Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an information processing system and the like that have advantages for users. [Solution] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing system. The information processing system comprises a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute the following steps. A display control step for displaying a first screen at a user terminal that is owned by a user, the first screen including both a first area and a second area, the first area including at least one of (1α) an area that includes a digital ticket for a means of transportation and (1β) an area that includes an object for displaying a digital ticket for a means of transportation, and the second area including at least one of (2α) an area that displays an advertisement and (2β) an area that includes an object for displaying an advertisement. An acquisition step for acquiring a display history for advertisements displayed by the user terminal. An awarding step for awarding a benefit to the user in accordance with the acquired display history.

Description

Information processing system, information processing method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, systems for distributing advertisements and the like that are tailored to user demand have been developed. In this regard, Patent Literature 1 discloses an information processing device and the like that clarifies the merits of users viewing advertisements and improves the viewing rate of advertisements.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-46931

[0004] However, there is still room for development of technologies that are beneficial to users.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an information processing system and the like that is advantageous to users.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided. The information processing system includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute the following steps: In the display control step, a first screen is displayed on a user terminal owned by a user. In the first screen, a first area and a second area are displayed within the same screen. The first area includes at least one of (1α) an area where a digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged; and (1β) an area where an object that displays the digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged. The second area includes at least one of (2α) an area where advertising material is displayed; and (2β) an area where an object that displays the advertising material is arranged. In the acquisition step, a display history of the user terminal displaying the advertising material is acquired. In the granting step, a benefit is granted to the user according to the acquired display history.

[0007] According to the above aspect, an information processing system or the like that is beneficial to the user is provided.

[0008] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a user terminal 2. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a server 3. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functions realized by a control unit 33 and the like in the server 3. FIG. 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed on the user terminal 2. FIG. 7 is an example of a first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. FIG. 8 is an example of a screen displaying advertising material displayed on the user terminal 2. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2 in the second embodiment.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, etc. Various features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other to the extent that no technical contradiction occurs.

[0010] [First Embodiment] That is, an information processing system of this embodiment is as follows: An information processing system comprising: a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the following steps: a display control step causes a user terminal owned by a user to display a first screen, wherein the first screen displays a first area and a second area within the same screen, wherein the first area includes at least one of: (1α) an area in which a digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged; and (1β) an area in which an object for displaying the digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged, and the second area includes at least one of: (2α) an area in which advertising material is displayed; and (2β) an area in which an object for displaying advertising material is arranged, wherein an acquisition step acquires a display history of the user terminal displaying the advertising material, and wherein an award step awards a benefit to the user in accordance with the acquired display history.

[0011] Incidentally, a program for realizing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0012] Furthermore, various information processing according to an embodiment may realize input and output corresponding to the input. Here, the form of information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as reference information) is not limited as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, or a predetermined function (including a decision formula such as a regression formula constructed using a statistical method), a trained model that has previously trained the correlation between input and output, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0013] In one embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In one embodiment, various information is handled, and this information is represented, for example, by physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage or current, high or low signal values ​​as a binary bit set consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculations can be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0014] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by at least an appropriate combination of a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. That is, it includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0015] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described.

[0016] 1.1 Information Processing System 1 Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 1 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes a user terminal 2 and a server 3, which are connected via a network 4. These components will be further described. Note that a system exemplified as the information processing system 1 is made up of one or more devices or components. Therefore, even the server 3 alone is an example of a system.

[0017] 1.2 User Terminal 2 The user terminal 2 is a terminal carried by a user in this embodiment. For example, the user terminal 2 may be a smartphone, tablet terminal, computer, etc., but the details are not limited thereto. Note that in FIG. 1, the user terminal 2 is depicted as a collection of individual smartphones (2-1, 2-2, ... 2-n), but in this specification, an individual terminal may also be referred to as the user terminal 2.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 20 inside the user terminal 2. The description of the communication unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the control unit 23 will be omitted as they are substantially the same as the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the control unit 33 in the server 3, which will be described later.

