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

Abstract

This information processing device: collects information related to a plurality of creations by a first creator; derives a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator on the basis of the information on each creation by the first creator; calculates a creativity stagnation degree for the first creator on the basis of the creative tendencies for the plurality of creations by the first creator; if the stagnation degree exceeds a threshold value, selects, as a mentor, a second creator who is likely to expand the creative tendency of creations by the first creator, from among a plurality of creators; acquires background information, which is information related to the day-to-day behavior of the mentor; and outputs the background information.

Description

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

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology that supports creators in expressing their creativity.

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a creator matching system that enables transactions between creators and consumers, evaluates creators using evaluation criteria that directly reflect consumer demand, and matches a large number of creators with the needs of clients based on those evaluations.

[0003] However, in the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the evaluation criteria for creators reflect consumer demand, and do not evaluate creativity that exceeds consumer imagination and expectations. Therefore, with the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a risk that the creativity of creators will become stale.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-306859

[0005] In view of these problems, the present disclosure aims to provide a technology that prevents creators' creativity from becoming stale.

[0006] An information processing method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in a computer, which collects information regarding multiple creations by a first creator, derives a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator based on the information regarding each creation by the first creator, calculates a degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator, and if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, selects a second creator from the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations, obtains background information which is information regarding the mentor's daily activities, and outputs the background information.

[0007] Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information processing system according to the present embodiment; Fig. 2 is a scatter diagram showing an example of the relationship between the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation; Fig. 3 is a scatter diagram showing an example of a vector space defined by the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation by each of a plurality of creators; Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a mentor determination table; Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information processing system according to the present embodiment;

[0008] (Knowledge underlying the present disclosure) The inventors are studying technology that supports users (hereinafter, creators) in professions that require them to demonstrate their creativity, such as writers, painters, creators, musicians, sculptors, and architects, so that they can fully demonstrate their creativity.

[0009] The conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 evaluates creators using evaluation criteria that directly reflect consumer demand. However, these evaluation criteria reflect consumer demand, and do not evaluate creativity that exceeds consumers' imaginations and expectations. Therefore, with this conventional technology, the specific direction, preferences, and characteristics of a creator's creations (hereinafter referred to as "creative tendencies") are limited to meet consumer demand, which may lead to the creator's creativity becoming stale.

[0010] Therefore, the present inventors have conducted extensive research into techniques for preventing creators' creativity from becoming stale, and have come up with the present disclosure.

[0011] (1) An information processing method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in a computer, which collects information on multiple creations by a first creator, derives a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator based on the information on each creation by the first creator, calculates a degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator, and if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, selects a second creator from the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the creations by the first creator, obtains background information which is information about the mentor's daily activities, and outputs the background information.

[0012] In this configuration, the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator is calculated based on the creative tendencies of the first creator's multiple creations, and therefore, the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator can be understood based on this degree of monotony.

[0013] In this configuration, if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, a second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations is selected as a mentor, and background information regarding the mentor's daily behavior is output. Therefore, when the background information is output, it is possible to determine whether the first creator's creativity has become monotonous to the extent that the degree of monotony exceeds the threshold. In this case, the first creator can take action to expand the creative tendency of the creations by referring to the mentor's daily behavior indicated by the output background information. This makes it possible to prevent the first creator's creativity from becoming monotonous.

[0014] (2) In the information processing method described in (1) above, the background information may be information about content purchased or viewed by the mentor.

[0015] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can refer to the information about the content purchased or viewed by the mentor and purchase or view content that will expand the creative direction of the creation, thereby preventing the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0016] (3) In the information processing method described in (1) above, information indicating the creative field of each creator may be further acquired, and in acquiring the background information, information regarding content that belongs to the creative field of the first creator and that the mentor has purchased or viewed may be acquired as the background information.

[0017] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can refer to information about content that the mentor has purchased or viewed that belongs to the first creator's creative field, and purchase or view content that will expand the creative trends of the first creator's creative works in that creative field. This makes it possible to prevent the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0018] (4) In the information processing method described in (2) or (3) above, the information about the content may include a purchase history or a viewing history of the content.

[0019] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can easily purchase or view content that will expand the creative potential of the creative work by referring to the purchase history or viewing history of the content purchased or viewed by the mentor, thereby preventing the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0020] (5) In the information processing method described in any one of (1) to (4) above, information indicating the creative field of each creator may be further obtained, and in selecting the mentor, the second creator may be selected as the mentor from among one or more creators of the plurality of creators who are in the same creative field as the first creator.

[0021] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can take actions that expand the creative tendency of the creation by referring to the daily actions of the mentor in the same creative field as the first creator, as indicated by the background information. This makes it possible to prevent the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0022] (6) In the information processing method described in any one of (1) to (5) above, the background information may include a control parameter for controlling a state of a space in which the mentor is present.

[0023] According to this configuration, when background information is output, the first creator can expand the creative tendency of the creative work by controlling the state of the space in which the first creator is located using the control parameters indicated by the background information.

[0024] (7) In the information processing method described in any one of (1) to (6) above, the creative tendency of each creation by the first creator may be derived by extracting features of each creation from information about each creation and analyzing the features of multiple creations by the first creator.

[0025] In this configuration, the creative tendency of each of the works created by the first creator is derived by analyzing the feature quantities of the multiple works created by the first creator. Therefore, the creative tendency of each of the works created by the first creator can be appropriately derived by taking into consideration the relationship between the feature quantities of each of the works created by the first creator and the feature quantities of other works created by the first creator.

