Information processing device

Abstract

The present invention keeps map data in a useful state. In the present invention, an input name that is a name input by a user is acquired, an input location candidate that is a candidate for a location corresponding to the input name is acquired by using a first natural language processing model when the input name is not included in names for locations registered in map data, the input location candidate is set as a destination location, user acquisition information that is information acquired by the user after a time when the user arrives at the destination location is acquired, a second natural language processing model is used to confirm whether information relating to the input name is included in the user acquisition information, and the input location candidate is registered in the map data as a location corresponding to the input name when the information relating to the input name is included in the user acquisition information.

Description

Information Processing Apparatus

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

[0002] Map data used in navigation systems and navigation applications stores information related to a plurality of points, where the information includes the name of the point (e.g., the place name of the point and the name of an object located at the point) and position information of the point (e.g., latitude and longitude, or address) (e.g., POI (Point of Interest) information, or information about a user's home or office). Accordingly, a user can search for a route to a destination by inputting the name of the destination into a navigation system or a navigation application (e.g., Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-116039

[0004] However, newly trending spots may not be registered in map data. In order to search for a route to such an unregistered spot, a user has to look up the spot's position information (e.g., address) through an internet search or the like, which is time-consuming. In addition, spots that were temporarily trending may stop being discussed, and objects that were trending may cease to exist.

[0005] An example of the problem to be solved by the present invention is keeping map data in a useful state.

[0006] To solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is an information processing device comprising: an input information acquisition processing unit that acquires an input name which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting processing unit that, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, uses a first natural language processing model to acquire candidate input locations which are candidates for locations corresponding to the input name and sets the candidate input locations as destination locations; a user acquisition information acquisition processing unit that acquires user acquisition information which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrives at the destination location; a user acquisition information confirmation processing unit that, using a second natural language processing model, checks whether or not the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name; and a registration processing unit that, if the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name, registers the candidate input locations as locations corresponding to the input name in the map data.

[0007] The invention described in claim 9 is an information processing method performed by a computer, comprising: an input information acquisition process step of acquiring an input name which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting process step of acquiring an input location candidate which is a candidate location corresponding to the input name, using a first natural language processing model if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in map data, and setting the input location candidate as a destination point; a user acquisition information acquisition process step of acquiring user acquisition information which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrives at the destination point; a user acquisition information confirmation process step of checking whether the user acquisition information contains information relating to the input name, using a second natural language processing model; and a registration process step of registering the input location candidate as a location corresponding to the input name in the map data, if the user acquisition information contains information relating to the input name.

[0008] The invention described in claim 10 is an information processing program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method described in claim 9.

[0009] The invention described in claim 11 is a computer-readable storage medium that stores the information processing program described in claim 10.

[0010] This figure shows an information processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This figure illustrates an example of map data. This figure shows an example of a control unit 110. This figure shows an example of a processing operation performed in the control unit 110 when information regarding the starting point is acquired by the starting point information acquisition processing unit 1101 and the input name is acquired by the input information acquisition processing unit 1102. This figure shows an example of a processing operation performed in the control unit 110 after the user has arrived at an input point candidate (destination point). This figure illustrates the registration of a point corresponding to an input name in the map data. This figure shows an example of a processing operation performed in step S503 of Figure 5. This figure illustrates an example of map data. This figure illustrates the registration of an alternative name in the map data. This figure shows an example of a processing operation performed in the control unit 110 after the user has arrived at an input point candidate. This figure illustrates the registration of a point corresponding to an input name in the map data. This figure shows an example of a processing operation performed in the control unit 110.

