Store system

Abstract

This store system includes a bidirectional communication device and a control device. The bidirectional communication device displays a communication video for communicating with a customer and outputs voice toward the customer. The bidirectional communication device also transmits, to the control device, information related to the customer input by the response from the customer. The control device receives information related to the customer as an input, and acquires information related to the service for the customer from a trained model. The bidirectional communication device displays information related to the service received from the control device.

Description

Store System

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a store system.

[0002] Conventionally, restaurants serving sushi and the like have used product conveying devices with circulation lanes that travel around tables where customers are waiting. Such product conveying devices can provide food and drink to users by placing plates with food and drink on the circulation lanes and conveying the food and drink to the users (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-150156

[0004] In recent years, it has become important for restaurant customers to not only enjoy delicious food and beverages with peace of mind, but also to have a comfortable and enjoyable restaurant experience (user experience). For example, by actively recommending products that match the customer's preferences, it is possible to encourage the customer to try products that the customer has never tried before. However, no system has been proposed to date that accurately acquires information about customer preferences while communicating with the customer and recommends appropriate products and services to the customer.

[0005] A typical objective of the present disclosure is to obtain information about a customer's preferences through communication, so that products and services can be appropriately recommended to the customer.

[0006] A typical store system in the present disclosure is a store system that provides customers with information about services in a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for transporting products. The store system includes a two-way communication device used at each seat in the restaurant, which outputs information about services to customers and allows input from the customers, and a control device communicatively connected to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device includes a display unit capable of displaying information about services, an audio output unit capable of outputting audio, and a communication unit configured to communicate with the control device. The two-way communication device displays a character image that communicates with a customer on the display unit, outputs audio to the customer from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image, and transmits information about the customer input by the customer responding to the output audio to the control device from the communication unit. The control device inputs information about the customer received from the two-way communication device into a trained model that suggests services tailored to the customer's preferences, thereby acquiring information about services tailored to the customer's preferences, and transmitting the acquired information about the services to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device displays the information about the services received from the control device on the display unit.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the entire restaurant. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a product conveying device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the block configuration of a store system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the display unit of a two-way communication device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display unit on which a character video for children is displayed. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the display unit on which an updated menu image is displayed. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how a menu image displayed on the display unit is customized. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a notification image displayed on the display unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the overall flow of recommendation processing executed by a store system. A conceptual diagram showing how responses from customers and updates of menu images are cyclically carried out. A flowchart showing notification processing. A flowchart showing specific customer selection processing. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the block configuration of a store system according to a modified example.

[0008] <Overview> A store system exemplified in the present disclosure provides customers with information about services at a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for transporting products. The store system includes a two-way communication device used at each seat in the restaurant, which outputs information about the services to customers and allows input from the customers, and a control device communicatively connected to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device includes a display unit capable of displaying information about the services, an audio output unit capable of outputting audio, and a communication unit configured to communicate with the control device. The two-way communication device displays a character image communicating with the customer on the display unit, outputs audio to the customer from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image, and transmits information about the customer input by the customer responding to the output audio to the control device from the communication unit. The control device acquires information about services that match the customer's preferences by inputting information about the customer received from the two-way communication device into a trained model that suggests services that match the customer's preferences, and transmits the acquired information about the services to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device displays the information about the services received from the control device on the display unit.

[0009] In this way, the two-way communication device displays a character image on the display unit and outputs audio from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image. When the customer responds to the output audio, information about the customer is input into the two-way communication device. The input customer information is sent from the two-way communication device to the control device and input into the trained model. As a result, information about services that match the customer's preferences is obtained from the trained model. This information about services is sent to the two-way communication device and displayed on the display unit. In this way, information about the customer is obtained through communication between the customer and the character image, making it possible to obtain accurate information about services that match the customer's preferences. Moreover, the customer can communicate through the character image as if they were having a conversation with the character. This makes it possible to provide customers with a highly participatory and entertaining service.

[0010] Here, the transportation lane provided in the restaurant may be any type of lane that transports products. For example, the transportation lane may be a circulation lane that circulates products along the seating area, or an order lane that transports products ordered by a customer to the customer. Furthermore, the transportation lane may also include a circulation lane and an order lane that run parallel to each other above and below. For example, when the control device acquires a product or service recommended to a customer (recommended product), the product may be prepared in advance and transported via the circulation lane even if it is not actually ordered. Furthermore, when a customer orders a recommended product, the ordered product is transported to the customer via the order lane.

[0011] The two-way communication device may be, for example, a tablet-type information terminal device provided at each seat and equipped with a display screen (display unit) such as a touch panel. However, the two-way communication device may also be a mobile information terminal device such as a smartphone carried by a customer. In other words, various devices may be used as the two-way communication device as long as they have a display screen, an output function to customers, and an input function from customers, and are capable of two-way communication.

[0012] The display unit of the two-way communication device may be, for example, a touch panel liquid crystal display panel or an organic display panel, as long as it has a display function. Furthermore, the display is not necessarily limited to a touch panel type, and may be a display without a touch function. In this case, for example, the customer may be able to select an item displayed on the screen by operating a cursor or the like.

[0013] Various characters are selected as the character image to be displayed on the display unit of the two-way communication device according to the type of restaurant. For example, if a conveyor belt sushi restaurant is used as the restaurant, a character based on the image of a sushi chef (chief) at the sushi restaurant may be displayed as the character image. Furthermore, if a yakiniku restaurant is used as the restaurant, a character based on the image of the owner of the yakiniku restaurant may be displayed as the character image. Furthermore, characters from anime or the like may be displayed as the character image.

[0014] As the audio output unit of the two-way communication device, various devices (speakers) can be used as long as they are capable of outputting audio, including sound. The audio output unit may be built into the two-way communication device, or may be provided separately from the two-way communication device. For example, a small speaker provided in each seat is used as a separate audio output unit.

[0015] Here, outputting audio from the audio output unit to the customer in conjunction with the character image may mean, for example, outputting audio in conjunction with the character image's movements so that the character image speaks. It also includes outputting music or other sounds together with the character image. It also includes outputting audio from the audio output unit in conjunction with other images (menus, messages, etc.) displayed on the display unit.

[0016] Note that "input by the customer responding to the voice output from the voice output unit" includes, for example, the customer responding by voice as if they were having a conversation, or by touching the display unit. Furthermore, the customer's reaction (nodding or shaking their head, laughing) may be detected by a built-in camera of the two-way communication device to obtain the customer's reaction.

[0017] An example of the control device is a management server installed in a restaurant. Furthermore, the control device may be a center server that comprehensively manages multiple restaurants. The two-way communication device is communicatively connected to the control device via wired or wireless communication. The control device may input information about the customer into a built-in trained model to obtain information about the service. Alternatively, the control device may transmit information about the customer to a trained model on the cloud and receive information about the service from the trained model.

[0018] A trained model is a learned mathematical model trained by a machine learning algorithm using a training dataset. The machine learning technique can be, for example, as follows: A learner (trained information) that receives a specific type of input information as input and outputs a desired type of output information is constructed using a machine learning technique. The trained model is trained by machine learning to receive, for example, various types of customer information as input and output information about services that match the customer's preferences. Examples of training data include information about products ordered by customers, the date and time, the day of the week, the store name, and the weather. Other examples include information about the customer's gender, age, date of birth, and attributes (husband, wife, children, etc.).

[0019] Examples of information related to services that may be displayed on the display unit of the two-way communication device include information about products 5 (food and drink) recommended to customers, information about special services (campaign information) offered by restaurants, etc. When the information about services is displayed on the display unit, the information may be output as audio from the audio output unit of the two-way communication device.

[0020] The store system may also have the following configuration. That is, a store system for providing customers with information about services in a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for conveying products includes a two-way communication device used at each seat in the restaurant, outputting information about the services to customers and allowing input from the customers, and a control device communicatively connected to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device includes a display unit capable of displaying information about the services and a communication unit configured to communicate with the control device. The two-way communication device displays a communication image for communicating with a customer on the display unit, and transmits information about the customer, which is input by the customer responding to the communication image displayed on the display unit, to the control device from the communication unit. The control device acquires information about services that match the customer's preferences by inputting the information about the customer received from the two-way communication device into a trained model that suggests services that match the customer's preferences, and transmits the acquired information about the services to the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device may display the information about the services received from the control device on the display unit.

[0021] The two-way communication device displays a communication image on the display unit, and when the customer responds to the communication image, information about the customer is input into the two-way communication device. The input customer information is transmitted from the two-way communication device to a control device, and information about services that suit the customer's preferences is obtained from a trained model using the input information. The information about the services is then sent to the two-way communication device and displayed on the display unit. In this way, information about the customer is obtained through communication with the customer via the communication image, making it possible to obtain accurate information about services that suit the customer's preferences. Furthermore, by communicating with the customer through the communication image, the customer can receive a highly participatory and entertaining service. Note that the communication image may display a question about the customer's preferences and multiple answers to the question. The customer may then select one answer from the multiple answers displayed on the display unit.

[0022] In addition, the two-way communication device may further include an audio input unit capable of audio input, and information about the customer may be input into the two-way communication device via the audio input unit when the customer responds by voice to the audio output from the audio output unit.

[0023] In this way, the two-way communication device is equipped with an audio input unit, and the customer responds by voice to the voice output from the audio output unit. This allows the customer to communicate as if they were having a conversation with a character image, eliminating the need for the customer to perform any cumbersome tasks. Therefore, information about the customer can be smoothly obtained through voice communication. Furthermore, the customer can receive a highly entertaining service through the experience of having a conversation with a character image.

[0024] Here, the audio input unit may be, for example, a microphone built into the two-way communication device. Alternatively, a microphone separate from the two-way communication device may be used as the audio input unit. In this case, for example, a small microphone provided at each seat may be used as the separate audio input unit.

[0025] The two-way communication device may also acquire information about the age of the customer as information about the customer based on a voice input from the customer via the voice input unit.

[0026] In this way, the two-way communication device estimates the customer's age based on the voice input from the customer and transmits the estimated age to the control device. Therefore, the customer's age can be smoothly acquired through conversation with the character image. Furthermore, by inputting the customer's age as information about the customer into the trained model, the control device can acquire more accurate information about services that are in line with the customer's preferences.

