 (S111). In response to this, the wearable device 3 transmits the latest measured biometric information of the user to the wireless device 2 as the biometric information of the user after waking up (S112).

[0021] Then, the wireless device 2 associates the user's pre-wake-up biometric information received from the wearable device 3 in S102 and the user's post-wake-up biometric information received from the wearable device 3 in S112 with the music piece selected for playback in S104 and stores them (S113). The wireless device 2 also determines the user's post-wake-up physical condition based on the user's post-wake-up biometric information, and checks whether the user's post-wake-up physical condition is "poor." Here, it is assumed that the user's post-wake-up physical condition is "poor" (S114). In this case, the wireless device 2 sends a mute command to the wireless speaker 1 (S115). In response to this, the wireless speaker 1 mutes the music being played (S116).

[0022] Next, the wireless terminal 2 outputs a voice message inquiring whether the cause of the malfunction needs to be confirmed (S117) and accepts from the user whether the cause of the malfunction needs to be confirmed. Here, it is assumed that the user has selected "Yes" for the question of whether the cause of the malfunction needs to be confirmed (S118). In response to this, the wireless terminal 2 searches for the cause of the user's malfunction and how to deal with it, for example, using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) chatbot service (S119). Specifically, the wireless terminal 2 accesses a predetermined website that provides an AI chatbot service via the Internet 8 and searches for possible causes of the malfunction and how to deal with them using the user's biometric information after waking up and pre-registered user attribute information (gender, age, residential area, etc.) as search terms. Then, upon receiving the search results for the causes of the malfunction and how to deal with them (S120), the wireless terminal 2 outputs the search results by voice (S121).

[0023] Then, the wireless terminal 2 transmits a mute cancel command to the wireless speaker 1 (S122). In response to this command, the wireless speaker 1 cancels the mute of the playback sound if the audio data of the song to be played is currently being played back (S123).

[0024] Next, the wireless speaker 1 and the wireless terminal 2 that constitute the audio system according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0025] Note that an existing wearable device having a function for measuring biological information and a function for transmitting the measured biological information can be used as the wearable device 3. Furthermore, an existing media server that distributes audio data of the music specified in the distribution request to the distribution request source can be used as the media server 4. Therefore, detailed descriptions of the wearable device 3 and the media server 4 will be omitted.

[0026] First, the wireless speaker 1 will be described in detail.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1.

[0028] As shown in the figure, the wireless speaker 1 is configured to include a speaker unit 100 , a wireless interface unit 101 , a playback unit 102 , a volume adjustment unit 103 , and a main control unit 104 .

[0029] The speaker unit 100 outputs the playback data input from the volume adjustment unit 103 as sound.

[0030] The wireless interface unit 101 is an interface for wirelessly connecting to the access point 6 .

[0031] In accordance with instructions from the main control unit 104, the playback unit 102 sends a distribution request to the media server 4 via the wireless interface unit 101, receives audio data of the song from the media server 4, plays the received audio data of the song, and outputs the played data to the volume adjustment unit 103.

[0032] The volume adjustment unit 103 adjusts the volume of the playback data input from the playback unit 102 in accordance with instructions from the main control unit 104 and then outputs the data to the speaker unit 100 .

[0033] The main control unit 104 performs overall control over the units 100 to 103 of the wireless speaker 1. The main control unit 104 also notifies the playback unit 102 of song information for a song to be played back specified in a playback instruction received from the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 101, and instructs the playback unit 102 to play back the song. Furthermore, the main control unit 104 instructs the volume adjustment unit 103 to mute or unmute the playback volume in accordance with a mute instruction or unmute instruction received from the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 101.

[0034] The functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1 shown in Fig. 4 may be realized in hardware using an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or in software using a computer such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, it may be realized as a process in a general-purpose computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive, a communication device such as a NIC (Network Interface Controller), and a speaker, by the CPU loading a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device into the memory and executing it.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the wireless speaker 1.