[0011] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: an input information acquisition processing unit that acquires an input name, which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting processing unit that, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, uses a first natural language processing model to acquire a candidate input location, which is a candidate location corresponding to the input name, and sets the candidate input location as the destination point; a user acquisition information acquisition processing unit that acquires user acquisition information, which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrives at the destination point; a user acquisition information confirmation processing unit that, using a second natural language processing model, checks whether or not the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name; and a registration processing unit that, if the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name, registers the candidate input location as the location corresponding to the input name in the map data. In this embodiment, the candidate input location is registered in the map data as the location corresponding to the input name after it has been confirmed that the candidate input location is the location corresponding to the input name. For this reason, in this embodiment, different location information is not registered as the location information of the input name, and from the next time onward, the user can be accurately guided to the location corresponding to the input name simply by entering the input name. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to keep the map data in a useful state.

[0012] The user-acquired information verification processing unit may use the second natural language processing model to acquire a location related to the user-acquired information, check whether the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location, and if the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location, it may determine that the user-acquired information contains information related to the input name. The user-acquired information verification processing unit may also determine that the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location if the distance between the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. This makes it easier to determine whether or not the user-acquired information contains information related to the input name.

[0013] The user-acquired information may include images taken between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name may include images related to the input name. In this way, it becomes possible to use images taken by the user to confirm whether or not a candidate input location corresponds to the input name.

[0014] The user acquisition information may include images uploaded to the cloud between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name may include images related to the input name. In this way, it becomes possible to use the images uploaded by the user to confirm whether or not a candidate input location corresponds to the input name.

[0015] The user-acquired information may include audio recorded between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name may include audio generated at the location corresponding to the input name. In this way, it becomes possible to confirm whether or not a candidate input location corresponds to the input name using the audio recorded by the user.

[0016] The registration processing unit may, if the user-acquired information includes information regarding the input name and the same location as the candidate input location is included in the map data, register the input name in the map data as an alternative name for the same location as the candidate input location. In this way, it becomes possible to register multiple names as the names of registered locations.

[0017] The system further includes a registered location candidate storage processing unit that stores the input location candidate as the registered location candidate if the user acquisition information includes information about the input name and the input location candidate is not stored as the registered location candidate. The registration processing unit may also register the input location candidate as the location corresponding to the input name in the map data if the user acquisition information includes information about the input name and the input location candidate is stored as the registered location candidate. In this way, it becomes possible to register the location corresponding to the input name in the map data after guiding the user to the location corresponding to the input name multiple times.

[0018] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method performed by a computer, comprising: an input information acquisition processing step of acquiring an input name which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting processing step of acquiring an input location candidate which is a candidate for a location corresponding to the input name, using a first natural language processing model, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, and setting the input location candidate as a destination point; a user acquisition information acquisition processing step of acquiring user acquisition information which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrived at the destination point; a user acquisition information confirmation processing step of confirming whether or not the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name; and a registration processing step of registering the input location candidate as a location corresponding to the input name in the map data, if the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name. In this embodiment, the input location candidate is registered in the map data as a location corresponding to the input name after confirming that the input location candidate is a location corresponding to the input name. Therefore, in this embodiment, different location information is not registered as the location information for the input name, and from the next time onward, simply entering the input name will accurately guide the user to the location corresponding to that input name. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to keep the map data in a useful state.

[0019] An information processing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described information processing method. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to keep the map data in a useful state.

[0020] A computer-readable storage medium according to one embodiment of the present invention stores the above-mentioned information processing program. Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned information processing program can be distributed independently in addition to being incorporated into a device, and version upgrades and the like can be easily performed.

[0021] <Information Processing Device 100> Figure 1 shows an information processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 100 may consist of one device or may consist of multiple devices. The information processing device 100 may be, for example, a portable terminal device carried by a user (e.g., a smartphone), an in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle in which a user is riding (e.g., a navigation system), or a server device that communicates with the portable terminal device or the in-vehicle device. It may also be realized by a combination of a portable terminal device, an in-vehicle device, and a server device.

[0022] The information processing device 100 includes a control unit 110, an input unit 120, a location information acquisition unit 130, a communication unit 140, a storage unit 150, an output unit 160, an imaging unit 170, and an audio acquisition unit 180. If the information processing device 100 is a server device, it does not need to have the input unit 120, the location information acquisition unit 130, the output unit 160, the imaging unit 170, and the audio acquisition unit 180.