[0027] In addition, when the two-way communication device estimates the age of a customer, it includes estimating the customer's generation (20s, 30s, etc.) and classifying the customer as elderly, middle-aged, young, or child.

[0028] The two-way communication device may transmit information about the customer's voice input via the voice input unit to the control device. The control device may acquire information about the age of the customer based on the received information about the customer's voice, and may further input the acquired information about the customer's age into the trained model to acquire information about the service.

[0029] In this way, by transmitting information about the customer's voice from the two-way communication device to the control device and the control device acquiring information about the customer's age, the processing load on the two-way communication device can be reduced.

[0030] The two-way communication device may also change the character image based on the acquired age of the customer.

[0031] In this way, by changing the character image based on the acquired customer's age, it is possible to provide the customer with a more entertaining service. For example, if the customer is a young child, the character image may be switched to a character that is popular with children, such as an anime character.

[0032] The two-way communication device may also acquire information about the gender of the customer as information about the customer based on a voice input from the customer via the voice input unit.

[0033] In this way, the two-way communication device estimates the customer's gender based on the voice input from the customer and transmits the estimated gender to the control device. Therefore, the customer's gender can be smoothly acquired through conversation with the character image. Furthermore, by inputting the customer's gender as information about the customer into the trained model, the control device can acquire more accurate information about services that match the customer's preferences.

[0034] The two-way communication device may transmit information about the customer's voice input via the voice input unit to the control device. The control device may acquire information about the gender of the customer based on the received information about the customer's voice, and may further input the acquired information about the customer's age into the trained model to acquire information about the service.

[0035] In this way, by transmitting information about the customer's voice from the two-way communication device to the control device and the control device acquiring information about the customer's gender, the processing load on the two-way communication device can be reduced.

[0036] The two-way communication device may change the character image based on the acquired gender of the customer.

[0037] In this way, by changing the character image based on the acquired gender of the customer, it is possible to provide the customer with a more entertaining service. For example, if the customer's gender is male, the character image may be switched to a character that is popular among men. On the other hand, if the customer's gender is female, the character image may be switched to a character that is popular among women.

[0038] The two-way communication device may include a camera that captures an image of the customer, and may estimate at least one of the customer's age and gender based on the captured image of the customer.

[0039] In this way, by estimating the age and gender of a customer based on an image of the customer captured by a camera provided in the two-way communication device, information such as age can be obtained even if the customer does not respond to the character image. Note that such estimation using a camera may be used in combination to supplement estimation based on the customer's voice. Note that image data of the customer captured by the two-way communication device may be sent to a control device, and the control device may estimate the customer's age and gender.

[0040] The two-way communication device may further display an input acceptance image that can be operated by the customer on the display unit, and information about the customer may be input to the two-way communication device by the customer responding via the input acceptance image to the voice output from the voice output unit.

[0041] In this way, the customer can respond to the voice output from the voice output unit via the input acceptance image, allowing the customer to enjoy communication with the character image without being heard by those around them.

[0042] The two-way communication device may also display items related to age as an input acceptance image, and when a customer selects an item related to age displayed in the input acceptance image, information related to the customer's age may be input to the two-way communication device as information related to the customer.

[0043] In this way, the customer can select an item related to age via the input acceptance image, and can input information related to age into the two-way communication device without being heard by those around them.

[0044] The two-way communication device may also display items related to gender as an input acceptance image, and when the customer selects an item related to gender displayed in the input acceptance image, information related to the customer's gender may be input to the two-way communication device as information related to the customer.

[0045] In this way, the customer can select an item related to gender via the input acceptance image, and can input information related to gender into the two-way communication device without being heard by those around them.

[0046] The two-way communication device may further display a chat window on the display unit, and display the voice output from the voice output unit and the customer's response to the voice in text form in the chat window.

[0047] In this way, the voice output from the voice output unit and the customer's response to the voice are displayed in text form in the chat window, allowing the exchange with the customer to be recorded and the customer to trace the history of communication.

[0048] The two-way communication device may also be configured to display, as a menu image on the display unit, a reference menu image showing at least one product offered at the restaurant, and to allow a customer to order the product by selecting the product shown in the reference menu image.The two-way communication device may also display, as a menu image on the display unit, an updated menu image showing the at least one product in a format different from the menu image, based on information about the service received from the control device.

[0049] In this way, the two-way communication device displays, as menu images, a reference menu image and an updated menu image obtained based on information about the service received from the control device. This allows the menu image to be updated in accordance with the customer's preferences, and menu images tailored to the customer's preferences can be displayed.

[0050] Here, the reference menu image may be a menu image displayed as a default on the display unit of the two-way communication device. For example, the first menu image displayed on the display unit when a customer visits a restaurant and takes a seat is the reference menu image. The reference menu image may display, for example, multiple standard items offered at the restaurant or multiple promotional items offered for a limited time at the restaurant.

[0051] On the other hand, the updated menu image may be, for example, a large display of one product recommended to the customer, or multiple products recommended to the customer, based on information about the service received from the control device.

[0052] The display unit may be a display panel that is long in a predetermined direction, and the two-way communication device may display an image of the product being transported in the predetermined direction on the display unit as a menu image.

[0053] In this way, the two-way communication device displays a menu image in the form of a video of a product being transported in a predetermined direction, thereby enabling the display of a dynamic menu image and providing customers with a highly entertaining service.

[0054] Specifically, for example, if the restaurant is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, an image of tuna, shrimp, or other sushi being conveyed on a conveyor belt may be displayed as a menu image.

[0055] The two-way communication device may also display, as an updated menu image, an image highlighting a specific product based on information about the service received from the control device.

[0056] In this way, the two-way communication device displays an image highlighting a specific product as an updated menu image, making it easier for customers to focus on the specific product. As a result, the specific product can be effectively recommended to the customer. The collaborative display may also be achieved by displaying the specific product 5 larger than the other products 5, flashing the specific product 5, or displaying the specific product 5 in a frame.

[0057] The two-way communication device may highlight a particular product by displaying an image in which the particular product is transported more slowly than in the reference menu image.

[0058] In this way, the two-way communication device displays an image of a specific product being slowly transported as an updated menu image, which makes it easier for customers to pay attention to the specific product, and the product can be effectively recommended to the customer.

[0059] The two-way communication device may highlight a particular product by displaying a still image of the particular product.

[0060] In this way, the two-way communication device displays the image of the specific product frozen as an updated menu image, which makes it easier for customers to pay attention to the specific product, and the product can be effectively recommended to the customer.

[0061] The two-way communication device also transmits order information related to the product ordered by the customer via the reference menu image to the control device, which then inputs the order information, which the customer has ordered via the reference menu image, into the trained model to acquire information related to the service.

[0062] In this way, the control device acquires information about the service using the order information entered by the customer via the reference menu image as an input, thereby enabling the acquisition of information about a more appropriate service that reflects the information entered by the customer.

[0063] The two-way communication device also transmits order information related to the product ordered by the customer via the updated menu image to the control device, which then inputs the order information related to the customer via the updated menu image into the trained model to acquire information related to the service.

[0064] In this way, the control device acquires information about services by further inputting the order information ordered by the customer via the updated menu image into the trained model. Therefore, it is possible to acquire more appropriate information about services that reflects the information ordered by the customer via the updated menu image. Then, the updated menu image is further updated based on the information about the services that reflects this order information. As a result, a cyclical improvement is created between the information about the services and the updated menu image, further increasing the accuracy of the information about the services.

[0065] The two-way communication device may be configured so that the products displayed as menu images on the display unit can be customized by the customer's operation.

[0066] In this way, the two-way communication device is configured so that the menu image can be customized by the customer's operation, allowing the customer to display products that suit their preferences on the menu image.

[0067] Customization through customer operations includes, for example, always displaying a specific product in the menu image or displaying a specific product larger than other products. It also includes preventing products that the customer dislikes from appearing in the menu image. Note that customization is performed by the customer themselves, independently of the information about the service acquired by the trained model. However, the customized menu image may be transmitted to the control device as information about the customer and input into the trained model, so that the customized menu image is reflected in the information about the service (content recommended to the customer).

[0068] The two-way communication device may be configured to display a menu image customized by the customer on a fixed display unit.

[0069] In this way, the two-way communication device can display a menu image customized by the customer in a fixed manner, thereby allowing the customer to display a menu image that suits their preferences in a fixed manner.

[0070] The two-way communication device may display a menu image customized by the customer on the display unit as a separate page.

[0071] In this way, the two-way communication device displays the menu image customized by the customer on a separate page, allowing the customer to register a menu image according to their preferences on a separate page while displaying the updated menu image, and view it as needed.

[0072] The menu image customized by the customer may be stored together with the customer's identification information.

[0073] In this way, by storing the menu image customized by the customer together with the customer's identification information, the customer can reproduce the menu image customized by the customer the next time they visit the restaurant. Note that the customer's identification information may be assigned when the customer registers their customer information in advance via an app or the like.

[0074] The conveyance lane is a circulation lane that conveys products so that they circulate along the customer seats. A sensor is provided that determines whether a product conveyed on the circulation lane has been acquired by a customer and outputs detection information based on the determination result. The control device may acquire information related to the service by further inputting the detection signal output from the sensor into the trained model.

[0075] In this way, the control device acquires information about the service by further inputting detection information about whether or not the customer selected a product transported in the circulation lane into the trained model. Therefore, more accurate information about the service can be acquired by taking into account information about the actual products that the customer picked up from the circulation lane and information about the products that the customer did not pick up.

[0076] The sensor may be a camera installed in the circulation lane. In this case, whether or not a product has been picked up may be detected based on an image captured by the camera.

[0077] Furthermore, when products are transported along the circulation lane while contained in a predetermined container, a sensor configured with, for example, an open / close detector and a reader can be used. In this case, for example, a unique RF tag or a two-dimensional code representing an identifier is attached to the container, and the information read by the reader can be used as information related to the identification of each product. In addition, by detecting the open / close state of the container using the open / close detector, information on whether or not a customer has picked up a product from the container can be obtained.