[0026] (8) In the information processing method described in (7) above, in deriving the creative tendency of each of the works created by the first creator, a first principal component score and a second principal component score of each of the works created by the first creator are obtained by principal component analysis of feature quantities of the multiple works created by the first creator, and are then derived as the creative tendency of each of the works created by the first creator. In calculating the degree of monotony, a covariance of the first principal component score and the second principal component score of the multiple works created by the first creator may be calculated, and the degree of monotony may be calculated based on the magnitude of the covariance.

[0027] In this configuration, the degree of boredom is calculated based on the magnitude of covariance between the first principal component scores and the second principal component scores of the multiple creations by the first creator. Therefore, the degree of boredom can be appropriately calculated in consideration of the correlation between the first principal component scores of the multiple creations by the first creator and the second principal component scores of the multiple creations by the first creator.

[0028] (9) In the information processing method described in (8) above, in selecting the mentor, an angle between a first centroid vector indicating the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator and one or more second centroid vectors indicating the creative tendency of the multiple creations by one or more third creators different from the first creator is calculated in a vector space defined by the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation by each of the multiple creators, and at least one second centroid vector is determined from the one or more second centroid vectors such that the higher the degree of monotony, the larger the second centroid vector that is determined, and at least one third creator corresponding to the at least one second centroid vector may be determined as the second creator.

[0029] In this configuration, the higher the degree of monotony, the larger the angle between the first and second centroid vectors, and the at least one third creator corresponding to the second centroid vector is determined to be the second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations. Therefore, when background information is output, the first creator can refer to the daily behavior of the mentor indicated by the output background information and, the higher the degree of monotony, take actions that will create creations with a creative tendency opposite to the multiple creations of the first creator. As a result, the higher the degree of monotony, the greater the creative tendency of the first creator's creations can be expanded.

[0030] (10) In another aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing device includes a collection unit that collects information regarding multiple creations by a first creator; a derivation unit that derives a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator based on information regarding each creation by the first creator; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator; a selection unit that, if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, selects a second creator from the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the creations by the first creator; an acquisition unit that acquires background information, which is information regarding the daily activities of the mentor; and an output unit that outputs the background information.

[0031] According to this configuration, the same effects as those of the information processing method described above in (1) can be obtained.

[0032] (11) In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing program causes a computer to perform the following processing: collect information regarding multiple creations by a first creator; derive a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator based on the information regarding each creation by the first creator; calculate a degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator; if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, select a second creator from the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the creations by the first creator; obtain background information that is information regarding the mentor's daily activities; and output the background information.

[0033] According to this configuration, the same effects as those of the information processing method described above in (1) can be obtained.

[0034] The present disclosure can also be realized as an information processing system operated by such an information processing program. Needless to say, such a computer program can be distributed on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0035] Note that the embodiments described below each illustrate a specific example of the present disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, components, steps, and step orders shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in an independent claim that represents a superordinate concept are described as optional components. Furthermore, in all embodiments, the respective contents can be combined.

[0036] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 1 is a system that outputs information that prevents creators' creativity from becoming stale.

[0037] The information processing system 1 includes a terminal device 20, a speaker device 40, and a lighting device 50 used by each of a plurality of creators, and a server 10 (information processing device). The terminal device 20, the speaker device 40, the lighting device 50, and the server 10 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 30. The network 30 may be a wide area communication network including the Internet and a mobile phone communication network. However, this is just an example, and the network 30 may also be a local area network.

[0038] The terminal device 20 is an information processing device such as a personal computer or a tablet terminal. The terminal device 20 transmits information about one or more creations by a creator, which information is input by the creator through an operation by the creator, to the server 10. The creations are classified by creative field (category). Creative fields include text, graphics, video, sculpted objects, and sound.

[0039] Examples of creative works in the field of text include novels, stories, or poems. Information about creative works in the field of text includes text data that indicates the text. Examples of creative works in the field of graphics include illustrations, designs, or photographs. Information about creative works in the field of graphics includes image data that indicates the graphics. Examples of creative works in the field of video include video content that can be viewed on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as online videos), movies, animations, or music videos. Information about creative works in the field of video includes video data that indicates the videos.

[0040] Examples of creations in the field of creation are sculptures, architecture, or paintings. Information about creations of tangible objects includes image data of photographs of the objects. Examples of creations in the field of sound include music, sound effects, environmental sounds, or audio such as audiobooks. Information about creations of sound is sound data or audio data that represent the sound. Hereinafter, when sound data and audio data are collectively referred to as sound data.

[0041] The terminal device 20 is further configured to be able to communicate with a content server 60 via the network 30. The terminal device 20 can purchase and view content by downloading the content data stored in the content server 60. Like creative works, content can be categorized by creative field (category). Creative fields include text, graphics, video, sculpted objects, and sound.

[0042] Content in the creative field of text is, for example, a novel, a story, or a poem. Data for text content is text data that represents the text. Content in the creative field of graphics is, for example, an illustration, a design, or a photograph. Data for graphic content is image data that represents the graphic. Content in the creative field of video is, for example, an online video, a movie, an animation, or a music video. Data for video content is video data that represents the video.

[0043] The content server 60 is configured by a computer such as a cloud server or an edge server. The content server 60 manages the history of content purchased or viewed on the terminal device 20. The content purchase history (hereinafter referred to as purchase history) includes identification information of the terminal device 20 that purchased the content, identification information of the content, the purchase date and time of the content, and the purchased amount. The content viewing history (hereinafter referred to as viewing history) includes identification information of the terminal device 20 that viewed the content, identification information of the content, and the viewing date and time of the content.