[0019] The display unit 24 may be, for example, included in the housing of the user terminal 2 or may be externally attached. The display unit 24 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by selectively using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a plasma display depending on the type of user terminal 2. Here, the display unit 24 will be described as being included in the housing of the user terminal 2.

[0020] The input unit 25 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 2, or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 25 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 24. A touch panel allows the user to input tapping, swiping, and the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be used instead of a touch panel. That is, the input unit 25 accepts an operation input made by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 23 via the communication bus 20, and the control unit 23 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0021] The user terminal 2 may have a function for transmitting latitude and longitude information. Specifically, the user terminal 2 may have a function (positioning system) capable of transmitting signals such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). The user terminal 2 may also have a camera function for reading codes, for example, or a reader capable of reading various tags such as NFC (Near Field Communication) tags.

[0022] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 3. The server 3 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 30 inside the server 3. Each component will be further described below.

[0023] The communication unit 31 is preferably a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE 1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), or wired LAN network communication, but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 3G / LTE / 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like, as needed. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of multiple communication means. That is, the server 3 communicates various information with the user terminal 2 via the communication unit 31 and the network 4.

[0024] The memory unit 32 stores various pieces of information defined above. This may be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to program calculations. Alternatively, a combination of these may be used. In particular, the memory unit 32 stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33.

[0025] The control unit 33 processes and controls the overall operations related to the server 3. The control unit 33 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown). The control unit 33 realizes various functions related to the server 3 by reading out predetermined programs stored in the storage unit 32. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33. This will be described in more detail in Section 2. Note that the control unit 33 is not limited to being single, and multiple control units 33 may be provided for each function. A combination of these may also be used.

[0026] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment. As described above, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33.

[0027] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 33 and the like in the server 3. Specifically, the server 3, which is an example of the information processing system 1, includes a display control unit 331, an acquisition unit 332, and an assignment unit 333. Fig. 4 shows an aspect in which the functions included in the server 3 include an operation information acquisition unit 334, a calculation unit 335, a selection unit 336, a payment registration unit 337, and a memory management unit 338.

[0028] The display control unit 331 is configured to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 331 is configured to generate various display information and control display content viewable by the user. The display information may be information itself generated in a user-viewable format, such as a screen, an image, an icon, or text, or may be rendering information for displaying a screen, an image, an icon, or text on the user terminal 2, for example. In this embodiment, the display control unit 331 displays a first screen on the user terminal 2 owned by the user as the display control step. Here, the first screen displays a first area and a second area within the same screen. The first area includes at least one of (1α) an area where a digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged and (1β) an area where an object displaying the digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged. The second area includes at least one of (2α) an area where advertising material is displayed and (2β) an area where an object displaying the advertising material is arranged. Details will be described later.

[0029] The acquisition unit 332 is configured to be able to execute an acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 332 accepts various information and data. In this embodiment, the acquisition unit 332 acquires a display history of advertising material displayed by the user terminal 2. Specific processing for this will be described later.

[0030] The granting unit 333 is configured to be able to execute a granting step. In the granting step, the granting unit 333 grants a benefit to the user in accordance with the acquired display history. Specific processing for this will be described later.

[0031] The operation information acquisition unit 334 is configured to be able to execute an operation information acquisition step. In the operation information acquisition step, the operation information acquisition unit 334 acquires information related to the operation of transportation. Specific processing for this will be described later.

[0032] The calculation unit 335 is configured to be able to execute calculation steps. In the calculation steps, the calculation unit 335 performs various calculations based on various values ​​acquired or stored by the server 3.

[0033] The selection unit 336 is configured to be able to execute a selection step. In the selection step, the selection unit 336 selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on various information. The selection process will be described in more detail later.