[0078] In addition, information about the operation of the restaurant is input to the control device. The control device then further inputs the information about the operation into the trained model to acquire information about the service.

[0079] In this way, the control device acquires information about services by further inputting information about the operation of the restaurant into the trained model. Therefore, it is possible to acquire information about services that takes into account not only customer preferences but also the management efficiency of the restaurant. Examples of information about the operation of the restaurant include information about the inventory of products at the restaurant and information about the profit margins of products.

[0080] The two-way communication device can be operated by the customer to display a stop image on the display unit to stop the display of information about the service.

[0081] In this way, the customer can stop the display of information about the service by operating the still image. Therefore, if the display of information about the service is bothersome, the customer can stop the provision of the information at their discretion.

[0082] Furthermore, when there are multiple customers in one seat, the control device selects a specific customer from the multiple customers based on information about the customer input by responding to the voice output from the voice output unit, obtains information about the service that suits the preferences of the specific customer, and transmits it to the two-way communication device.

[0083] In this way, the control device selects a specific customer from among multiple customers and acquires information about services that match the preferences of the specific customer. Therefore, when there are multiple customers, it is possible to provide information about services targeted at the customer. For example, when a customer is a family, the child may be selected as the specific customer. Also, the oldest customer may be selected as the specific customer.

[0084] The two-way communication device also changes the character image in accordance with the specific customer selected by the control device.

[0085] In this way, the interactive communication device changes the character image to suit the preferences of a specific customer, so it can provide information about effective services to the specific customer. For example, if the specific customer is a child, an animated character or the like may be displayed as the character image.

[0086] The conveyance lane is a circulation lane that conveys products so that they circulate along the customer seats. When information about a service acquired based on information about a customer recommends a specific product to the customer, the control device transmits a notification command to the two-way communication device when there is a possibility that the specific product will be conveyed on the circulation lane and arrive at the customer. Then, upon receiving the notification command from the control device, the two-way communication device displays on the display unit a notification image that notifies that the specific product among the products conveyed on the circulation lane will arrive at the corresponding customer seat.

[0087] In this way, the two-way communication device notifies customers when a specific product is arriving on the circulation lane, allowing the specific product to be effectively recommended to the customer, thereby encouraging consumption of the products on the circulation lane and improving the management efficiency of the restaurant.

[0088] For example, the two-way communication device may notify the customer of a product recommended to the customer based on information about the service as a specific product. Also, if the product recommended to the customer based on information about the service is not on the circulation lane, the two-way communication device may notify the customer of a product related to the recommended product as a specific product 5.

[0089] The restaurant may further include an employee display device used by an employee of the restaurant and equipped with a second display unit. The control device acquires product prediction information about products that are likely to be ordered in the future from information about services acquired based on information about customers obtained via multiple two-way communication devices in the restaurant, and transmits the product prediction information to the employee display device. The employee display device may then display at least one product that is likely to be ordered in the future on the second display unit based on the product prediction information received from the control device.

[0090] In this way, the control device obtains product prediction information from information about services obtained based on customer information obtained from multiple two-way communication devices.The employee display device then displays products that are likely to be ordered in the future on the second display unit based on the product prediction information received from the control device.This allows the employee to understand what products are likely to be ordered in the future and make preparations in advance.

[0091] The employee display device may be, for example, a display terminal device or a personal computer installed in the restaurant kitchen. It may also be a mobile terminal carried by an employee. The employee display device may, for example, display a list of multiple items that may be ordered by customers in the future in order of likelihood of being ordered on the second display unit.

[0092] A control device for providing customers with information about services in a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for transporting products includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code. A two-way communication device is used at each seat, which outputs information about the services to customers and allows input from the customers. The two-way communication device includes a display unit capable of displaying information about the services, an audio output unit capable of outputting audio, and a communication unit capable of communicating with the control device, and is configured to allow customers to order the products via the two-way communication device. The two-way communication device displays a character image that communicates with the customer on the display unit, outputs audio to the customer from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image, and transmits information about the customer input by the customer responding to the output audio to the control device from the communication unit. The at least one processor executes the computer program code to cause the control device to acquire information about services that match the customer's preferences by inputting the customer information received from the two-way communication device into a trained model that proposes services that match the customer's preferences. The acquired information about the services is then transmitted to the communication device.

[0093] This two-way communication device is used at each seat in a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for transporting products, and provides customers with information about services. The device includes: a display unit configured to display information about the services and displaying a character image that communicates with the customer; an audio output unit that outputs audio in conjunction with the character image; a communication unit configured to be able to communicate with a control device and that transmits information about the customer to the control device, the information being input by the customer responding to the audio output in conjunction with the character image; a receiving unit that receives from the control device information about services that match the customer's preferences, obtained by inputting the information about the customer into a trained model that suggests services in line with the customer's preferences; and a control unit. Customers can order products via the two-way communication device. The control unit causes the display unit to display the information about the services received by the receiving unit.

[0094] A program for a two-way communication device in a restaurant equipped with a conveying lane for conveying products, which provides customers with information about services and allows customers to order the products. The program is executed by at least one processor provided in the two-way communication device, causing the two-way communication device to display, on a display unit, an image of a character communicating with the customer, output audio from an audio output unit in conjunction with the image of the character, cause the customer to respond to the output audio and input information about the customer from a transmission unit to a control device, and when information about a service that suits the customer's preferences is obtained by inputting the information about the customer sent from the transmission unit into a trained model that suggests services that suit the customer's preferences, receive the information about the service from the control device via a receiving unit and display the received information on the display unit.

[0095] A restaurant system (1) provides customers with information about services. The restaurant system (1) includes a two-way communication device (700) for use at each seat in the restaurant. The two-way communication device outputs information about the services to customers and allows them to input information. The two-way communication device (700) includes a display (761) capable of displaying information about the services, an audio output unit (762) capable of audio output, and a communication unit (763) capable of communicating with the control device. The two-way communication device (700) displays a character image that communicates with the customer on the display, outputs audio to the customer from an audio output unit (762) in conjunction with the character image, and transmits information about the customer, input by the customer responding to the output audio, to the control device (100) from a communication unit (764). The control device (100) inputs information about the customer received from the two-way communication device (700) into a trained model (200) that suggests services tailored to the customer's preferences. The control device (100) acquires information about the services tailored to the customer's preferences and transmits the acquired information about the services to the two-way communication device (700). The two-way communication device (700) may display the information about the services received from the control device (100) on the display unit (761).

[0096] As described above, in a typical restaurant without a transportation lane, the two-way communication device 700 displays a character image 774 on the display unit 761 and outputs audio from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image 774. When a customer responds to the output audio, information about the customer is input to the two-way communication device 700. The input customer information is transmitted from the two-way communication device 700 to the control device 100 and input into the trained model 200. As a result, information about services tailored to the customer's preferences is obtained from the trained model 200. This service information is transmitted to the two-way communication device 700 and displayed on the display unit 761. In this way, information about the customer is obtained through communication between the customer and the character image 774, making it possible to obtain accurate information about services tailored to the customer's preferences. Moreover, the customer can communicate with the character image 774 as if they were having a conversation with a character. This makes it possible to provide customers with a highly participatory and entertaining service.

[0097] Next, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. A store system according to the present embodiment will be described below.

[0098] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product conveying apparatus 900 in a restaurant that uses a store system 1 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the example of the product conveying apparatus 900.

[0099] The store system 1 according to this embodiment is used in a store such as a restaurant. FIG. 1 shows some of the fixtures and the like. FIG. 2 shows an example of a product conveying device 900 used in a store such as a restaurant. The restaurant is, for example, a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Note that the store system 1 may be used in other types of restaurants. Furthermore, the products 5 provided to customers may be provided free of charge or for a fee.

[0100] In this embodiment, the product 5 is, for example, food or drink such as sushi. For example, it may be a dish such as nigiri sushi or hand-rolled sushi, or other dishes. The food or drink may also include beverages, sweets, containerized foods, packaged foods, etc. The product 5 may also include valuable items other than food or drink.

[0101] In this embodiment, the store system 1 allows customers at each seat to order products 5. In addition, the store system 1 is configured so that the products 5 can be delivered to the customers by a product delivery device 900.

[0102] Here, a customer seat is a concept that refers to a seat or table used by a customer to whom the product 5 is provided. A single customer seat corresponds, for example, to a group of one or more customers (a customer group may include one or more customers, or may be a single customer) who purchase the product 5. For example, if a customer group consisting of multiple customers visits a restaurant and the customer group is shown to a table within the restaurant, the table corresponds to a customer seat. Also, for example, if a customer group consisting of a single customer visits a restaurant and the customer group is shown to a counter seat within the restaurant, the counter seat corresponds to a customer seat. Note that a customer seat is not limited to an actual seat or table. A customer seat may also refer to other things that correspond to a group consisting of one or more customers, such as the purchaser, order source, or recipient of the product 5 by the group. Such a customer seat may be real or virtual. In other words, a customer seat is a concept that refers to the recipient of the product 5 and the unit for charging the price of the product 5. In the following description, the seat corresponding to such a customer (customer group) may be simply referred to as the customer. In other words, the provision of the product 5 to the seat corresponding to the customer (customer group) may be simply expressed as the product 5 being provided to the customer.

[0103] The store system 1 has a control device 100 and a two-way communication device 700, which is a reception terminal corresponding to each customer seat. The store system 1 can also be interpreted as having a terminal device 600 that can communicate with the control device 100, for example, via a network. In other words, the store system 1 is configured so that customers who are patrons of a restaurant or the like can use the terminal device 600. The store system 1 can be configured for use by an administrator of the restaurant or the like who performs various settings, etc.

[0104] In this embodiment, one customer group can use a two-way communication device 700 having a display unit 761, such as a touch panel screen, installed corresponding to the seating area where the customer group is seated, to place an order for the product 5. Note that the customer group may also use one or more terminal devices 600 that they own to place an order for the product 5.

[0105] 2, a mobile information terminal device such as a smartphone is shown as the terminal device 600. The terminal device 600 has a terminal display unit 661 which is a screen such as a touch panel. Note that a tablet-type information terminal device, a personal computer (PC) such as a laptop computer, or the like may also be used as the terminal device 600.