[0044] The content server 60 is further configured to be able to communicate with the server 10 via the network 30. When the content server 60 receives information from the server 10 requesting transmission of the purchase history or viewing history of content on the terminal device 20 used by the creator (hereinafter referred to as first request information), the content server 60 replies to the server 10 with the purchase history or viewing history in response. Hereinafter, the purchase or viewing of content on the terminal device 20 used by the creator will be abbreviated as purchase or viewing of content by the creator.

[0045] The speaker device 40 outputs sound to a space where the creator is present in accordance with a control signal transmitted from the terminal device 20 or the server 10 used by the creator. The space is, for example, a workshop where the creator creates a creative work. However, the space is not limited to this and may be a room in an ordinary house such as a living room or dining room, or a room in a public facility such as a library, coworking space, or shared office. The speaker device 40 includes a speaker, a communication circuit, a processor, and a memory. The communication circuit receives a control signal from the terminal device 20 or the server 10. The processor controls the speaker to output a sound specified by the control signal received by the communication circuit.

[0046] The lighting device 50 illuminates the space where the creator is located in accordance with a control signal transmitted from the terminal device 20 used by the creator, a remote control (not shown), or the server 10. The lighting device 50 includes a light source, a communication circuit, and a processor. The light source is capable of adjusting the color of the illumination light it emits. The illumination light color may be, for example, daylight, neutral white, white, amber white, or warm white. The processor controls the light source to emit illumination light of the color specified by the control signal received by the communication circuit. However, this is just one example, and the light source of the lighting device 50 may also be capable of adjusting the color temperature of the illumination light it emits.

[0047] The speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 are further configured to be able to communicate with an IOT server 70 via the network 30. The processor of the speaker device 40 periodically controls a communication circuit to transmit an operation history of the speaker device 40 to the IOT server 70 via the network 30. The operation history of the speaker device 40 includes the current date and time, identification information of the speaker device 40, information specifying a sound included in a control signal (control parameters), etc. Similarly, the processor of the lighting device 50 periodically controls a communication circuit to transmit an operation history of the lighting device 50 to the IOT server 70 via the network 30. The operation history of the lighting device 50 includes the current date and time, identification information of the lighting device 50, information specifying a color and / or color temperature of illumination light included in a control signal (control parameters), etc.

[0048] The IOT server 70 is configured with a computer such as a cloud server or an edge server. The IOT server 70 stores operation histories received from the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 via the network 30. The IOT server 70 is further configured to be able to communicate with the server 10 via the network 30. When the IOT server 70 receives information (hereinafter, second request information) from the server 10 requesting transmission of operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 used by the creator, the IOT server 70 replies to the server 10 with the operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 in response to this information.

[0049] The server 10 is configured by a computer such as a cloud server or an edge server, etc. The server 10 includes a communication device 12, a memory 13, and a processor 11 (computer).

[0050] The communication device 12 is a communication interface that connects the server 10 to the network 30. The communication device 12 receives information about the creative work transmitted from the terminal device 20 and outputs the received information to the processor 11. The communication device 12 transmits background information output by an output unit 116 (described later) to the terminal device 20 via the network 30. The communication device 12 transmits control signals output by the output unit 116 (described later) to the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 via the network 30.

[0051] The communication device 12 further transmits first request information output by an acquisition unit 115 (described later) to the content server 60 via the network 30. The communication device 12 receives a content purchase history or viewing history returned by the content server 60 in response to the transmission of the first request information. The communication device 12 transmits second request information output by an acquisition unit 115 (described later) to the IOT server 70 via the network 30. The communication device 12 receives operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 returned by the IOT server 70 in response to the transmission of the second request information.

[0052] The memory 13 is configured by a non-volatile rewritable storage device such as a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc. The memory 13 stores various information used in the processes executed by the processor 11.

[0053] Specifically, the memory 13 stores information relating to the profile of each of a plurality of creators (hereinafter referred to as profile information). The profile information includes identification information of each creator, identification information of the terminal device 20, speaker device 40, and lighting device 50 used by each creator, and attribute information of each creator. The attribute information of each creator includes the age, gender, contact information, and creative field of each creator.

[0054] The processor 11 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 11 includes a collection unit 111, a derivation unit 112, a calculation unit 113, a selection unit 114, an acquisition unit 115, and an output unit 116. The collection unit 111, the derivation unit 112, the calculation unit 113, the selection unit 114, the acquisition unit 115, and the output unit 116 are realized by the CPU executing an information processing program stored in the memory 13. However, this is just one example, and the collection unit 111, the derivation unit 112, the calculation unit 113, the selection unit 114, the acquisition unit 115, and the output unit 116 may be composed of dedicated integrated circuits or may be distributed across multiple computers.

[0055] The collection unit 111 collects information about the creations of each creator received by the communication device 12 from the terminal device 20 used by each of the creators, and stores the collected information in the memory 13.

[0056] The derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendency of each of the creations by each of the multiple creators based on the information on the multiple creations by each creator collected by the collection unit 111.

[0057] Specifically, the derivation unit 112 extracts, for each of the multiple creations by each creator, a feature amount of each of the multiple creations by each creator from information about each of the multiple creations by each creator. Then, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendency of each of the multiple creations by each creator by analyzing the feature amounts of the multiple creations by each creator.

[0058] (Deriving Creative Tendencies of Textual Creations) For example, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendency of each textual creation based on information about multiple textual creations in the creative field as follows: (1) First, the derivation unit 112 performs known natural language processing as preprocessing on text data included in the information about each textual creation. For example, in this preprocessing, the derivation unit 112 divides (tokenizes) the text data into units such as words and punctuation marks, removes common words and phrases (stop words), and performs grammatical normalization such as standardizing each word to singular or plural. For example, BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) can be used as the natural language processing.