[0034] The payment registration unit 337 is configured to be able to execute a payment registration step. In the payment registration step, the payment registration unit 337 registers that the user has made payments for various expenses. The control unit 33 can control the content of this registration to be stored in the memory unit 32 in the server 3.

[0035] The memory management unit 338 is configured to be able to execute a memory management step. In the memory management step, the memory management unit 338 is configured to manage various pieces of information to be stored that are related to the information processing of this embodiment. Typically, the memory management unit 338 is configured to store information handled by the server 3 in a memory area. This memory area is exemplified by the memory unit 32 of the server 3 or the memory units of various devices and terminals, but this memory area does not necessarily have to be within the system shown in FIG. 1 , and the memory management unit 338 can also manage various pieces of information to be stored in an external storage device or the like.

[0036] 3. Information Processing Method In this section, each step of the information processing method executed by the information processing system 1 described above will be explained, with appropriate reference to activity diagrams.

[0037] 5 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to this embodiment. The information processing according to this embodiment is typically performed in a situation where a user who owns the user terminal 2 can use a transportation ticket (digital ticket). That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the information processing method according to this embodiment, first, the payment registration unit 337 registers that the user has made a purchase payment for a transportation ticket (activity A101).

[0038] This payment registration may be achieved by various methods, but illustratively, it is achieved by the user accessing a platform capable of handling transportation tickets with the user terminal 2 and purchasing a predetermined ticket through the platform. In this specification, an explanation will be given using an example in which the user purchases a ticket for the "Patent Plateau Bus" and a ticket for the "Trademark Mountain Railway," as shown in Figure 6.

[0039] FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen displayed on the user terminal 2. The display screen D1 in FIG. 6 is a screen for managing tickets that can be used on the platform described above. As shown in FIG. 6, the display screen D1 displays the types of tickets that the user can use. Note that the display screen D1 displays buttons BT1 and BT2 labeled "Display Ticket" in association with each ticket item. These buttons BT1 and BT2 function as objects for displaying so-called visually inspected tickets (digital tickets). Note that more specific aspects of digital tickets will be described later with reference to FIG. 7 etc.

[0040] The means of transportation for which a ticket can be purchased by a user is not limited to buses and trains (railroads). In other words, the "means of transportation" in this embodiment may be any type of transportation that can be boarded or disembarked with a ticket, such as a tram, subway, airplane, ship, ferry, pleasure boat, water bus, cable car, monorail, etc.

[0041] When the user touches the display screen D1, the user taps or presses the button BT1 to transition to the first screen displaying the digital ticket, etc. That is, upon receiving a request to display the first screen from the user terminal 2, the server 3 causes the user terminal 2 to display the first screen (activity A102).

[0042] 7 is an example of a first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. As described above, the first screen displays a first area and a second area within the same screen. The first area includes at least one of (1α) an area where a digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged; and (1β) an area where an object that displays the digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged. The second area includes at least one of (2α) an area where advertising material is displayed; and (2β) an area where an object that displays advertising material is arranged.

[0043] 7 shows a display screen D2 in which a first region Rg1 (1α) includes a region in which a digital ticket for a means of transportation is arranged, and a second region Rg2 (2α) includes a region in which an advertisement is displayed. Note that the "region in which an object for displaying the advertisement is arranged (2β)" is exemplified by a region in which an object (such as an operation button) for transitioning to a screen (another screen) in which the advertisement is displayed is arranged.

[0044] A user who views the display screen D2 of Fig. 7 can request to view the advertising material by tapping or otherwise pressing the button BT3 in the second region Rg2. Fig. 8 is an example of a screen displaying the advertising material displayed on the user terminal 2. That is, the example of Fig. 8 shows a mode in which the advertising material is displayed in the second region Rg2 when the user presses the button BT3 in the second region Rg2. In this way, the advertising material of this embodiment may be configured to allow the user to select whether or not to view the advertising material depending on the user's terminal operation.