[0106] In the store system 1, devices that can communicate with each other can communicate with each other via a network such as, but not limited to, a local area network or the Internet. The number of devices included in the store system 1 is not important, and other devices may also be included in the store system 1.

[0107] (Regarding the two-way communication device 700) The two-way communication device 700 is a tablet-type information terminal device that is provided at each seat and is configured to be able to output to customers. The two-way communication device 700 is also capable of inputting responses from customers. In other words, the two-way communication device 700 is configured to be able to perform two-way communication with customers. Note that while a tablet-type display device is used as the two-way communication device 700, a portable information terminal device, a personal computer (PC), or the like may also be used as the two-way communication device 700.

[0108] The two-way communication device 700 is communicatively connected to the control device 100. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the two-way communication device 700 has a display unit 761 which is a touch panel, a speaker (audio output unit) 762 capable of audio output, a communication unit 764 capable of communicating with the control device 100, and a control unit 766 that controls the display unit 761. The two-way communication device 700 according to the embodiment also has a microphone (audio input unit) 768 capable of audio input, and a camera 770.

[0109] As shown in Fig. 4, under the control of the control unit 766, the display unit 761 displays a menu image 772 that is operated when the customer orders the product 5, as well as a character image 774 that communicates with the customer. In this embodiment, for example, a human image of a fictional sushi chef (master) is displayed as the character image 774 by default. As will be described later, the two-way communication device 700 is also configured to switch the displayed character image 774 from a human image to a character image such as an anime character when the customer who is the target of communication is young (see Fig. 5). The character image 774 is normally displayed to the side of the menu image 772 on the display unit 761.

[0110] The two-way communication device 700 further displays, as the character video 774, information about the service received from the control device 100 in the form of a message (e.g., "What kind of sushi do you like?"). As will be described later, the information about the service is a product 5 or service (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a recommended product) recommended to the customer. For example, if a specific product 5 (e.g., shrimp) is designated as the recommended product, the name of the specific product 5 is displayed as if the image of a person or character is asking a question. The two-way communication device 700 may also display an image of the recommended product in the area where the character video 774 is displayed (i.e., adjacent to the character video). In this way, the two-way communication device 700 of the embodiment can be said to output information about the service to the customer via the character video 774.

[0111] The interactive communication device 700 according to this embodiment displays an input acceptance image 776 on the display unit 761 that can be operated by the customer. The input acceptance image 776 may display options for responding to the question posed by the character image 774. For example, the input acceptance image 776 may display options for responding to the question posed by the character image 774 (see "(1) Red Meat" and "(2) White Meat" in FIG. 4). Furthermore, when the character image recommends a recommended product, options to be selected when ordering the recommended product (see "(1) Yes" in FIG. 5 and "(1) Order" in FIG. 6) or options to be selected when requesting the recommendation of another product (see "(2) No" in FIG. 5 and "(2) Other" in FIG. 6) may be displayed. Furthermore, the input acceptance image 776 may display information about the customer (e.g., information about the customer's age or gender) in a selectable format. In this way, the customer can respond to the question posed by the character image 774 or input information about the customer via the input acceptance image 776.

[0112] The interactive communication device 700 displays a reference menu image 772a and an updated menu image 772b on the display unit 761 as menu images 772. As shown in FIG. 4 , the reference menu image 772a is a default menu screen displayed when a customer arrives at a restaurant and takes a seat. The reference menu image 772a is, for example, a standard menu displaying a plurality of products 5 preset by the restaurant. The same reference menu image 772a is displayed on the interactive communication devices at all customer seats. Specifically, for example, the reference menu image 772a displays a large version of the most popular standard product 5 (e.g., tuna) and a small version of several other popular products 5. Alternatively, the reference menu image 772a may display, for example, one or more products 5 offered for a limited time. A customer can order a desired product 5 by touching the desired product 5 on the reference menu image 772a. The product 5 ordered via the reference menu image 772a is then transported through an order lane, which will be described later, and delivered to the seat of the customer who placed the order.

[0113] The updated menu image 772b displays the product 5 in a different display mode from the reference menu image 772a, based on the recommended product received from the control device 100. Specifically, when a specific product 5 (e.g., shrimp) is designated as a recommended product, the two-way communication device 700 highlights the specific product 5 as the updated menu image 772b, as shown in FIG. 6 . The highlighting may be achieved by, for example, displaying an image in which the specific product 5 is displayed larger than the other products 5. Note that in this case, the updated menu image 772b may display the specific product 5 large, while displaying products 5 related to the specific product 5 (such as crab or sweet shrimp) around it.

[0114] However, the manner in which the specific product 5 is highlighted is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , the specific product 5 may be displayed surrounded by a frame. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the specific product 5 may be displayed flashing. The customer can order the product 5 by touching the desired product 5 displayed on the updated menu image 772b. The product 5 ordered via the updated menu image 772b is then transported through an order lane, which will be described later, and delivered to the seat of the customer who placed the order.

[0115] 4, the two-way communication device 700 displays a stop button (stop image) 780 on the display unit 761 for stopping recommendations (recommendation service) to customers using character images 774 and menu images 772. If a customer finds the recommendation service bothersome, the customer can stop the recommendation service by touching the stop button 780. After stopping the recommendation service, the customer can restart the recommendation service at any time.

[0116] (Regarding Customization of Menu Image 772) Here, the two-way communication device 700 of this embodiment is configured so that the menu image 772 (reference menu image 772a or updated menu image 772b) displayed on the display unit 761 can be changed by a customer's operation. In other words, the menu image 772 can be customized according to the customer's preferences. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , the customer can touch the display unit 761 to enlarge or change the display position of a specific product 5 displayed on the menu image 772. Note that this customization operation may be started, for example, by the customer touching a "menu customization" button displayed on the display unit 761.

[0117] Furthermore, for example, if a customer likes the current menu image 772, the customer can fix the menu image 772 so that it is not updated by touching the display unit 761. At this time, the entire menu image 772 can be fixed, or only a specific product 5 displayed in the menu image 772 can be fixed. This fixed display may be initiated, for example, by the customer touching a "fix menu" button displayed on the display unit 761. Furthermore, the customer can register the entire menu image 772 as a favorite, or a specific product 5 in the menu image 772 as a favorite, by touching the display unit 761. This allows the favorited menu image 772 or the specific product 5 to be displayed at any time. This favorite registration may be initiated, for example, by the customer touching a "register menu" button displayed on the display unit 761. At this time, the favorited menu image 772 or the specific product 5 may be stored in the control device 100 together with the customer's identification information. This allows the next time the customer visits the store, the menu image 772 and the specific product 5 related to the favorite registration that have been stored in association with the identification information to be reproduced on the two-way communication device 700.

[0118] Furthermore, the menu image 772 or a specific product 5 that the customer has registered as a favorite can be displayed on a different page (next page). In this case, for example, the customer may touch a "Save Next Page" button displayed on the display unit 761 to save the menu image 772 or the specific product 5 on a different page. In this way, the menu image 772 customized by the customer can be said to be information indicating the product 5 that matches the customer's preferences. Therefore, the two-way communication device 700 is configured to transmit information about the menu image 772 customized by the customer to the control device 100 as information about the customer, as described above.

[0119] When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the two-way communication device 700 according to this embodiment displays a notification image 778 on the display unit 761. When a specific product 5 is recommended to a customer, this notification image 778 notifies the customer in advance that the specific product 5 may be transported by the product transport device 900 and arrive at the customer's seat. As shown in Fig. 8 , for example, when the specific product 5 "tuna" is recommended to a customer, a message indicating that the product 5 "tuna" will soon arrive at the customer's seat is displayed together with the character video 774.

[0120] The two-way communication device 700 has a built-in speaker 762, and audio (including music and sounds) is output from the speaker 762. The audio output from the speaker 762 is linked to the character image 774. For example, when a specific product 5, "shrimp," is recommended, an audio message recommending shrimp is output from the speaker 762 in linkage with the movement of the character image 774. Furthermore, when the notification image 778 described above is displayed, sound such as sound effects may be output from the speaker 762 in addition to the display of the notification image 778.

[0121] The two-way communication device 700 has a built-in microphone 768, and when the customer responds vocally to a question from the character image 774, the customer's voice is input via the microphone 768. For example, when the customer responds vocally with "lean meat" to the question from the character image 774, "What kind of sushi do you like?", the response is input via the microphone 768 to the two-way communication device 700. In other words, when the customer responds vocally to the character image 774, the content of the response is input to the two-way communication device 700 as information about the customer. Note that the customer's vocal response may include answering the type of product 5, or answering the product 5 or type of product 5 that the customer dislikes, as described above. The customer may also answer the question from the character image 774 with "yes" or "no."

[0122] Here, the two-way communication device 700 (control unit 766, described later) is configured to estimate attributes of the customer from the customer's voice input via microphone 768. Examples of customer attributes include information about the customer's age and information about the customer's gender. Information about the customer's age may be the customer's age estimated from the customer's voice, or the customer's generation (20s, 30s, etc.). Furthermore, information about the customer's age may also include information classifying customers into age groups such as elderly, middle-aged, and young. Information about the customer's gender is the customer's gender estimated from the customer's voice. This information about the customer's age and information about the customer's gender is acquired by the two-way communication device 700 as information about the customer.

[0123] In this embodiment, the two-way communication device 700 (control unit 766) acquires information about the age and gender of the customer based on the customer's voice, but this does not necessarily have to be acquired by the control unit 766. For example, voice data of the customer acquired via the microphone 768 may be transmitted to the control device 100, and the control device 100 may acquire information about the customer's age and gender based on the voice data.

[0124] The two-way communication device 700 according to the embodiment further includes a built-in camera 770. This camera 770 captures an image of the area in the direction (i.e., the front side) of the display unit 761 of the two-way communication device 700, for example, through an opening provided in the display unit 761. This allows the camera 770 to capture images of customers who respond verbally or by touch operation to questions posed by the character image 774. Furthermore, when there are multiple customers (in the case of a customer group), the camera 770 is able to capture images of the multiple customers seated at their seats. Image data of the customer (or customer group) captured by the camera 770 is then sent to the control device 100.