[0059] (2) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts feature quantities of the text creation from the preprocessed text data. The feature quantities of the text creation include at least one of the length, structure, and expression style of the text. The structure of the text includes, for example, an introduction, development, twist, and conclusion. The expression style of the text includes, for example, the frequency of use of adjectives and complexity (redundancy).

[0060] (3) Next, the derivation unit 112 quantifies each of the extracted feature quantities and normalizes the value of each feature quantity to unify the scale of each feature quantity. As the normalization method, for example, a known normalization method such as Z-score normalization or minimum-maximum scaling can be adopted.

[0061] (4) Next, the derivation unit 112 performs principal component analysis on the feature quantities of the multiple creative works. The derivation unit 112 derives the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work obtained by the principal component analysis as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0062] (5) Next, the derivation unit 112 stores in the memory 13 the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, which are derived as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0063] (Deriving Creative Tendencies of Graphic Creations) Furthermore, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendencies of each graphic creation based on information about multiple creations in the graphic creative field as follows: (1) First, the derivation unit 112 performs a known image analysis process as preprocessing on image data included in the information about each graphic creation. For example, in this preprocessing, the derivation unit 112 detects the distribution of hue and brightness of the image indicated by the image data, as well as the edges and textures included in the image.

[0064] (2) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts feature quantities of the graphic creation based on the distribution of hue and brightness, and the edges and textures detected in the preprocessing. The feature quantities of the graphic creation include at least one of the drawing style, composition and layout, color and contrast, and impression and impact of the graphic.

[0065] Examples of graphic drawing styles include flat design, minimalism, illustration, retro, and modern. Examples of graphic composition include central arrangement, symmetric arrangement, and asymmetric arrangement. Examples of graphic layout include grid layout, one-column layout, and modular layout. Examples of graphic color include vivid, dark, light, bluish, warm, and cool. Examples of graphic contrast include strong, normal, and weak. Examples of graphic impression include clean, bright and fun, nostalgic, sophisticated, and friendly. Examples of graphic impact include strong, normal, and weak. However, the graphic drawing style, composition and layout, color and contrast, and impression and impact are not limited to the above examples.

[0066] (3) Next, the derivation unit 112 quantifies and normalizes each of the extracted features, as in the case of deriving the creative tendency of a creative work of text, and derives the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work obtained by principal component analysis of the features of the multiple creative works as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0067] (4) Next, the derivation unit 112 stores in the memory 13 the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, which are derived as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0068] (Deriving Creative Tendencies of Video Creations) Furthermore, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendencies of each video creation based on information about multiple creations whose creative field is video, as follows: (1) First, the derivation unit 112 performs the following pre-processing on video data included in the information about each video creation.

[0069] Specifically, (a) the derivation unit 112 divides the video data into multiple image data for each frame. As a result, the derivation unit 112 treats the video creation as a creation of multiple images arranged in chronological order that constitute the video. (b) Then, the derivation unit 112 performs preprocessing on each of the multiple images arranged in chronological order, similar to the case of deriving the creative tendency of a graphic creation. For example, in this preprocessing, the derivation unit 112 detects the distribution of hue and brightness of each image, as well as the edges and textures contained in each image. (c) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts the feature amounts of each image based on the distribution of hue and brightness, as well as the edges and textures of each image, in the same manner as when extracting the feature amounts of a graphic creation. This completes the preprocessing of the video data by the derivation unit 112.

[0070] (2) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts features of the video creation represented by the video data based on the features of the multiple images obtained by preprocessing the video data. The features of the video creation include at least one of the style, composition and layout, color and contrast, and tempo of the video.

[0071] The style of a video is, for example, realism, animation, abstraction, documentary, etc. The composition and layout of a video is, for example, the most common or intermediate composition and layout among the compositions and layouts of multiple images that make up the video. The color and contrast of a video is, for example, the most common or intermediate composition and layout among the colors and contrasts of multiple images that make up the video. The tempo of a video is, for example, the number of scene changes per given time or the average time of one scene. However, the style, composition and layout, color and contrast, and tempo of a video are not limited to the above examples.

[0072] (3) Next, the derivation unit 112 quantifies and normalizes each of the extracted features, as in the case of deriving the creative tendency of a creative work of text, and derives the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work obtained by principal component analysis of the features of the multiple creative works as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0073] (4) Next, the derivation unit 112 stores in the memory 13 the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, which are derived as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0074] (Deriving Creative Tendencies of Creative Works of Formed Objects) Furthermore, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendencies of each creative work of a formed object based on information about multiple creative works whose creative field is formed objects, as follows: (1) First, the derivation unit 112 performs preprocessing on image data included in the information about the creative work of each formed object, similar to the case of deriving the creative tendencies of graphic creative works. For example, in this preprocessing, the derivation unit 112 detects the distribution of hue and brightness of the image indicated by the image data, and the edges and textures included in the image.

[0075] (2) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts creative feature quantities of each object based on the distribution of hue and brightness, edges, and textures detected in the preprocessing. The creative feature quantities of each object include at least one of the material, style, composition and layout, and color and contrast of the object.

[0076] The material of the object may be, for example, stone, ceramic, metal, wood, plastic, or glass. The style of the object may be, for example, abstract art, realism, or modernism. The composition, layout, color, and contrast of the object are similar to those of graphics. However, the material, style, composition, layout, color, and contrast of the object are not limited to the above examples.