[0045] Note that the advertising material displayed on the user terminal 2 may be any type. Alternatively, the selection unit 336 of the server 3 may be configured to select advertising material to be displayed to the user based on various information. For example, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material according to the transportation means or ticket details used by the user. That is, since the area in which the user is active is identified from the transportation means or ticket details, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material that has an affinity with the area in which the user is active. Furthermore, the selection unit 336 may be configured to select advertising material according to user attributes. These user attributes may be various, but typically, the user attributes may include information on one or more selected from the group consisting of the user's address, age, gender, occupation, financial resources, family structure, nationality, preferred language, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past travel history, type of device used, and IP address. These information can be acquired and stored by the user performing various operations on the user terminal 2. Typically, the server 3 may be configured to request the user to input these attributes when using the platform. Alternatively, the server 3 may be configured to infer user attributes based on the status of service provision within the platform. For example, "family composition" may be inferred from the number of tickets purchased. Furthermore, accepting nationality and language as user attributes may be achieved by having the user input relevant information, or by the server 3 acquiring the language used in the user terminal 2. Furthermore, accepting past information browsing history, past product purchase history, and past travel history as user attributes may be achieved by having the user input relevant information, or by the server 3 acquiring the information processing history of the user terminal 2 (typically, the information processing history stored in the memory unit 22). The "travel history" may be a history based on changes in location information managed by a positioning system such as a GPS provided in the user terminal 2, or a history based on the purchase history of transportation tickets previously purchased by the user terminal 2.In addition, accepting the type of terminal used and IP address as user attribute information may be achieved by having the user actually input information related to these, or may be achieved by the server 3 acquiring the usage environment of the user terminal 2.

[0046] Here, we will explain the expected viewing scenarios for the advertising material. Although not necessarily limited to this, the above-mentioned digital ticket is typically displayed on the user terminal 2 when the user gets on or off public transport. For this reason, it is typically expected that the above-mentioned first screen will be displayed just before the user gets on or off public transport (for example, while waiting for the bus at a bus stop, or just before getting off the bus while on board). On the other hand, since the user may have some spare time before the actual time to get on or off, this embodiment makes it easier for the user to view the advertising material during such times.

[0047] When the advertising material is displayed on the user terminal 2 in the above manner, the acquisition unit 332 of the server 3 acquires a display history of the advertising material displayed on the user terminal 2 (activity A103). Furthermore, the granting unit 333 of the server 3 grants a benefit to the user in accordance with the acquired display history (activity A104).

[0048] That is, in this embodiment, a user can be granted a reward according to the display history of the advertising material on the user terminal 2, but the conditions for granting a reward to a user may be set appropriately according to the degree of display of the advertising material. For example, the reward may be granted to a user on the condition that one advertising material is displayed, or on the condition that multiple advertising materials are displayed. Furthermore, the value of the reward may be varied according to the content of the advertising material.

[0049] The benefit awarded by the awarding unit 333 of the server 3 may be electronic goods such as points or electronic coupons, or may be other goods (actual goods), money, gift certificates, etc. In a typical example, the awarding unit 333 of the server 3 awards points to the user as a benefit. That is, in this embodiment, the awarding unit 333 of the server 3 is configured to identify the user terminal 2 and then award a predetermined benefit (points) according to the display history of the advertising material. In an exemplary aspect, the points may be configured to be accumulated in the platform described above. Alternatively, the points may be configured to be accumulated in an account designated by the user.

[0050] Such points may be converted into money or a predetermined item. Alternatively, points may be donated to a predetermined person, a predetermined organization, or a person belonging to a predetermined organization. A "predetermined person" may be a natural person or a group of natural persons, such as an idol, actor, writer, or athlete. Examples of a "predetermined organization" include a corporation or a local government such as a prefecture or city, and a "person belonging to a predetermined organization" may be a person (an employee or a civil servant) who belongs to the predetermined organization. In one aspect, points may be donated to the transportation facility related to the digital ticket or to a person belonging to the transportation facility. Using the example shown in FIG. 6 of the present application, points may be donated to the operator (company) of the transportation facility (Patent Kogen Bus, Trademark Mountain Railway) for which the ticket was purchased, or to an employee of the transportation facility (e.g., the driver, etc.).