[0125] The two-way communication device 700 (control unit 766) may estimate the age and gender of a customer based on an image of the customer captured by the camera 770. In this case, the estimation result based on the image of the customer captured by the camera 770 may be used to supplement the estimation of the age and gender of the customer based on the customer's voice acquired from the microphone 768. Alternatively, the age and gender of the customer may be estimated by combining the estimation result based on the image of the customer and the estimation result based on the customer's voice.

[0126] The communication unit 764 of the two-way communication device 700 is communicatively connected to the control device 100 via, for example, an internet line. The customer's response input via the microphone 768 or a touch operation on the display unit 761 is transmitted from the communication unit 764 to the control device 100 as information about the customer. The information transmitted from the communication unit 764 as information about the customer is not limited to information based on a direct response to the character image 774. For example, information about the product 5 selected by the customer from the reference menu image 772a (order information) can be considered to reflect the customer's preferences. Furthermore, information about the product 5 selected by the customer from the updated menu image 772b (order information) can also be considered to reflect the customer's preferences. Therefore, this order information is also transmitted to the control device 100 via the communication unit 764 as information about the customer. Furthermore, image data of the customer acquired via the camera 770 is also transmitted to the control device 100 via the communication unit 764. On the other hand, a control signal (a recommend command or a notification command, which will be described later) transmitted from the control device 100 is input to the two-way communication device 700 via the communication unit 764 as information related to the service.

[0127] The control unit 766 of the two-way communication device 700 can be realized by a computer including at least one processor 766a and at least one memory 766b. As described above, the control unit 766 controls various images and videos to be displayed on the display unit 761 and controls sounds and voices to be output from the speaker 762 based on control signals received from the control device 100. These processes performed by the control unit 766 are typically realized by software (computer program code), and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, some or all of the processes may also be realized by hardware (dedicated circuitry).

[0128] The control unit 766 according to the embodiment changes the character image 774 displayed on the display unit 761 based on the acquired information about the customer's age. For example, if the acquired customer is young (a child), a character popular with children, such as an anime character, is displayed as the character image 774 (see FIG. 5 ). The control unit 766 also changes the character image 774 displayed on the display unit 761 based on the acquired information about the customer's gender. For example, in the example described above in which the customer is a child, if the acquired information about the customer's gender is female, a character popular with girls may be displayed as the character image 774.

[0129] In this way, the two-way communication device 700 according to the embodiment estimates the age and gender of a customer based on responses from the customer obtained through communication. Then, the character image is changed according to the estimated age and gender. This allows for product recommendations that better suit the customer's preferences. In particular, character images for children are displayed according to the age and gender of the child, allowing the child to enjoy communicating with the character image while receiving appropriate recommendation services.

[0130] Note that when the customer group includes two or more customers and the control device 100 selects a specific customer, the control unit 766 may change the character image 774 to suit the specific customer. For example, when the customers are a family with children and the control device 100 selects the children as the specific customer, the control unit 766 causes the display unit 761 to display the character image 774 for children (for example, an anime character).

[0131] (Regarding the product conveying device 900) The product conveying device 900 is provided across the store interior 1a where customers eat and drink, and the kitchen 1b. In the store interior 1a, for example, tables 980 and seats 981 for customers to eat and drink are provided. The tables 980 may be counter tables 980b that allow customers to eat and drink while lining up in a line.

[0132] The product conveying device 900 has a circulation lane (conveyor lane) 960 on which plates carrying products 5, such as sushi, are placed. The circulation lane 960 is installed within the store 1a so that plates are conveyed near each table 980. The circulation lane 960 may be configured, for example, using a crescent chain with a flat top, but is not limited to this. The circulation lane 960 is constantly operating to convey plates in a predetermined conveyance direction (indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 ) and is configured to circulate multiple products 5 between each table 980 and the kitchen 1b within the store 1a. In other words, the circulation lane 960 conveys plates carrying products 5, such as sushi, from upstream to downstream. When viewed from a certain point on the circulation lane 960, the upstream side is the side from which the products 5 are approaching, and the downstream side is the side from which the products 5 are moving away.

[0133] In the product conveying device 900, an upper unit 951 is disposed above the circulation lane 960. The upper unit 951 is provided with lighting means configured to emit light downward to illuminate the circulation lane 960. The two-way communication device 700 is disposed in the upper unit 951. An order lane (not shown) is installed in the upper unit 951. This order lane is configured, for example, with a chain conveyor such as a crescent chain. The order lane is normally stationary. When a customer orders a product 5 and the product 5 is ready, the order lane is activated and the product 5 is conveyed to the customer who ordered the product 5.

[0134] Here, the products 5 transported along the circulation lane 960 are provided to customers using food and beverage containers 10. The food and beverage containers 10 are configured to be able to be placed on the circulation lane 960. The food and beverage containers 10 have a platform 11 on which a plate carrying the product 5 is placed, and a lid 12 configured to cover the top surface of the platform 11. The plate carrying the product 5 is transported along the circulation lane 960 while covered by the lid 12 in the food and beverage container 10. Each customer can open the lid 12 of the food and beverage container 10 to pick up the transported product 5 along with the plate, move it to the table 980, and eat it. The food and beverage container 10 from which the product 5 has been picked up is delivered to the kitchen 1b along the circulation lane 960 with the lid 12 remaining in an open state.

[0135] Such a food and beverage container 10 may have a configuration such as that described in Japanese Patent No. 5722842. In this embodiment, two food and beverage containers 10 are connected to each other to form a connected body 500, and two products 5 can be provided together on the circulation lane 960, but the provision method is not limited to this. Alternatively, a plate or the like on which the products 5 are placed may be directly placed on the circulation lane 960 for provision.

[0136] 1, the store system 1 is provided with a sensor 970 that detects products 5 being transported on the transport path. In this embodiment, the sensor 970 detects the products 5 by, for example, detecting the food and beverage containers 10 that contain the products 5, but it may also detect the products 5 directly.

[0137] For example, a plurality of sensors 970 are provided on the circulation lane 960 to detect the products 5 at various locations. The sensors may be, for example, contact sensors, non-contact sensors such as photoelectric sensors or proximity sensors, cameras that acquire images, or reading devices capable of reading RF tags (IC tags), but are not limited to these. Two or more of these sensors 970 may be used in combination. Furthermore, the sensors 970 may detect the products 5 using, for example, information stored in a database or the like in the control device 100 or another device such as a computer, or information entered by a store employee or the like. The sensors 970 may function by using the sensors 970 provided on the circulation lane 960 together with the control device 100 or another device such as a computer.

[0138] As the detection of the product 5, for example, information regarding the identification of the product 5 and information regarding the state of the product 5 are acquired.

[0139] The information relating to the identification of the product 5 is, for example, an attribute value for identifying each product 5 or an attribute value for specifying the type (such as a menu name or a category to which the product 5 belongs). Such attribute values ​​may include an identifier for identifying each plate or each food and beverage container 10 used to serve the product 5, an identification result of the manner in which the product 5 is served when the product 5 is served in a predetermined manner, and information based on an image of the product 5 (which may be the image itself or features obtainable from the image). In other words, detecting the product 5 may be said to identify the product 5.

[0140] The information regarding the status of the product 5 is, for example, information indicating the status of the product 5 or information used to grasp the status of the product 5. The status of the product 5 may be, for example, the position of the product 5, the presence or absence of the product 5, the time elapsed since the product 5 was provided on the circulation lane 960, etc., but is not limited to these. The position of the product 5 may be, for example, the relative position on the circulation lane 960, or the absolute position of the product 5 within the store 1, i.e., the position of the product 5 relative to each customer. When the relative position on the circulation lane 960 (the position of the product 5 from the starting point on the circulation lane 960) can be grasped, the relative position may be detected as information used to grasp the status of the product 5. In other words, it is possible to grasp the absolute position of the product 5 based on the relative position and the position on the circulation lane 960. Furthermore, as the information regarding the presence or absence of the product 5, information indicating that the presence of a product 5 that had been present until then was not detected at a certain timing may be obtained.

[0141] Furthermore, information may be obtained indicating that the food and beverage container 10 containing a specific product 5 has become open. This information can be said to indicate that the product 5 has been picked up from the circulation lane 960 by a customer or the like. The state of the product 5 can also be said to be the state in which the product 5 has been provided. Furthermore, if the food and beverage container 10 passes by a customer (customer seat) while remaining in a closed state (for example, if information indicating an open state is not obtained from the two sensors 970 on either side of the customer seat), this information indicates that the customer did not pick up the product 5.

[0142] The sensor 970 is configured to be able to detect each of the two or more products 5 being transported on the circulation lane 960 .

[0143] The sensor 970 may be configured to include, for example, an open / close detector and a reader. In this case, for example, a unique RF tag or the like is provided on the food and beverage container 10, and information read by the reader can be used as information relating to the identification of each product 5. Furthermore, the open / close state of the food and beverage container 10 can be detected using the open / close detector, and the information can be used as information relating to the state of the product 5.

[0144] In this embodiment, the open / close detector of the sensor 970 is arranged so as to be able to detect the open / closed state of the food and beverage container 10 at a position corresponding to each seat (between the tables 980 or between the seats 981 of the counter table 980b). That is, the sensor 970 detects whether the food and beverage container 10 has been opened in a section of the circulation lane 960 corresponding to a seat, i.e., whether the product 5 has been removed from the circulation lane 960. The sensor 970 also detects whether the food and beverage container 10 has been kept closed in a section of the circulation lane 960 corresponding to a seat, i.e., whether the product 5 has not been removed from the circulation lane 960. However, this is not limited thereto, and the open / close detectors may be arranged at predetermined intervals on the circulation lane 960, or may be arranged at any location according to the layout of the store, etc. That is, the sensor 970 is configured to be able to detect when the product 5 that was being conveyed is no longer present on the circulation lane 960 at two or more locations on the circulation lane 960.