[0036] When the main control unit 104 receives a playback instruction from the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 101 (YES in S200), it notifies the playback unit 102 of the song information of the song to be played that is specified in the playback instruction, and instructs the playback unit 102 to play it. In response to this, the playback unit 102 transmits a distribution request along with the specification of the song to be played that is notified by the main control unit 104 to the media server 4 via the wireless interface unit 101 (S201). Then, when it receives audio data of the song to be played from the media server 4 (S202), it starts playing this audio data. The volume of the playback data of the audio data played by the playback unit 102 is adjusted by the volume adjustment unit 103, and then the audio is output from the speaker unit 100 (S203).

[0037] Furthermore, when the main control unit 104 receives a mute instruction from the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 101 (YES in S204), it instructs the volume adjustment unit 103 to mute. In response to this, the volume adjustment unit 103 mutes the volume of the playback data input from the playback unit 102 (S205).

[0038] Furthermore, when the main control unit 104 receives a mute cancellation instruction from the wireless terminal 2 via the wireless interface unit 101 (YES in S206), it instructs the volume adjustment unit 103 to cancel the mute. In response to this, the volume adjustment unit 103 cancels the volume mute of the playback data input from the playback unit 102 (S207).

[0039] Next, the wireless terminal 2 will be described in detail.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of the wireless terminal 2.

[0041] As shown in the figure, the wireless terminal 2 is configured to include a radio interface unit 200, a man-machine interface unit 201, a music information storage unit 202, a biometric information storage unit 203, a biometric information acquisition unit 204, a music selection unit 205, a playback instruction unit 206, a biometric information update unit 207, a confirmation necessity reception unit 208, a cause search unit 209, and a search result output unit 210.

[0042] The wireless interface unit 200 is an interface for wirelessly connecting to the access point 6 .

[0043] The man-machine interface unit 201 is an interface for displaying information to the user and accepting various operations from the user, and has an input / output device such as a touch sensor display.

[0044] The music information storage unit 202 stores a plurality of pieces of music information that are candidates for playback and that have been selected in advance by the user for each physical condition of the user (good, normal, bad).

[0045] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the music information storage unit 202. As shown in FIG.

[0046] As shown in the figure, the music information storage unit 202 stores a table 2020 of playback candidates for each user's physical condition (good, normal, poor). The playback candidate table 2020 stores a record 2021 of music information for each playback candidate. The music information record 2021 has a field 2022 in which music information for the playback candidate is registered, and a field 2023 in which the music selection status of this playback candidate (selected or not selected) is registered.

[0047] Generally, if a user's physical condition before waking up is "good," playing up-tempo music such as rock music when waking up can be expected to wake up feeling refreshed. However, if a user's physical condition before waking up is "poor," playing up-tempo music when waking up can be unpleasant and stressful. In this case, playing slow-tempo music such as classical music when waking up can be expected to improve the user's mental and physical condition when waking up. Also, if a user's physical condition before waking up is "normal," playing medium-tempo music such as pop music when waking up can be expected to wake up feeling comfortable and calm. Taking these points into consideration, it is preferable for the user to register music information of favorite music as playback candidates in the music information storage unit 202 for each physical condition.

[0048] Each time the wireless speaker 1 plays a piece of music at the wake-up time, the biometric information storage unit 203 stores the user's physical condition before and after waking up in association with the piece of music.

[0049] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of registered contents in the biometric information storage unit 203. As shown in FIG.

[0050] As shown in the figure, a biometric information record 2030 is stored in the biometric information storage unit 203 each time a piece of music to be played is played at wake-up time. The biometric information record 2030 has a field 2031 in which music information of the music to be played is registered, a field 2032 in which the user's biometric information is registered, and a field 2033 in which the playback date of the music to be played is registered. Field 2032 has a subfield 2034 in which biometric information before waking up is registered, and a subfield 2035 in which biometric information after waking up is registered.

[0051] The biometric information acquisition unit 204 sends a biometric information request to the wearable device 3 via the wireless interface unit 200 a predetermined time before (e.g., 3 minutes before) or a predetermined time after (e.g., 3 minutes after) the wake-up time set by the user, and acquires the user's biometric information from the wearable device 3.

[0052] When the biometric information acquisition unit 204 acquires the biometric information of the user before waking up, the music selection unit 205 selects a piece of music to be played from among playback candidates stored in the music information storage unit 202 in association with the physical condition indicated by the biometric information.