[0051] Furthermore, if the benefit is an item or the like that is not electronic property, it may be configured to be delivered to the user as follows. For example, a screen for inputting a delivery address may be displayed separately on the user terminal 2, and the user may input predetermined information on this screen to accept the benefit delivery address. Based on this benefit delivery address, the desired benefit can be granted to the user by using a service such as postal service. The items that the user can receive as a benefit can be set as appropriate.

[0052] In addition, the benefits that can be granted in this embodiment may be the various benefits described in Japanese Patent No. 716904. Although not all aspects will be described here for simplicity, the benefits of this embodiment may include all of the content disclosed in the above-mentioned patent publication. In addition, the benefits of this embodiment may be the right to hold a lottery, etc., as described in the above-mentioned patent publication.

[0053] As described above, in the information processing method of this embodiment, the steps are appropriately combined, so that it can be said that the user can easily view the advertising material.

[0054] The first screen described above may be configured as follows.

[0055] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. Display screen D3 in Fig. 9 shows an embodiment in which a first region Rg1 (1β) includes an area in which an object displaying a digital ticket for transportation is arranged, and a second region Rg2 (2α) includes an area in which advertising material is displayed.

[0056] As mentioned above, such a first screen can be considered to be a screen that a user is expected to encounter immediately before boarding or disembarking from a public transport facility. Specifically, since the first region Rg1 (1β) includes an area in which an object displaying a public transport facility digital ticket is arranged, it is expected that a user who owns the user terminal 2 will wait with such a display screen D3 displayed while preparing to board or disembark from a public transport facility. Viewing advertising material in such a situation can be considered to be beneficial to the user, as it allows the user to receive special benefits.

[0057] The first screen may be configured as follows.

[0058] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the first screen displayed on the user terminal 2. The display screen D4 shown in FIG. 10 displays the time until the user boards or disembarks from the public transportation system, such as "approximately 2 minutes until arrival at the station." That is, in this modified example (embodiment), the operation information acquisition unit 334 of the server 3 may be configured to acquire information about the operation of the public transportation system, and the display control unit 331 may display the time until the user boards or disembarks from the public transportation system, calculated based on the acquired information about the operation, on the first screen. The method by which the operation information acquisition unit 334 acquires information about the operation of the public transportation system may be set as appropriate. For example, the operation information acquisition unit 334 can acquire information about the operation of the public transportation system (such as the operation status) by acquiring timetable information about a specific public transportation system or public transportation system operation information posted on the Internet. Meanwhile, the server 3 can acquire user location information (e.g., location information based on a positioning system such as GPS provided in the user terminal 2) using the functions of the acquisition unit 332, etc., thereby determining the user's location and / or whether the user is currently riding the public transportation system. The calculation unit 335 of the server 3 performs calculations based on this information to determine the time remaining until the user boards or disembarks from the means of transport, and the display control unit 331 displays this information on the first screen, thereby realizing the above-mentioned aspect. Note that if the user's location information is extremely far from the operating area of ​​the means of transport and it is impossible to calculate the time remaining until boarding or disembarking, the above-mentioned time remaining until boarding or disembarking may be controlled not to be displayed (see the display related to the "trademark mountain railway").

[0059] By displaying the time remaining until boarding or disembarking on the first screen in this way, the user viewing the first screen can intuitively determine whether or not they have time to view the advertising material. Note that in Fig. 10, the length of the advertising material (commercial time: 40 seconds) is displayed in the second region Rg2, and it can be said that adopting such an embodiment further increases the motivation to view the advertising material.