[0145] The sensor 970 is not limited to being configured using such an open / close detector or RF tag reader. For example, the sensor 970 may be configured to detect the open / close status of the food and beverage container 10 or to acquire attribute values ​​related to the type of product 5, using an image obtained by photographing the circulation lane 960 with a camera. In this case, for example, the food and beverage container 10 may be provided with a two-dimensional code or the like representing an identifier, and the sensor 970 may be configured to detect the product 5 using the results of reading the two-dimensional code. Furthermore, the sensor 970 may be configured to acquire information indicating the absolute position of the product 5 based on, for example, the position where the product 5 is placed on the circulation lane 960, i.e., the relative position of the product 5 on the circulation lane 960, and the position of the circulation lane 960.

[0146] The sensor 970 is connected to the control device 100 wirelessly or by wire, and a detection signal detected by the sensor 970 is transmitted to the control device 100 .

[0147] (Regarding the control device 100) Next, the control device 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 100 is a central management server installed in a control room, for example, located on the kitchen side of a restaurant. The control device 100 is communicatively connected to each device in the restaurant and controls these devices in an integrated manner. The control device 100 can be realized by a computer including a processor 100a, a memory 100b, and the like. The processing procedures of the control device 100 are usually realized by software (computer program code), and the software is recorded on a recording medium such as a ROM. However, some or all of the processing may also be realized by hardware (dedicated circuitry).

[0148] Here, in this disclosure, the term "processor" refers to one or more hardware processors configured to execute program code (i.e., one or more instructions constituting a program) included in a program. In other words, a "processor" is a hardware device capable of executing one or more programmed processes. For example, a "processor" may be a general-purpose or special-purpose processor, such as a CPU, a microprocessor, a GPU, and a DFP (Data Flow Processor), but is not limited to these.

[0149] In this disclosure, the term "memory" refers to one or more hardware memories that are non-transitory tangible recording media configured to store computer program code and / or data accessible to a processor. The "memory" may be implemented using memory technologies such as SRAM, SDRAM, non-volatile flash memory, or other types of memory. Computer program code constituting a program may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor to cause the control device 100 to perform various functions.

[0150] The control device 100 is connected to a plurality of two-way communication devices 700 and a plurality of sensors 970 installed in the store. The control device 100 acquires information about services using a machine learning technique based on information received from the two-way communication devices 700 and the sensors 970. The control device 100 transmits the acquired information about services to each two-way communication device 700 as a recommendation command.

[0151] (Regarding input signals to the control device 100) Information about the customer is input to the control device 100 from the two-way communication device 700. The information about the customer can be said to be information related to the preferences of the customer (customer group). Specifically, when the customer responds to the character image 774 by voice, the voice (product name or type of product 5) input via the microphone 768 can be used. Furthermore, when the customer responds to the character image 774 by touching the input acceptance image 776, the answer selected by the touch operation can be used (product name or type of product 5).

[0152] Furthermore, when a customer touches the reference menu image 772a to order the product 5 displayed on the reference menu image 772a, information about the ordered product 5 (order information) is input to the control device 100. Similarly, when a customer touches the updated menu image 772b to order the product 5 displayed on the updated menu image 772b, information about the ordered product 5 (order information) is input to the control device 100 as information about the customer. Furthermore, when a customer customizes the menu image 772, information about the product 5 displayed on the customized menu image 772 (information about the product 5 displayed on the customized menu image 772, the product 5 enlarged by the customer, the product 5 registered as a favorite, etc.) is input to the control device 100.

[0153] Information about the age and gender of the customer transmitted from the two-way communication device 700 is input to the control device 100 as information about the customer. In addition, image data captured by the camera 770 of the two-way communication device 700 is input to the control device 100. The image data obtained from the two-way communication device 700 is used in a specific customer selection process (described below) that is executed when there are multiple customers.

[0154] The control device 100 receives detection signals from all sensors 970 installed in the restaurant. Specifically, each sensor 970 inputs information related to the identification of the product 5 and information related to the condition of the product 5 as detection signals to the control device 100. The control device 100 can identify all products 5 being transported on the circulation lane by recognizing the product 5 and the type of product 5 as information related to product identification. The control device 100 also updates the information on the products 5 being transported by receiving a detection signal each time from the sensor 970. The control device 100 stores the position information of all sensors 970 installed in the restaurant, and can recognize the position of a detected product 5 on the circulation lane based on the information related to the identification of the product 5 from each sensor 970.

[0155] The control device 100 can recognize whether a product 5 has been picked up by a customer based on information about the state of the product 5 (open detection). Furthermore, since the control device 100 is aware of the positions of all sensors 970, when an open detection signal is input from the downstream sensor 970 of two sensors 970 arranged in the conveyance direction on either side of a certain customer seat, the control device 100 can recognize that the customer at that seat has picked up the product 5. Such information is information about customer preferences (information about the product 5 that the customer likes), and therefore, the detection signals from the sensors 970 can be considered customer information. On the other hand, when an open detection signal is not received from either of the two sensors 970 arranged in the conveyance direction on either side of a certain customer seat, the control device 100 can recognize that the customer at that seat did not pick up the product 5. Such information is also information about customer preferences (a product 5 that the customer did not like), and therefore, not receiving a detection signal (open detection signal) from the sensor 970 can be considered to be customer information.

[0156] In this embodiment, management-related information is input to the control device 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , this management-related information is input to the control device 100 by an employee via a predetermined input device 500 (keyboard, touch panel, etc.). The management-related information can be said to be information for identifying products 5 that the restaurant wishes to recommend from a management perspective. Examples of the management-related information include the inventory status of each product 5, the profit margin of each product 5, and the expiration date of each product 5.

[0157] (Trained Model 200) These input signals input to the control device 100 are input to the trained model 200. This trained model 200 may be installed directly on a management server serving as the control device 100 and executed in a local environment. Alternatively, the trained model 200 may utilize a service built on the cloud. For example, cloud services such as AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS) (registered trademark), GOOGLE CLOUD PLATTFORM (GCP) (registered trademark), and MICROSOFT AZURE (registered trademark) may be utilized. Furthermore, instead of such a conventional training model, the trained model 200 may be built based on a generative model employed in generative AI. In other words, learning may be built so that information about services tailored to customer preferences is output by inputting customer information into the generative model and performing additional training. For example, if the restaurant is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, a generative AI customized for the conveyor-belt sushi industry is used, using machine learning on a large amount of proprietary data accumulated in the conveyor-belt sushi industry and conveyor-belt sushi restaurant / chain. Examples of models used in the generative AI include, but are not limited to, GPT (registered trademark), VAE (registered trademark), GAN (registered trademark), and diffusion models. Furthermore, the trained model 200 may be constructed based on LLMs (Large Language Models). Specifically, for example, if the restaurant is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, the LLM may be customized using a small model (adapter) specialized for the conveyor-belt sushi industry and business content. By combining the adapter with the underlying LLM, it is possible to adjust the output to be tailored to the conveyor-belt sushi industry and business content.

[0158] Furthermore, the trained model 200 may be constructed by combining the conventional learning model and the generative AI described above. In this case, the conventional learning model is trained to learn the relationship between input (attributes) and output (recommended products, etc.). Meanwhile, the generative AI is used to facilitate natural communication with customers. This makes it possible to realize natural conversations that pick up on subtle nuances in the customer's input when communicating with the character video 774.

[0159] When using a generated AI, for example, if the restaurant is a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, assigning the role of a sushi chef (chief) in the prompt to the generated AI enables natural communication as if conversing with the sushi chef. Furthermore, when displaying a character video 774 for children, the role of an anime character or the like is assigned as a prompt to the generated AI. This allows children to communicate in an enjoyable way, as if they were talking to an anime character. In addition to exchanges about orders, communication with customers using the generated AI may also involve small talk or other conversations.

[0160] For example, the trained model 200 is a mathematical model trained by a machine learning algorithm using a training dataset. Specifically, the trained model 200 is trained to input various information about a customer and output information about services that match the customer's preferences. The training data may be, for example, data about customers accumulated in a restaurant, such as the product 5 ordered by the customer, the date and time, the day of the week, the store name, the weather, etc. Other information may include the customer's gender, age, date of birth, and attributes (husband, wife, children, etc.).

[0161] The control device 100 can acquire information about services that match the preferences of a customer by inputting information about the customer into the trained model 200. Specifically, by inputting information about the customer into the trained model 200, a product 5 (recommended product) that matches the preferences of the customer is identified. The control device 100 acquires this identified product 5 as information about the service. For example, when the type of product 5 that the customer prefers (e.g., lean meat) is input as information about the customer, the trained model 200 is trained to output one or more products 5 related to lean meat (tuna, fatty tuna, etc.).

[0162] Furthermore, when the customer's age and gender are input as customer information, the trained model 200 is trained to output one or more products 5 that are preferred by customers of that age and gender (e.g., eggs if the customer is a child). The trained model 200 may also be trained to output events or campaign services that can be provided at the restaurant (e.g., a lottery game for prize goods if the customer is a child) according to the input customer's age and gender.

[0163] Furthermore, when information about the product 5 ordered in the menu image 772 (reference menu image 772a and updated menu image 772b) or the product 5 picked up by a customer identified from the detection signal from the sensor 970 is input, the trained model 200 is trained to identify products 5 related to these products 5. For example, the product 5 ordered by a customer can be said to be the product 5 that the customer prefers to eat or drink. Therefore, the trained model 200 is trained to identify and output one or more products 5 (e.g., fatty tuna) that are related to the product 5 ordered by the customer (e.g., tuna) but have not yet been ordered by the customer. Furthermore, if the control device 100 determines based on the detection signal from the sensor 970 that a certain customer always passes (does not pick up) a product 5 in the circulation lane, it can be inferred that the customer does not like that product 5. Therefore, by inputting information about the product 5 not picked up by the customer into the trained model 200, the trained model 200 may be trained not to identify that product 5 as a recommended product.

[0164] In addition, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify and output one or more products 5 that are likely to be ordered next by a customer based on the products 5 ordered via the menu image 772 or the order in which the customer, identified based on the detection signal of the sensor 970, picks up the products 5.