[0077] (3) Next, the derivation unit 112 quantifies and normalizes each of the extracted features, as in the case of deriving the creative tendency of a creative work of text, and derives the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work obtained by principal component analysis of the features of the multiple creative works as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0078] (4) Next, the derivation unit 112 stores in the memory 13 the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, which are derived as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0079] (Deriving Creative Tendencies of Sound Creations) Furthermore, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendencies of each sound creation based on information about a plurality of creations whose creative field is sound as follows: (1) First, the derivation unit 112 performs known spectrum analysis processing, time waveform analysis processing, and formant analysis processing as preprocessing on the sound data included in the information about each sound creation.

[0080] In the spectrum analysis process, the derivation unit 112 performs Fourier transform processing, short-time Fourier transform processing, or wavelet transform processing on the sound data to derive the characteristics and spectral density of the frequency components of each sound represented by the sound data. In the time waveform analysis process, the derivation unit 112 performs amplitude modulation analysis processing, peak detection processing, energy analysis processing, etc. on the sound data to derive the temporal transition of the amplitude and waveform of the sound wave represented by the sound data. In the formant analysis process, the derivation unit 112 detects formants (vocal tract resonance peaks) from the spectrum of the sound data.

[0081] (2) Next, the derivation unit 112 extracts feature quantities of each sound creation based on the characteristics and spectral density of the frequency components of each sound derived in the preprocessing, the temporal transition of the amplitude and waveform of the sound waves representing each sound, and the formants detected in the preprocessing. The feature quantities of the sound creation include at least one of the amplitude, frequency, and period of the sound waves representing the sound, the spectral density of the sound, and the peak value and frequency band of the frequency components of the sound.

[0082] (3) Next, the derivation unit 112 quantifies and normalizes each of the extracted features, as in the case of deriving the creative tendency of a creative work of text, and derives the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work obtained by principal component analysis of the features of the multiple creative works as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0083] (4) Next, the derivation unit 112 stores in the memory 13 the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, which are derived as the creative tendency of each creative work.

[0084] 2 is a scatter diagram 200 showing an example of the relationship between the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work. Specifically, the scatter diagram 200 shows the relationship between the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creative work, obtained by principal component analysis of the feature quantities of eight creative works. In the scatter diagram 200, the first principal component of each creative work represents the dynamism or staticity of each creative work, and the second principal component of each creative work represents the comicality or seriousness of each creative work.

[0085] In the scatter diagram 200, the positions marked with an "x" correspond to the first and second principal component scores of each creative work, i.e., correspond to the creative tendencies of each creative work. In the scatter diagram 200, as shown by the dashed oval, the first quadrant contains positions corresponding to the creative tendencies of seven creative works, and the fourth quadrant contains a position corresponding to the creative tendencies of one creative work. In this case, the creative tendencies of the eight creative works are primarily dynamic and comical, but also static and serious, so it can be said that the creator's creativity is somewhat stale, but not excessively so.

[0086] The calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendencies of the first creator's multiple creations derived by the derivation unit 112. The first creator is a creator who is a target of processing by the information processing system 1, which will be described later.

[0087] Specifically, the calculation unit 113 calculates the covariance of the first principal component scores and the second principal component scores of multiple creations by the first creator, and calculates the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator based on the magnitude (absolute value) of the covariance.

[0088] When the covariance between the first and second principal component scores of multiple creative works is positive, the first and second principal component scores are positively related, meaning that an increase in one increases the other. On the other hand, when the covariance between the first and second principal component scores of multiple creative works is negatively related, the first and second principal component scores are negatively related, meaning that an increase in one decreases the other. The magnitude (absolute value) of the covariance between the first and second principal component scores of multiple creative works indicates the strength of the linear relationship between the first and second principal component scores. When the covariance between the first and second principal component scores of multiple creative works is close to 0, there is no linear relationship between the first and second principal component scores. Therefore, the larger the magnitude of the covariance between the first and second principal component scores of multiple creative works, the stronger the linear relationship between the first and second principal component scores of the multiple creative works, which is considered to more strongly reflect the characteristics of the creator's creativity.

[0089] Therefore, the calculation unit 113 uses, for example, nine thresholds to classify the magnitude of covariance of the first principal component scores and the second principal component scores of multiple creative works into 10 levels, and calculates a higher degree of monotony as the magnitude of covariance increases.

[0090] Specifically, when the magnitude of the covariance between the first principal component scores and the second principal component scores of a plurality of creative works is less than a first threshold, which is the smallest of nine thresholds, the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of boredom as "1." When the magnitude of the covariance is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than a second threshold, which is greater than the first threshold, the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of boredom as "2." Similarly, the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of boredom as "3" to "9" using the second to eighth thresholds. When the magnitude of the covariance is equal to or greater than a ninth threshold, which is greater than the eighth threshold, the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of boredom as "10."

[0091] The method by which the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of monotony of the first creator's creativity based on the magnitude of the covariance is not limited to this. For example, the calculation unit 113 may calculate the magnitude of the covariance as the degree of monotony directly.

[0092] When the degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator calculated by the calculation unit 113 exceeds a threshold, the selection unit 114 selects, from among a plurality of creators, a second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations as a mentor.

[0093] (Mentor Selection Method) The following describes a mentor selection method performed by the selection unit 114. In the following description, it is assumed that the creative tendencies of the eight creations by the first creator derived by the derivation unit 112 correspond to the positions of the X marks in the scatter diagram 200 shown in FIG. 2. It is also assumed that the calculation unit 113 calculates a value between "1" and "10" as the degree of monotony, and the threshold value used by the selection unit 114 is "4." This threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 13.