[0060] 10, the time remaining until boarding or alighting is shown in the first area, but the present invention is not limited to this and the time remaining until boarding or alighting may be displayed in any location on the first screen. Also, for example, if the first area includes an area where digital tickets for transportation (1α) are arranged, as shown in display screen D2, the time remaining until boarding or alighting may be displayed so as to be superimposed on the digital tickets.

[0061] From another perspective, the system may be configured as follows. That is, in this embodiment, the operation information acquisition unit 334 may be configured to acquire information related to the operation of the transportation facility. The selection unit 336 may be configured to select an advertising object that has a duration shorter than the time it takes for the user to board or disembark from the transportation facility, which is calculated based on the acquired information related to the operation. The display control unit 331 may be configured to display a second area related to the selected advertising object on the first screen.

[0062] As described above, the server 3 can identify the time until the user boards or alights from the public transport using functions such as the operation information acquisition unit 334. In response to this, the selection unit 336 of the server 3 can increase the probability that the user will view the advertisement by selecting an advertisement that is shorter than the time until the user boards or alights from the public transport. Specifically, on the display screen D4 shown in FIG. 10 , an advertisement that is shorter (40 seconds) than the time until the user boards or alights from the public transport (approximately 2 minutes) is selected, and the area related to this advertisement is displayed in the second area Rg2. In other words, by adopting the above-described aspect, the user can finish viewing the advertisement before boarding or alighting from the public transport, which can be said to increase the user's motivation to view the advertisement.

[0063] [Second Embodiment] An information processing system according to a second embodiment is as follows: An information processing system comprising: a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the following steps: an operation information acquisition step acquires information related to the operation of a means of transport; and a display control step causes a first screen to be displayed on a user terminal owned by a user, wherein the first screen includes at least one of: (1α) an area in which a digital ticket for the means of transport is arranged; and (1β) an area in which an object for displaying the digital ticket for the means of transport is arranged; and the information processing system causes the first screen to display the time until the user boards or disembarks the means of transport, calculated based on the acquired information related to the operation, in association with the digital ticket for the means of transport.

[0064] The information processing system of the second embodiment may include the various configurations shown as the information processing system of the first embodiment. However, the information processing system of the second embodiment differs from the information processing system of the first embodiment in that the display control unit 331 is not required to display the second area on the first screen, and the acquisition unit 332 and the assignment unit 333 are not required to perform predetermined functions (note that this does not prevent the adoption of the above aspects).

[0065] That is, in the information processing system of the second embodiment, the operation information acquisition unit 334 of the server 3 acquires information regarding the operation of the transportation means, and the display control unit 331 performs predetermined display control based on this information regarding the operation of the transportation means.

[0066] A typical example will be described with reference to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a first screen displayed on the user terminal 2 in the second embodiment. The display screen D5 shown in Fig. 11 differs from the display screen D4 shown in Fig. 10 in that it does not include the second region Rg2.

[0067] That is, in the information processing of the second embodiment, the time until the user boards or disembarks the public transportation is also displayed as "approximately 2 minutes until arrival at the station." Furthermore, the time until boarding or disembarking the user's transportation period is displayed in the first region Rg1 in association with a specific public transportation ticket (a ticket for the "Patent Highway Bus"). That is, even in this embodiment, the operation information acquisition unit 334 of the server 3 is configured to acquire information about public transportation operations, and the display control unit 331 displays the time until the user boards or disembarks the public transportation calculated based on the acquired information about the operations on the first screen. The calculated time until the user boards or disembarks the public transportation is associated with the corresponding public transportation ticket. Here, the method by which the operation information acquisition unit 334 acquires information about public transportation operations may be set as appropriate, as described in the first embodiment.

[0068] Even in such an embodiment, the user can easily grasp the time remaining until he or she boards or disembarks from the means of transportation, which is advantageous for the user.

[0069] 4. Others The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment may employ the following aspects.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the configuration of the information processing system 1 has been described, but a program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system 1 may be provided.