[0165] Furthermore, when a customer customizes the menu image 772, information about the product 5 displayed in the customized menu image 772 may be input to the trained model 200. For example, if a customer customizes the menu image 772 to display a specific product 5 (e.g., shrimp) in a larger size, the specific product 5 can be considered to be a product 5 that the customer prefers. By inputting this information into the trained model 200, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify and output one or more products 5 (e.g., shrimp) that are related to the specific product 5 and that the customer has not yet ordered. Furthermore, when a customer pins the menu image 772 or registers the entire menu image 772 or specific products 5 as favorites, the products 5 displayed in the menu image 772 and the products 5 registered as favorites can be considered to be the customer's preferences. By inputting information about these products 5 into the trained model 200, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify and output one or more products 5 related to the specific product 5 and that the customer has not yet ordered.

[0166] Furthermore, the trained model 200 of this embodiment is trained not only to output products 5 that match customer preferences, but also to output products taking into consideration the restaurant's management perspective. Therefore, by having employees input management-related information into the trained model 200, the trained model 200 identifies products 5 to recommend to customers, taking into consideration the management perspective. For example, by inputting information to the trained model 200 that a specific product 5 is in high stock at a restaurant, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify the specific product 5 as a product 5 to be preferentially recommended. Conversely, if a certain product 5 is running low in stock, by inputting information to that effect into the trained model 200, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify the product 5 with low stock as a product 5 that is not recommended.

[0167] Furthermore, for example, by inputting information to the trained model 200 as information regarding management that a product 5 with a short expiration date (fast-selling) is in stock, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify the fast-selling product 5 as a product 5 to be preferentially recommended. Furthermore, by inputting information to the trained model 200 as information regarding management that a product 5 with a high profit margin is in stock, the trained model 200 may be trained to identify the product 5 with a high profit margin as a product 5 to be preferentially recommended.

[0168] When a seat is a customer group, information about a specific customer selected by the control device 100 is input to the trained model 200. When information about the specific customer is input, the trained model 200 outputs information about services for the specific customer in the customer group (i.e., product 5 recommended for the specific customer, etc.). For example, when the customer group is a family, if the control device 100 selects children as specific customers, the information is input to the trained model 200. As a result, the trained model 200 identifies product 5 recommended for children.

[0169] (Regarding Output Signals from the Control Device 100) When the control device 100 acquires information about a service from the trained model 200, it transmits a recommendation command to the two-way communication device 700. The recommendation command is a command that instructs the two-way communication device 700 to recommend the information about the service acquired from the trained model 200 to the customer via character video 774, audio output, and menu image 772. For example, assume that the trained model 200 outputs one or more products 5 related to red meat (tuna, fatty tuna, etc.) in response to a customer's answer (e.g., "I like red meat"). In this case, the control device 100 generates a recommendation command that instructs the two-way communication device 700 to recommend tuna and fatty tuna using character video. The recommendation command also includes an instruction to output audio from the speaker 762 in conjunction with the character video 774 and an instruction to display the recommended products (tuna, fatty tuna) in a large size on the menu image 772 (updated menu image 772b). Furthermore, when the trained model 200 outputs a specific product 5 as a recommended product for a certain customer (referred to as a target customer), the control device 100 transmits a notification command to the two-way communication device 700 (hereinafter referred to as the target device) installed at the target customer's seat when a predetermined condition is met. That is, when (1) the recommended product is being transported on the circulation lane, and (2) a sensor 970 installed upstream of the target customer detects that the recommended product has not been picked up by another customer, the control device 100 transmits a notification command to the target device.

[0170] Here, the timing at which the control device 100 transmits the recommendation command may be, for example, when the control device 100 (or the two-way communication device 700) recognizes that the customer has finished eating the product 5. In this case, as a method of recognizing that the customer has finished eating the product, the control device 100 may recognize that the customer has finished eating the product 5, for example, based on image data transmitted from the two-way communication device 700. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the control device 100 may estimate the speed at which the customer will eat and drink based on the customer's age, gender, etc., and then transmit the recommendation command at an appropriate timing.

[0171] Furthermore, the control device 100 may determine the timing for transmitting a recommendation command based on a response from the customer to the two-way communication device 700. For example, the two-way communication device 700 is configured to have the character image 774 ask whether the customer has finished eating the product at a predetermined timing (by displaying a message on the display unit 761 and outputting audio from the speaker). Then, when the customer responds to this question by voice or by touching the display unit 761 to indicate that they have finished eating, the control device 100 may transmit a recommendation command. Furthermore, the two-way communication device 700 is configured to have the character image 774 ask the customer what they think of the product 5 at a predetermined timing (by displaying a message on the display unit 761 and outputting audio from the speaker). Then, when the customer responds to this question by voice or by touching the display unit 761 with their thoughts on the product 5, the control device 100 may transmit a recommendation command. Furthermore, the display unit 761 may be provided with a rating column for product 5 (for example, displaying the deliciousness of product 5 on a five-point scale), and when a customer inputs the rating for product 5 by touch operation, the control device 100 may send a recommendation command.

[0172] In some restaurants, each seat is provided with a plate collection device (not shown) that collects plates carrying products 5. In such restaurants, it can be assumed that a customer has finished eating the product 5 when the plate collection device collects the plate. Therefore, when the plate collection device collects the plate 5, a plate detection signal may be transmitted to the control device 100. Then, when the control device 100 receives the detection signal from the plate collection device, the control device 100 may transmit a recommendation command to the two-way communication device 700 at the seat where the plate collection device is provided.

[0173] In this manner, in the embodiment, product 5 is recommended multiple times via character video 774 or the like when the customer finishes eating product 5. Therefore, the customer receives the recommendation for product 5 as if they were having a conversation with a chef at the restaurant (a sushi chef in the case of a sushi restaurant). Therefore, the customer can receive the recommendation for product 5 without feeling bothered and can have a fun time.

[0174] (Regarding Control Processing) Next, control of the store system according to this embodiment will be described below.

[0175] (Recommendation Processing) First, the overall flow of the recommendation processing executed by the store system will be described with reference to Figure 9. The recommendation processing is mainly executed by the control unit 766 of the two-way communication device 700 and the control device 100. When a customer who has visited the store is seated at a table, a reference menu image 772a and a character image 774 are displayed on the display unit 761 of the two-way communication device 700. The control unit 766 outputs sound from the speaker 762 in conjunction with the character image 774 and displays a message on the input acceptance image 776 (S10).

[0176] When the customer responds to the question posed by the character image 774 (S12), the customer's response is input to the two-way communication device 700 via the microphone 768 or the input acceptance image 776. The two-way communication device 700 transmits the customer's response to the control device 100 as information about the customer (S14). When the control device 100 receives the information about the customer from the two-way communication device 700, it inputs the information into the trained model 200 (S16). Based on the input information, the trained model 200 identifies a product 5 that matches the customer's preferences and outputs it to the control device 100 as a recommended product (S18). When the control device 100 acquires the information about the recommended product, it transmits a recommendation command recommending the product 5 to the two-way communication device 700 (S20).

[0177] Upon receiving the recommendation command, the two-way communication device 700 changes the reference menu image 772a in accordance with the recommended product and displays an updated menu image 772b (S22). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, an updated menu image 772b is displayed in which the recommended product (shrimp) is enlarged. The two-way communication device 700 also changes the character image 774 in accordance with the recommended product, and, for example, displays a message recommending the recommended product and outputs audio recommending the recommended product from the speaker 762. At this time, products related to the recommended product (shrimp, botanical shrimp, etc.) may be displayed in the updated menu image 772b, and audio may be output from the speaker 762 or a message may be displayed on the display unit 761.

[0178] When the recommended product identified by the trained model 200 is being transported on the circulation lane, if the control device 100 determines to issue a notification (S24), the control device 100 transmits a notification command to the two-way communication device 700 (S26). Upon receiving the notification command, the two-way communication device 700 displays a notification image 778 on the display unit 761, as shown in FIG. 8 (S28).

[0179] Here, suppose that the customer customizes the menu image 772 by touching the display unit 761 of the two-way communication device 700 (S30). For example, if a specific product 5 (shrimp) is enlarged as shown in FIG. 7 , the two-way communication device 700 updates the menu image 772 (S32) and transmits information indicating that the specific product 5 (shrimp) has been enlarged to the control device 100 as information about the customer (S34). The control device 100 inputs this information into the trained model 200, thereby acquiring recommended products based on the information. The control device 100 then transmits a recommendation command to the two-way communication device 700 to recommend the acquired recommended products (S40).

[0180] When the two-way communication device 700 receives the recommendation command, it updates the menu image 772 again to match the recommended product (S42). In this way, the two-way communication device 700 creates a cycle of updating the menu image 772 → customer response → updating the menu image 772 (see FIG. 10). This automatically generates an optimal menu image 772 that matches the customer's preferences. This can therefore stimulate customers' purchasing desire and is expected to increase sales at the restaurant.

[0181] The two-way communication device 700 changes the character image 774 in response to the recommendation command (S44), and when the customer responds to this (S46), feedback is again provided to the control device 100.

[0182] In this way, the store system according to the embodiment recommends the most suitable product 5 or service to the customer based on the customer's response to the character video 774. Therefore, the customer's appetite is stimulated while they enjoy communicating with the character video 774, which can increase their desire to purchase. Moreover, various data about the customer is acquired through communication with the customer, so that the product 5 can be recommended to the customer accurately.

[0183] (Notification Process) Next, the notification process executed by the control device 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11 . The notification process is performed by the control device 100 (processor 100a) executing a control program. In the notification process, the control device 100 receives detection signals from each sensor 970 (S100). Next, upon acquiring a recommended product from the trained model 200 (S102), the control device 100 determines whether the recommended product is being transported on the circulation lane (S104). If the recommended product is not on the circulation lane (S104: NO), the flow returns to step S100. On the other hand, if the recommended product is on the circulation lane (S104: YES), the flow returns to step S100. On the other hand, if the recommended product is on the circulation lane, the flow determines whether the recommended product is detected by the sensor 970 upstream of the seat of the customer (target customer) to whom the recommended product is being recommended (S106). Here, the detection of the recommended product refers to the upstream sensor 970 detecting the target product 5 when the recommended product has not been picked up by another customer (i.e., when the recommended product has not been detected as being open).