[0094] 3 is a scatter diagram 300 showing an example of a vector space defined by the first principal component scores and second principal component scores of each creation by each of multiple creators. In the scatter diagram 300, similar to the scatter diagram 200 (FIG. 2), the first principal component of each creation represents the dynamic or static nature of each creation, and the second principal component of each creation represents the comical or serious nature of each creation. The horizontal axis of the scatter diagram 300 represents the first principal component score of each creation, and the vertical axis represents the second principal component score of each creation.

[0095] The selection unit 114 calculates a first centroid vector indicating the creative tendency of a plurality of creative works by a first creator in a vector space defined by the first principal component scores and the second principal component scores of each creative work by each creator.

[0096] Specifically, the selection unit 114 calculates a center of gravity P1 at a position marked with an X corresponding to the creative tendencies of the eight works by the first creator in the scatter diagram 300. The selection unit 114 calculates a vector V1 pointing from the origin O toward the center of gravity P1 in the scatter diagram 300 as a first center of gravity vector indicating the creative tendencies of the multiple works by the first creator. Hereinafter, the first center of gravity vector will be referred to as the first center of gravity vector V1.

[0097] Similarly, the selection unit 114 calculates one or more second centroid vectors for each of one or more creators (hereinafter, third creators) different from the first creator, which indicate the creative tendencies of multiple creative works by each third creator.

[0098] Specifically, the selection unit 114 calculates, for each of one or more third creators, a center of gravity P2 of positions corresponding to the creative tendencies of multiple creations by each third creator. Figure 3 shows an example in which the selection unit 114 has calculated 26 centers of gravity P2 (white circles) of positions corresponding to the creative tendencies of multiple creations by each of 26 third creators.

[0099] The selection unit 114 calculates a vector V2 pointing from the origin O toward the center of gravity P2 at a position corresponding to the creative tendency of the multiple creations by each third creator as a second center of gravity vector indicating the creative tendency of the multiple creations by each third creator. Hereinafter, the second center of gravity vector will be referred to as the second center of gravity vector V2.

[0100] The selection unit 114 calculates the angle α between the first centroid vector V1 and one or more second centroid vectors V2.

[0101] The selection unit 114 determines at least one second center of gravity vector V2 from one or more second center of gravity vectors V2 such that the second center of gravity vector V2 having a larger included angle α is determined the higher the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator calculated by the calculation unit 113.

[0102] 4 shows an example of a mentor determination table. Specifically, the memory 13 pre-stores a mentor determination table showing the relationship between the degree of monotony and the range of the included angle α between the first barycenter vector V1 and the second barycenter vector V2, as shown in FIG.

[0103] The mentor determination table is defined so that the higher the degree of boredom, the closer the range of the included angle α between the first center of gravity vector V1 and the second center of gravity vector V2 corresponding to the degree of boredom becomes to a range of the included angle α of 180 degrees. For example, in the mentor determination table shown in FIG. 4, a range of the included angle α of "0 degrees or more and less than 30 degrees" is associated with a degree of boredom of "5." On the other hand, in the mentor determination table shown in FIG. 4, a range of the included angle α of "150 degrees or more and less than 180 degrees," which is closer to 180 degrees than the range of the included angle α of "0 degrees or more and less than 30 degrees," is associated with a degree of boredom of "10," which is greater than the degree of boredom of "5."

[0104] For example, suppose that the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator to be "5," and the selection unit 114 calculates 26 second centroid vectors V2 directed from the origin O toward each of the 26 centroids P2 shown in FIG. 3 . In this case, the selection unit 114 obtains, from the mentor determination table, the range of the included angle α of "0 degrees or more and less than 30 degrees," which is associated with the degree of monotony of "5." The selection unit 114 identifies, from the 26 second centroid vectors V2, at least one second centroid vector V2 whose included angle α with the first centroid vector V1 falls within the obtained range of the included angle α of "0 degrees or more and less than 30 degrees."

[0105] Furthermore, suppose that the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator to be "10," which is greater than "5," and the selection unit 114 calculates 26 second barycenter vectors V2 directed from the origin O to each of the 26 centers of gravity P2 shown in FIG. 3 . In this case, the selection unit 114 obtains, from the mentor determination table, the range of the included angle α, "150 degrees or more and less than 180 degrees," which is associated with the degree of monotony of "10." The selection unit 114 identifies, from the 26 second barycenter vectors V2, at least one second barycenter vector V2 whose included angle α with the first barycenter vector V1 falls within the obtained range of the included angle α, "150 degrees or more and less than 180 degrees."

[0106] The selection unit 114 determines at least one third creator corresponding to the identified at least one second centroid vector V2 as a second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations. The third creator corresponding to the second centroid vector V2 is a third creator whose end point of the second centroid vector V2 is the centroid P2 of a position corresponding to the creative tendency of the multiple creations. The selection unit 114 selects the determined second creator as a mentor.

[0107] As described above, the mentor determination table is defined so that the range of the included angle α between the first center of gravity vector V1 and the second center of gravity vector V2 corresponding to the degree of monotony becomes closer to 180 degrees as the degree of monotony increases. Therefore, the higher the degree of monotony, the more appropriately a third creator corresponding to the second center of gravity vector V2 indicating a direction closer to the inverse vector of the first center of gravity vector V1 is determined to be the second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's works.

[0108] The acquiring unit 115 acquires information about the daily activities of the mentor selected by the selecting unit 114 (hereinafter, background information).

[0109] Specifically, the acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, information relating to content purchased or viewed by the mentor selected by the selection unit 114. In more detail, the acquisition unit 115 performs the following processing by referring to the profile information stored in the memory 13 of at least one third creator who is the second creator selected as a mentor by the selection unit 114.