[0071] In the above embodiment, the server 3 performs various storage and control operations, but multiple external devices may be used instead of the server 3. That is, various pieces of information related to information processing may be distributed and stored in multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0072] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects.

[0073] (1) An information processing system including a control unit configured to execute the following steps: in a display control step, a first screen is displayed on a user terminal owned by a user; in the first screen, a first area and a second area are displayed within the same screen; the first area includes at least one of (1α) an area where a digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged; and (1β) an area where an object for displaying the digital ticket for a transportation facility is arranged; and the second area includes at least one of (2α) an area where an advertising material is displayed; and (2β) an area where an object for displaying the advertising material is arranged; in an acquisition step, the user terminal acquires a display history of the display of the advertising material; and in an awarding step, a benefit is awarded to the user according to the acquired display history.

[0074] (2) In the information processing system described in (1) above, in the providing step, points are provided to the user as the benefit.

[0075] (3) In the information processing system described in (2) above, the points can be donated to a specified person, a specified organization, or a person belonging to a specified organization.

[0076] (4) In the information processing system described in (3) above, the points are configured to be donated to the transportation facility related to the digital ticket or to a person belonging to the transportation facility.

[0077] (5) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (4) above, in the operation information acquisition step, information regarding the operation of the transportation means is acquired, and in the display control step, the time until the user boards or disembarks the transportation means, calculated based on the acquired information regarding the operation, is displayed on the first screen.

[0078] (6) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (5) above, in the operation information acquisition step, information regarding the operation of the transportation means is acquired, in the selection step, an advertising object having a time shorter than the time until the user boards or disembarks the transportation means, which is calculated based on the acquired information regarding the operation, is selected, and in the display control step, a second area regarding the selected advertising object is displayed on the first screen.

[0079] (7) An information processing method executed by an information processing system, the method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (6) above.

[0080] (8) A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (6) above. Of course, this is not a limitation.

[0081] Finally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, they are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments may be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such embodiments and modifications are intended to be included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0082] 1: Information processing system 2: User terminal 3: Server 4: Network 20: Communication bus 21: Communication unit 22: Memory unit 23: Control unit 24: Display unit 25: Input unit 30: Communication bus 31: Communication unit 32: Memory unit 33: Control unit 331: Display control unit 332: Acquisition unit 333: Assignment unit 334: Operation information acquisition unit 335: Calculation unit 336: Selection unit 337: Payment registration unit 338: Memory management unit BT1 to BT3: Buttons D1 to D5: Display screen Rg1: First area Rg2: Second area

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising: a control unit configured to execute the following steps: a display control step causes a user terminal owned by a user to display a first screen; wherein the first screen displays a first area and a second area within the same screen; the first area includes at least one of: (1α) an area in which a digital ticket for transportation is arranged; and (1β) an area in which an object for displaying the digital ticket for transportation is arranged; the second area includes at least one of: (2α) an area in which advertising material is displayed; and (2β) an area in which an object for displaying advertising material is arranged; an acquisition step acquires a display history of the user terminal displaying the advertising material; and a granting step grants a benefit to the user according to the acquired display history.

2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein in the providing step, points are provided to the user as the benefit.

3. An information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the points can be donated to a predetermined person, a predetermined organization, or a person belonging to a predetermined organization.

4. An information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the points can be donated to the transportation facility related to the digital ticket or to a person belonging to the transportation facility.

5. An information processing system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the operation information acquisition step, information relating to the operation of the means of transport is acquired, and in the display control step, the time until the user boards or disembarks the means of transport, calculated based on the acquired information relating to the operation, is displayed on the first screen.

6. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in the operation information acquisition step, information relating to the operation of the means of transport is acquired; in the selection step, an advertising object having a duration shorter than the time it takes for the user to board or disembark from the means of transport, which is calculated based on the acquired information relating to the operation; and in the display control step, a second area relating to the selected advertising object is displayed on the first screen.

7. An information processing method executed by an information processing system, comprising the steps of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images