[0184] If the upstream sensor 970 does not detect the recommended product, i.e., if the recommended product has been picked up by another customer (S106: NO), the flow returns to step S104, where it is determined again whether or not there is a recommended product on the recommended lane. On the other hand, if the upstream sensor 970 detects the recommended product (S106: YES), the control device 100 decides to notify the customer of the recommended product (S108), and transmits a notification command to the two-way communication device 700 installed in the customer's seat (S110).

[0185] In this way, in the notification process, when a recommended product is being transported on the circulation lane, the two-way communication device 700 notifies the customer that the recommended product will soon arrive. This encourages customers to purchase the recommended product on the circulation lane, which can contribute to reducing the number of products 5 that are disposed of. Moreover, because the recommended product on the circulation lane is recommended to the customer, the customer can quickly obtain the recommended product without having to order it. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable service for the customer.

[0186] (Specific Customer Selection Process) Next, the specific customer selection process executed by the control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 12 . The specific customer selection process is implemented by the control device 100 (processor 100a) executing a control program. This specific customer selection process begins when a customer (customer group) arrives at a restaurant and takes their seat. When the control device 100 receives image data of the customer captured by the camera 770 of the two-way communication device 700 (S200), it determines whether there are multiple customers (step S202). If there is only one customer (S202: NO), the specific customer selection process ends. On the other hand, if there are multiple customers (S202: YES), the control device 100 determines whether there are children among the multiple customers (S204). At this time, the control device 100 may estimate whether there are children based on information about the customer's age received from the two-way communication device 700. Alternatively, it may determine whether there are children based on the customer's image data.

[0187] If there is a child among the customers (S204: YES), the child is selected as a specific customer (S206), and the specific customer selection process is terminated. On the other hand, if there is no child among the customers (S204: NO), the control device 100 determines whether there is an elderly person (e.g., aged 60 or older) among the customers (S208). Then, if there is no elderly person among the customers (S208: NO), the specific customer process is terminated without selecting a specific customer. On the other hand, if there is an elderly person among the customers (S208: YES), the elderly person is selected as a specific customer.

[0188] In this way, in the specific customer selection process, when there are multiple customers, a specific customer (in this example, a child or an elderly person) is selected as the specific customer, and subsequent product 5 recommendations are made to the specific customer. Therefore, for example, in the case of a family with children, products 5 aimed at children are recommended as a specific customer, allowing the customer to enjoy a fun meal with a focus on the children. Also, when there are elderly people among multiple customers, the elderly are selected as the specific customer, and products 5 aimed mainly at the elderly are recommended. Therefore, it is possible to recommend products 5 that are considerate of the elderly.

[0189] In the above-described example of the specific customer selection process, a child or an elderly person is selected as the specific customer, but the process is not limited to this. For example, if there are both male and female customers, the female may be selected as the specific customer. The two-way communication device 700 may also change the character image 774 depending on the specific customer selected by the control device 100. For example, if there is a child among a family of customers and the child is selected as the specific customer, the two-way communication device 700 may display a character from an anime or the like that is popular with children as a character image (see FIG. 5).

[0190] (Modifications) Next, modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described below. In the following description, elements having the same functions as those in the embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0191] 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a store system 10 according to a modified example. In the store system 10 according to the modified example, an employee display device 300 is provided in, for example, the kitchen 1b of the restaurant. This employee display device 300 is, for example, a display terminal equipped with a touch panel display unit (second display unit) 300a. However, the employee display device 300 may be a mobile terminal carried by an employee or a personal computer provided in the kitchen.

[0192] In addition, the control device 100 according to the modified example acquires product prediction information, which indicates products 5 that are likely to be ordered by customers in the future, based on information about services acquired from the trained model 200 based on information about customers obtained via multiple two-way communication devices 700 in the restaurant. For example, if a specific product 5 (e.g., shrimp) is recommended to multiple customers in the restaurant, it can be said that this specific product 5 is likely to be ordered by the customer in the future. Therefore, the control device 100, for example, examines the currently recommended products 5 and lists the products 5 that are repeatedly recommended to multiple customers. Then, the control device 100 recognizes, for example, the top three products 5 from the listed products 5 as products that are likely to be ordered in the near future. The product prediction information recognized in this manner is transmitted from the control device 100 to the employee display device 300.

[0193] Upon receiving the product prediction information, the employee display device 300 displays on the display unit 300a one or more products 5 that the control device 100 has determined to be highly likely to be ordered in the future. By displaying products 5 that are highly likely to be ordered in the future on the employee display device 300, the employee can be aware of these products 5 in advance. Therefore, for example, a product 5 that has been determined to be highly likely to be ordered can be prepared even if it has not been ordered. Therefore, even if the same product 5 is ordered multiple times, the product 5 can be quickly provided to the customer.

[0194] In addition, by recognizing the product 5 displayed on the display unit 300a of the employee display device 300, the employee can prepare the product 5 before the customer places an order and transport it on the circulation lane 900.

[0195] The store system described in the above-described embodiment and modified examples can be modified in various ways. In the store systems according to the embodiment and modified examples, a two-way communication device is illustrated as a display terminal device installed at a customer's seat. However, for example, a mobile terminal device owned by a customer can be used as the two-way communication device. In this case, for example, the customer installs a predetermined application on the mobile terminal device in advance. Then, the customer can use the application function to receive a recommendation service.

[0196] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, communication with customers is attempted through character images. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to a form in which moving characters communicate with customers through audio. For example, a still image (communication image) such as a character or message without audio output may be displayed on the display unit of the two-way communication device, and the customer may respond by touching the display unit.

Claims

1. A store system for providing customers with information about services in a restaurant equipped with a conveyor lane for transporting products, the store system comprising: a two-way communication device used at each seat in the restaurant, which outputs information about the service to customers and allows input from the customers; and a control device connected to and capable of communicating with the two-way communication device; the two-way communication device comprises a display unit capable of displaying the information about the service to customers, an audio output unit capable of outputting audio, and a communication unit configured to communicate with the control device, and is configured to allow customers to order the products via the two-way communication device; the two-way communication device displays a character image that communicates with the customer on the display unit, and outputs audio to the customer from the audio output unit in conjunction with the character image, and transmits information about the customer that is input by the customer responding to the output audio to the control device from the communication unit; the control device inputs the information about the customer received from the two-way communication device into a trained model that suggests services in line with the customer's preferences, thereby obtaining information about the service that matches the customer's preferences, and transmitting the obtained information about the service to the two-way communication device; and the two-way communication device displays the information about the service received from the control device on the display unit.

2. The store system of claim 1, wherein the two-way communication device further comprises an audio input unit capable of audio input, and when the customer responds by voice to the audio output from the audio output unit, information about the customer is input to the two-way communication device via the audio input unit.

3. The store system according to claim 2, wherein the two-way communication device acquires information about the customer based on the customer's voice input via the voice input unit, the information about the customer being related to the customer's age.

4. The store system according to claim 2, wherein the two-way communication device acquires information about the customer based on the voice input from the customer via the voice input unit, the information about the customer being related to the customer's gender.

5. A store system as described in claim 1, wherein the two-way communication device further displays an input acceptance image on the display unit that can be operated by the customer, and information about the customer is input into the two-way communication device when the customer responds via the input acceptance image to the voice output from the voice output unit.

6. The store system of claim 5, wherein the two-way communication device displays items related to age as the input acceptance image, and when the customer selects the item related to age displayed in the input acceptance image, information about the customer's age is input into the two-way communication device as information about the customer.

7. The store system of claim 5, wherein the two-way communication device displays items related to gender as the input acceptance image, and when the customer selects the item related to gender displayed in the input acceptance image, information related to the customer's gender is input into the two-way communication device as information about the customer.

8. The store system of claim 1, wherein the two-way communication device is configured to display a reference menu image showing at least one product offered at the restaurant as a menu image on the display unit, and to allow customers to order a product by selecting the product shown in the reference menu image, and the two-way communication device displays an updated menu image showing at least one product in a manner different from the reference menu image on the display unit as the menu image based on information regarding the service received from the control device.

9. A store system according to claim 8, wherein the two-way communication device displays, as the updated menu image, an image in which a specific product is highlighted based on information about the service received from the control device.

10. The store system described in claim 8, wherein the two-way communication device transmits order information regarding the product ordered by the customer via the reference menu image to the control device, and the control device further inputs the order information ordered by the customer via the reference menu image into the trained model to obtain information regarding the service.

11. The store system described in claim 10, wherein the two-way communication device transmits order information regarding the product ordered by the customer to the control device via the updated menu image, and the control device further inputs the order information ordered by the customer via the updated menu image into the trained model, thereby obtaining information regarding the service.

12. The store system of claim 1, wherein the conveying lane is a circulation lane that transports goods so that they circulate along the customer seats, and is provided with a sensor that determines whether or not a product being conveyed on the circulation lane has been acquired by a customer and outputs detection information based on the determination result, and the control device further inputs the detection signal output from the sensor into the trained model to obtain information regarding the service.

13. The store system of claim 1, wherein information regarding the operation of the restaurant is input to the control device, and the control device further inputs the information regarding the operation into the trained model to obtain information regarding the service.

14. The store system according to claim 1, wherein the two-way communication device is operable by the customer to display a still image on the display unit that stops the display of information about the service.

15. A store system as described in claim 1, wherein, when there are multiple customers at one seat, the control device selects a specific customer from the multiple customers based on information about the customer sent from the two-way communication terminal, obtains information about the service that suits the preferences of the specific customer, and sends it to the two-way communication device.

16. The store system according to claim 15, wherein the two-way communication device changes the character image in accordance with the specific customer selected by the control device.

17. The store system of claim 1, wherein the transport lane is a circulation lane that transports goods so that they circulate along the customer seats, and the control device, when the information about the service obtained based on the information about the customer recommends a specific product to the customer, sends a notification command to the two-way communication device if there is a possibility that the specific product will be transported on the circulation lane and reach the customer, and when the two-way communication device receives the notification command from the control device, displays on the display unit a notification image that notifies that a specific product from the products transported on the circulation lane will arrive at the corresponding customer seat.

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