[0053] The playback instruction unit 206 transmits a playback instruction to the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200, including song information of the song to be played selected by the song selection unit 205 and a specification of the wake-up time set by the user.

[0054] The biometric information update unit 207 associates the biometric information of the user acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204 before and after waking up with the music to be played selected by the music selection unit 205 and stores it in the biometric information storage unit 203.

[0055] When the user's physical condition indicated by the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204 after waking up is "unwell," the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 outputs a voice message to the user via the man-machine interface unit 201 inquiring whether or not the user needs to confirm the cause of the unwell physical condition and how to deal with it, and receives voice input from the user as to whether or not the user needs to confirm.

[0056] If the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 receives from the user a "yes" confirmation requirement, the cause search unit 209 accesses a predetermined website that provides an AI chatbot service on the Internet 8 via the wireless interface unit 200, and searches for possible causes of the poor health condition and how to deal with them using the user's biometric information after waking up and the user's pre-registered attribute information (gender, age, area of ​​residence, etc.) as search terms.

[0057] The search result output unit 210 outputs the cause of the poor physical condition searched for by the cause search unit 209 and the method of dealing with it by voice from the man-machine interface unit 201 .

[0058] The functional configuration of the wireless terminal 2 shown in Fig. 6, like the functional configuration of the wireless speaker 1 shown in Fig. 4, may be realized in hardware using an integrated logic IC such as an ASIC or FPGA, or in software using a computer such as a DSP. Alternatively, it may be realized as a process in a portable computer such as a smartphone or tablet PC that includes a CPU, memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory, and a wireless communication device such as a wireless LAN adapter, by the CPU loading a predetermined program from the auxiliary storage device into the memory and executing it.

[0059] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the wireless terminal 2.

[0060] This flow starts a predetermined time (for example, three minutes) before the wake-up time preset by the user.

[0061] First, the biometric information acquisition unit 204 transmits a biometric information request to the wearable device 3 via the wireless interface unit 200, and acquires the user's biometric information before waking up from the wearable device 3 (S300).

[0062] Next, the music selection unit 205 identifies the user's physical condition (good, normal, poor) before waking up based on the user's biometric information before waking up acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204 from the wearable device 3 (S301). Specifically, if the values ​​of all items of biometric information (body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen concentration, etc.) are within a reference range determined in advance according to the user's gender, age, etc., the music selection unit 205 identifies the user's physical condition before waking up as "good." Furthermore, if there is an item of biometric information whose value is outside the reference range, the music selection unit 205 identifies the user's physical condition before waking up as "normal" if the deviation of the value from the reference range is within a predetermined range, and identifies the user's physical condition before waking up as "poor" if the deviation is outside the predetermined range.

[0063] Then, the music selection unit 205 performs the music selection process S302 described below to select a music piece to be played when the user wakes up from a table 2020 of playback candidates stored in the music information storage unit 202 and linked to the user's physical condition before waking up.

[0064] Next, the reproduction instruction unit 206 transmits a reproduction instruction along with the music information of the music selected by the music selection unit 205 and the wake-up time to the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S303).

[0065] Thereafter, when a predetermined time (e.g., 3 minutes) has passed since the wake-up time (YES in S304), the biometric information acquisition unit 204 sends a biometric information request to the wearable device 3 via the wireless interface unit 200 and acquires the user's biometric information after waking up from the wearable device 3 (S305).

[0066] Next, the biometric information update unit 207 associates the music information of the music to be played selected by the music selection unit 205 and the biometric information of the user before and after waking up acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204 with today's date (playback date) and stores them in the biometric information storage unit 203 (S306). The biometric information update unit 207 also notifies the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 of the biometric information of the user after waking up acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204.

[0067] In response to this, the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 identifies the user's physical condition after waking up (good, normal, poor condition) by the same process as in S301 based on the user's biological information after waking up. If the user's physical condition after waking up is "poor condition" (YES in S307), the confirmation process for the cause of the malfunction and how to deal with it (described later) is carried out (S308).

[0068] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for explaining the music selection process S302 in FIG.