[0110] The acquisition unit 115 generates, for each of at least one third creator determined as a second creator, first request information requesting transmission of content purchase history or viewing history in the terminal device 20 used by each third creator. The first request information includes identification information of each third creator and identification information of the terminal device 20 used by each third creator. The acquisition unit 115 controls the communication device 12 to transmit the generated first request information for each third creator to the content server 60. In response, the content server 60 refers to the first request information and returns the content purchase history or viewing history in the terminal device 20 used by each third creator to the server 10. The acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, the content purchase history or viewing history of each third creator received by the communication device 12 from the content server 60.

[0111] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, control parameters that control the state of the space in which the mentor selected by the selection unit 114 is located. In detail, the acquisition unit 115 performs the following processing by referring to the profile information stored in the memory 13 of at least one third creator who is the second creator selected as a mentor by the selection unit 114.

[0112] The acquisition unit 115 generates second request information for each of the at least one third creator determined as the second creator, requesting transmission of operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 used by the third creator. The second request information includes identification information of each third creator and identification information of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 used by the third creator. The acquisition unit 115 controls the communication device 12 to transmit the generated second request information of each third creator to the IOT server 70. In response to this, the IOT server 70 refers to the second request information and returns the operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 used by each third creator to the server 10.

[0113] The acquisition unit 115 acquires operation histories of the speaker device 40 and the lighting device 50 by each third creator, which the communication device 12 receives from the IOT server 70. The acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, information specifying a sound included in the operation history of the speaker device 40 used by each third creator. The acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, information specifying a color and / or a color temperature of illumination light included in the operation history of the lighting device 50 used by each third creator.

[0114] The output unit 116 outputs the background information acquired by the acquisition unit 115. Specifically, the output unit 116 controls the communication device 12 to output the background information acquired by the acquisition unit 115 to the terminal device 20 used by the first creator. This allows the first creator to operate the terminal device 20 and refer to the background information received by the terminal device 20.

[0115] It is assumed that the background information acquired by the acquisition unit 115 includes information specifying a sound. In this case, the output unit 116 may control the communication device 12 to transmit a control signal to the speaker device 40 used by the first creator to cause the speaker device 40 to output the sound specified in the background information. In this case, the processor of the speaker device 40 controls the speaker to output the sound specified by the control signal received by the communication circuit of the speaker device 40. As a result, the sound specified in the background information is output in the space where the first creator is present.

[0116] Similarly, suppose the background information acquired by the acquisition unit 115 includes information specifying the color and / or color temperature of illumination light. In this case, the output unit 116 may control the communication device 12 to transmit a control signal to the illumination device 50 used by the first creator to cause the illumination device 50 to output illumination light of the color and / or color temperature specified in the background information. In this case, the processor of the illumination device 50 controls the light source to emit illumination light of the color and / or color temperature specified in the control signal received by the communication circuit of the illumination device 50. As a result, illumination light of the color and / or color temperature specified in the background information is emitted into the space where the first creator is located.

[0117] 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 5 is executed every time the communication device 12 collects information on one or more creations by a creator from a terminal device 20, with the creator using the terminal device 20 as the first creator to be processed.

[0118] In step S1 , the collection unit 111 stores in the memory 13 information about one or more creations by a first creator, which information is collected by the communication device 12 from the terminal device 20 .

[0119] Next, in step S2, the derivation unit 112 derives the creative tendency of each of the works created by the first creator based on information about the multiple works created by the first creator stored in the memory 13.

[0120] Next, in step S3, the calculation unit 113 calculates the degree of monotony of the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendencies of the first creator's multiple creations derived by the derivation unit 112.

[0121] Next, in step S4, the selection unit 114 determines whether the degree of boredom calculated in step S3 exceeds (is greater than) a threshold value. If the degree of boredom exceeds the threshold value (YES in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the degree of boredom is equal to or less than the threshold value (NO in step S4), the process ends.

[0122] Next, in step S5, the selection unit 114 selects, from among the multiple creators, a second creator who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creation, as a mentor.

[0123] Next, in step S6 , the acquisition unit 115 acquires background information on the daily activities of the mentor selected by the selection unit 114 .

[0124] Next, in step S7, the output unit 116 outputs the background information acquired by the acquisition unit 115.

[0125] As described above, according to this embodiment, the degree of monotony of the creativity of a first creator is calculated based on the creative tendencies of the first creator's multiple creations. Therefore, this degree of monotony makes it possible to grasp the degree to which the creativity of the first creator has become monotonous.

[0126] If the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, a second creator who is likely to expand the creative tendencies of the first creator's creations is selected as a mentor, and background information regarding the mentor's daily behavior is output. Therefore, when the background information is output, it is possible to determine whether the first creator's creativity has become monotonous to the extent that the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold. In this case, the first creator can take action to expand the creative tendencies of the creations, referring to the mentor's daily behavior indicated by the output background information. This makes it possible to prevent the first creator's creativity from becoming monotonous.

[0127] The present disclosure can employ the following modifications.

[0128] (1) The acquisition unit 115 may acquire, as background information, information about content belonging to the creative field of the first creator that has been purchased or viewed by at least one third creator who is a second creator selected as a mentor. This configuration can be realized, for example, as follows.

[0129] When generating first request information requesting transmission of the content purchase history or viewing history of the terminal device 20 used by each third creator who is a second creator, the acquisition unit 115 refers to the profile information of the first creator stored in the memory 13. The acquisition unit 115 generates the first request information including identification information of each third creator, identification information of the terminal device 20 used by each third creator, and the creative field of the first creator.