[0069] First, the music selection unit 205 identifies the records 2021 of the music information of the music pieces to be played that are registered in the table 2020 of music pieces to be played that are linked to the user's physical condition before waking up identified in S301 of Fig. 9 (S3020). Then, it is determined whether the music selection status "selected" is registered in the field 2023 of all the identified records 2021 (S3021).

[0070] Here, if there is at least one record 2021 in which the song selection status "not selected" is registered in field 2023 (NO in S3021), the song selection unit 205 selects one of the songs to be played from the songs identified by the record 2021 in which the song selection status "not selected" is registered as the song to be played (S3022).

[0071] On the other hand, if the song selection status "selected" is registered in field 2023 of all the identified records 2021 (YES in S3021), the song selection unit 205 refers to the biometric information storage unit 203 and determines the degree of improvement in physical condition after waking up for each of the playback candidate songs identified by the song information registered in field 2022 of all the identified records 2021 (S3023). Specifically, for each playback candidate song identified by the song information registered in field 2022 of all the identified records 2021, the biometric information record 2030 in which the song information is registered in field 2031 is extracted from the biometric information storage unit 203, and determines the degree of improvement in physical condition after waking up due to playing the playback candidate song based on the biometric information before and after waking up registered in subfields 2034 and 2035 of the record 2030. For example, for each item of biometric information (body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen concentration, etc.), the extent of improvement before and after waking up is calculated (if the value after waking up is closer to the ideal value than the value before waking up, it is set to +1, and if it is further away, it is set to -1), and the total of these values ​​is used as the improvement in physical condition before and after waking up. Here, if there are multiple biometric information records 2030 in which song information for the target playback candidate song is registered in field 2031, the average of the total values ​​calculated for each of these records 2030 is used as the improvement in physical condition after waking up. Then, the music selection unit 205 selects the playback candidate song that has the greatest improvement in physical condition after waking up as the song to be played (S3024).

[0072] The music selection unit 205 passes the music information of the music to be played back selected as described above to the playback instruction unit 206 .

[0073] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram for explaining the malfunction cause / measure confirmation process S308 of FIG.

[0074] First, the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 transmits a mute instruction to the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S3080), and if the wireless speaker 1 is reproducing music, causes the wireless speaker 1 to mute the reproduced sound.

[0075] Next, the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 outputs an inquiry message asking whether the cause of the malfunction and a solution to the malfunction need to be confirmed by voice from the man-machine interface unit 201 (S3081), and receives whether the confirmation need is from the user via the man-machine interface unit 201 (S3082). If the confirmation need received from the user is "not required" (confirmation need: "not required" in S3082), this flow ends. On the other hand, if the confirmation need is "required" (confirmation need: "required" in S3082), the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 passes the biometric information of the user after waking up received from the biometric information update unit 207 to the cause search unit 209, and instructs it to search for the cause of the malfunction and a solution to the malfunction.

[0076] In response to this, the cause search unit 209 accesses, via the wireless interface unit 200, for example, a predetermined website on the Internet 8 that provides an AI chatbot service, and searches for possible causes of the malfunction and methods of dealing with them using the user's biometric information after waking up received from the biometric information update unit 207 and pre-registered user attribute information (gender, age, residential area, etc.) as search terms (S3083).The search result output unit 210 then outputs the causes of the malfunction and methods of dealing with them found by the cause search unit 209 as voice output from the man-machine interface unit 201 (S3084).

[0077] Thereafter, the confirmation necessity receiving unit 208 transmits a mute cancel instruction to the wireless speaker 1 via the wireless interface unit 200 (S3085), causing the wireless speaker 1 to cancel the mute of the reproduced sound.

[0078] One embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0079] In this embodiment, when all of the candidate songs to be played that are linked to the physical condition indicated by the user's biometric information (biometric information before waking up) obtained from the wearable device 3 a predetermined time before the wake-up time set by the user have been selected, the wireless device 2 selects a song to be played from these candidate songs based on the degree of improvement in the user's physical condition before and after waking up, and causes the wireless speaker 1 to play this song at the wake-up time. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to select a song that is expected to improve the user's physical condition the more the song is played at wake-up, and thereby play music that will allow the user to wake up comfortably.

[0080] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the user's post-waking biometric information acquired from the wearable device 3 indicates "illness," the wireless device 2 outputs an inquiry message asking whether the cause of the illness and a remedy for the illness need to be confirmed, and receives a response from the user. If the user's response indicates "yes," the wireless device 2 accesses a predetermined website on the Internet 8 that provides an AI chatbot service, searches for possible causes of the illness and a remedy for the illness using the user's post-waking biometric information and pre-registered user attribute information (gender, age, residential area, etc.) as search terms, and outputs the search results. Therefore, according to this embodiment, if the user's physical condition after waking is "ill," the wireless device 2 can quickly obtain reference information regarding the cause and a remedy for the illness, improving convenience.

[0081] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the wireless speaker 1 receives a playback instruction from the wireless terminal 2, it acquires the music piece specified in the playback instruction from the media server 4, plays it, and outputs it at the wake-up time specified in the playback instruction. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the wireless speaker 1 itself does not need to store audio data of the music pieces to be played in advance, which allows the storage capacity of the wireless speaker 1 to be reduced, thereby reducing costs.

[0082] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0083] For example, in the above embodiment, when the user's physical condition, determined from the biometric information acquired from the wearable device 3 after waking up, indicates "illness," the wireless device 2 outputs an inquiry message asking whether the cause of the illness and a solution to the illness need to be checked, and receives an answer from the user. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The wireless device 2 may transmit the inquiry message asking whether the cause of the illness and a solution to the illness need to be checked to the wireless speaker 1, and the wireless speaker 1 may output the inquiry message received from the wireless device 2 as voice. In this case, the wireless speaker 1 may receive the user's voice input indicating whether the inquiry needs to be checked, and transmit the voice recognition result indicating whether the inquiry needs to be checked to the wireless device 2. The wireless device 2 may also transmit the search results for the cause of the illness and a solution to the wireless speaker 1, and output the result as voice from the wireless speaker 1.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the wireless speaker 1 receives a playback instruction from the wireless terminal 2, it acquires the music to be played specified in the playback instruction from the media server 4, and plays and outputs it at the wake-up time specified in the playback instruction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the wireless speaker 1 receives a playback instruction from the wireless terminal 2, it may acquire the music to be played specified in the playback instruction from the media server 4 prior to the wake-up time specified in the playback instruction, and play and output the music to be played when the wake-up time arrives. In this way, it is possible to more accurately play the music to be played at the wake-up time.

[0085] In addition, in the above embodiment, the wireless interface unit 200 of the wireless terminal 2 may be changed to a connection interface unit with the main control unit 104 of the wireless speaker 1, and each unit of the wireless terminal 2 may be built into the wireless speaker 1, thereby integrating the wireless terminal 2 with the wireless speaker 1.

[0086] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the music information storage unit 202, the biometric information storage unit 203, and the music selection unit 205 may be omitted from the wireless terminal 2 and provided in the media server 4, so that the music to be played at the wake-up time can be selected by the media server 4. In this case, in the wireless terminal 2, the biometric information acquisition unit 204 transmits the biometric information of the user before waking up, acquired from the wearable device 3, to the media server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200, and the playback instruction unit 206 receives the music information of the music to be played from the media server 4 via the wireless interface unit 200, and transmits a playback instruction to the wireless speaker 1, including the music information of the music to be played and a specified wake-up time. Furthermore, the biometric information update unit 207 transmits to the media server 4 a biometric information registration request including the biometric information of the user before and after waking up acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 204 and the music information of the music to be played received from the media server 4. Meanwhile, in the wireless speaker 1, the music selection unit 205 refers to the music information storage unit 202 and the biometric information storage unit 203, selects music to be played in accordance with the physical condition indicated by the biometric information of the user before waking up received from the wireless terminal 2, and transmits the music information to the wireless terminal 2. Furthermore, the main control unit 104 stores the biometric information of the user before and after waking up and the music information included in the biometric information registration request received from the wireless terminal 2 in the biometric information storage unit 203, linking them together.