[0130] The acquisition unit 115 controls the communication device 12 to transmit the generated first request information of each third creator to the content server 60. In response, the content server 60 refers to the first request information and returns to the server 10 the purchase history or viewing history of content belonging to the creative field of the first creator on the terminal device 20 used by each third creator. The acquisition unit 115 acquires, as background information, the purchase history or viewing history of content belonging to the creative field of the first creator by each third creator, which the communication device 12 received from the content server 60.

[0131] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can purchase or view content that expands the creative trends of creations in the first creator's creative field, by referring to information about content that the mentor has purchased or viewed in the first creator's creative field. This prevents the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0132] (2) The selection unit 114 may refer to the profile information of multiple creators stored in the memory 13 and select the second creator as a mentor from one or more third creators in the same creative field as the first creator. This configuration can be realized, for example, as follows.

[0133] The selection unit 114 refers to the profile information of the multiple creators stored in the memory 13 and identifies one or more creators (hereinafter, "fourth creators") in the same creative field as the first creator. For each of the identified one or more fourth creators, the selection unit 114 calculates one or more second centroid vectors V2 that indicate the creative tendencies of the multiple creations by each fourth creator. Thereafter, the selection unit 114 uses the calculated one or more second centroid vectors V2 to determine a second creator in the same manner as described in the above embodiment, and selects the second creator as a mentor.

[0134] According to this configuration, when the background information is output, the first creator can take actions that expand the creative tendency of the creation by referring to the daily actions of the mentor in the same creative field as the first creator indicated by the background information, thereby preventing the first creator's creativity from becoming stale.

[0135] 5 may be divided into a first process consisting of steps S1 and S2, and a second process consisting of steps S3 and after. Each time the communication device 12 collects information on one or more creations by a creator from a terminal device 20, the communication device 12 may execute the first process, treating the creator using the terminal device 20 as the first creator to be processed.

[0136] As a result, at a timing separate from the second process, information about the creations of each creator and the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation derived as the creative tendency of each creation by each creator may be stored in the memory 13. Alternatively, information about the creations of each creator and the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation derived as the creative tendency of each creation by each creator, which are collected by a device different from the server 10, may be stored in the memory 13 in advance before the second process is executed.

[0137] Then, each time the communication device 12 receives an instruction from the terminal device 20 requesting the output of background information, the second process may be executed with the creator using the terminal device 20 as the first creator to be processed.

[0138] The present disclosure is useful in preventing creators' creativity from becoming stale.

Claims

1. An information processing method on a computer, comprising: collecting information on multiple creations by a first creator; deriving a creative tendency for each creation by the first creator based on the information on each creation by the first creator; calculating a degree of monotony in the creativity of the first creator based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator; if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, selecting a second creator from the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations; obtaining background information which is information on the daily activities of the mentor; and outputting the background information.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the background information is obtained by acquiring information about content purchased or viewed by the mentor.

3. The information processing method of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring information indicating the creative field of each creator; and acquiring the background information by acquiring information relating to content that belongs to the creative field of the first creator and that the mentor has purchased or viewed.

4. The information processing method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the information relating to the content includes a purchase history or viewing history of the content.

5. The information processing method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining information indicating the creative field of each creator; and selecting the mentor by selecting the second creator as the mentor from among the plurality of creators, one or more creators in the same creative field as the first creator.

6. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the background information includes a control parameter that controls the state of a space where the mentor is located.

7. The information processing method of claim 1, wherein the deriving of the creative tendency of each creation by the first creator comprises extracting features of each creation from information about each creation, and deriving the creative tendency of each creation by the first creator by analyzing the features of multiple creations by the first creator.

8. The information processing method according to claim 7, wherein in deriving the creative tendency of each of the creations by the first creator, a first principal component score and a second principal component score of each of the creations by the first creator are obtained by principal component analysis of the features of the plurality of creations by the first creator, and are derived as the creative tendency of each of the creations by the first creator; and in calculating the degree of repetition, a covariance of the first principal component score and the second principal component score of the plurality of creations by the first creator is calculated, and the degree of repetition is calculated based on the magnitude of the covariance.

9. The information processing method of claim 8, wherein the selection of the mentor involves calculating an angle between a first centroid vector indicating the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator and one or more second centroid vectors indicating the creative tendency of the multiple creations by one or more third creators different from the first creator in a vector space defined by the first principal component score and the second principal component score of each creation by each of the multiple creators, determining at least one second centroid vector from among the one or more second centroid vectors such that the second centroid vector having a larger angle is determined as the degree of monotony increases, and determining at least one third creator corresponding to the at least one second centroid vector as the second creator.

10. An information processing device comprising: a collection unit that collects information regarding multiple creations by a first creator; a derivation unit that derives the creative tendency of each creation by the first creator based on information regarding each creation by the first creator; a calculation unit that calculates the degree of monotony of the first creator's creativity based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator; a selection unit that, when the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, selects a second creator from among the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations; an acquisition unit that acquires background information which is information regarding the daily activities of the mentor; and an output unit that outputs the background information.

11. An information processing program that causes a computer to perform the following processes: collect information on multiple creations by a first creator; derive the creative tendency of each creation by the first creator based on the information on each creation by the first creator; calculate the degree of monotony of the first creator's creativity based on the creative tendency of the multiple creations by the first creator; if the degree of monotony exceeds a threshold, select a second creator from among the multiple creators as a mentor who will expand the creative tendency of the first creator's creations; obtain background information that is information about the mentor's daily activities; and output the background information.

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