[0087] In the above embodiment, the wireless terminal 2 functions as a controller for the wireless speaker 1 wirelessly connected to the network 5 via the access point 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is widely applicable to controllers for audio devices equipped with an alarm function that plays music at a wake-up time set by the user.

[0088] 1: Wireless speaker 2: Wireless terminal 3: Wearable device 4: Media server 5: Network 6: Access point 7: Gateway 8: Internet 100: Speaker unit 101: Wireless interface unit 102: Playback unit 103: Volume adjustment unit 104: Main control unit 200: Wireless interface unit 201: Man-machine interface unit 202: Music information storage unit 203: Biometric information storage unit 204: Biometric information acquisition unit 205: Music selection unit 206: Playback instruction unit 207: Biometric information update unit 208: Confirmation necessity reception unit 209: Cause search unit 210: Search result output unit

Claims

1. A controller for an audio device, comprising: a music information storage means storing music information for multiple pieces of music to be played back for each physical condition of a user; a biometric information storage means storing biometric information of the user before and after waking up, linked to music information for music played back on the audio device; a biometric information acquisition means acquiring the biometric information of the user from a wearable device that monitors the biometric information of the user a predetermined time before or after the wake-up time; and a music selection means that, if there is an unselected piece of music among the pieces of music to be played back, the music information of which is stored in the music information storage means linked to the physical condition indicated by the biometric information acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means before the predetermined time before the wake-up time, selects a piece of music from among the unselected pieces of music; and, if all pieces have been selected, refers to the biometric information storage means and selects a piece of music from the pieces of music to be played back based on the degree of improvement in the physical condition indicated by the biometric information before and after waking up. a playback instruction means for outputting to the audio device a playback instruction accompanied by song information of a song selected by the song selection means and a specification of the wake-up time; and a biometric information update means for linking biometric information of the user before and after waking up, acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means, to the song information of the song specified in the playback instruction, and storing the biometric information in the biometric information storage means.

2. A controller as described in claim 1, further comprising: a confirmation necessity receiving means for, when the biometric information of the user after waking up acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquiring means indicates poor physical condition, outputting an inquiry message asking whether the cause of the illness and how to deal with it are to be confirmed and receiving from the user whether or not the user needs to be confirmed; a cause searching means for searching the Internet for the cause of the user's illness and how to deal with it using the biometric information of the user after waking up and pre-registered attribute information of the user including gender, age, and area of ​​residence as search words when the confirmation necessity received by the confirmation necessity receiving means is "yes"; and a search result output means for outputting the search results of the cause searching means.

3. A controller as described in claim 2, wherein the confirmation necessity receiving means transmits the inquiry message to the audio device and outputs it from the audio device, and receives from the audio device the cause of the malfunction and the solution to the malfunction that the user has input to the audio device, and wherein the search result output means transmits the search results to the audio device and outputs them from the audio device.

4. An audio system comprising a controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and an audio device, wherein the audio device, when receiving the playback instruction from the controller, acquires the music specified in the playback instruction from a media server, plays it, and outputs it at the wake-up time specified in the playback instruction.

5. A program that causes a computer to function as a controller for an audio device, comprising: a music information storage means that stores music information for multiple pieces of music that are candidates for playback for each physical condition of a user; a biometric information storage means that stores biometric information of the user before and after waking up, linked to music information for music played on the audio device; a biometric information acquisition means that acquires the biometric information of the user from a wearable device that monitors the biometric information of the user a predetermined time before or after the wake-up time; a music selection means that, if there is an unselected piece of music among the pieces of music that are candidates for playback and whose music information is stored in the music information storage means linked to the physical condition indicated by the biometric information acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means a predetermined time before the wake-up time, selects a piece of music from among the unselected pieces of music; and, if all pieces have been selected, refers to the biometric information storage means and selects a piece of music from the pieces of music that are candidates for playback based on the degree of improvement in the physical condition indicated by the biometric information before and after waking up. a playback instruction means for outputting to the audio device a playback instruction accompanied by song information of the song selected by the song selection means and the wake-up time specification, and a biometric information update means for linking the biometric information of the user before and after waking up acquired from the wearable device by the biometric information acquisition means to the song information of the song specified in the playback instruction and storing the linked information in the biometric information storage means.

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