[0023] The control unit 110 is an information processing device (computer) for processing information, and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The input unit 120 is an input device (for example, a touch panel, keyboard, buttons, camera, microphone) for receiving information from the user. The location information acquisition unit 130 is a device for acquiring the location of the information processing device 100, and has, for example, an antenna that receives radio waves transmitted from satellites constituting a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), including GPS (Global Positioning System), and acquires information regarding the current location of a moving object based on the radio waves received by the antenna. The communication unit 140 is a communication device for sending and receiving information with other devices. The storage unit 150 is a storage device (for example, a memory, hard disk drive, solid state drive) for storing information, and stores map data. The output unit 160 is an output device for outputting information, such as a display device for showing information (e.g., a display), an audio output device for outputting audio related to the information (e.g., a speaker), or a printing device for printing information (e.g., a printer). The shooting unit 170 is a shooting device for shooting video (e.g., a camera), and the captured video is stored in the storage unit 150. The audio acquisition unit 180 is a device for capturing audio (e.g., a microphone), and the captured audio is stored in the storage unit 150.

[0024] The map data stored in the memory unit 150 contains multiple locations, and for each of the registered locations, as shown in Figure 2, the name of the location and its location information (address and latitude / longitude) are registered. The name of the location may be, for example, the place name of the location, the common name of the location, or the name or common name of an object located at the location. In the example shown in Figure 2, for a location named "X1", "X1" is registered as the name and "Y1" is registered as the location information, and for a location named "X2", "X2" is registered as the name and "Y2" is registered as the location information.

[0025] Figure 3 shows an example of the control unit 110. It includes a starting point information acquisition processing unit 1101, an input information acquisition processing unit 1102, a destination point setting processing unit 1103, a route search unit 1104, and a route output processing unit 1105.

[0026] The departure point information acquisition processing unit 1101 acquires information about the departure point (departure point information). If the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, the departure point information acquisition processing unit 1101 may, for example, acquire departure point information input from the user via the input unit 120, or it may acquire the current location acquired by the location information acquisition unit 130 as departure point information (location information of the departure point). Also, if the information processing device 100 is a server device, the departure point information acquisition processing unit 1101 may, for example, use communication via the communication unit 140 to acquire departure point information input from the user to the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device, or it may use communication via the communication unit 140 to acquire the current location of the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device as departure point information.

[0027] The input information acquisition processing unit 1102 acquires the input name, which is the name entered by the user (for example, the official name or common name of the place the user wants to go, or the official name or common name of the object the user wants to see). If the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, the input information acquisition processing unit 1102 acquires the name entered by the user via the input unit 120, for example. If the information processing device 100 is a server device, the departure point information acquisition processing unit 1101 acquires the name entered by the user via the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device using communication via the communication unit 140, for example.

[0028] The destination point setting processing unit 1103 sets the destination point based on the input name obtained by the input information acquisition processing unit 1102. If the input name obtained by the input information acquisition processing unit 1102 is included in the names of locations registered in the map data, the destination point setting processing unit 1103 obtains the location corresponding to the input name from the map data and sets the obtained location as the destination point. In other words, the destination point setting processing unit 1103 uses the location information (latitude, longitude, and address) of the location corresponding to the input name obtained from the map data as the location information (latitude, longitude, and address) of the destination point. If the input name obtained by the input information acquisition processing unit 1102 is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, the destination point setting processing unit 1103 uses a first natural language processing model (for example, a large-scale language model (LLM)) to obtain candidate input locations that are candidates for locations corresponding to the input name, and sets the candidate input location as the destination point. In other words, the destination point setting processing unit 1103 takes the location information (latitude, longitude, and address) of the input location candidate as the location information (latitude, longitude, and address) of the destination point. The destination point setting processing unit 1103 may include a first natural language processing model internally, or it may use an external natural language processing model as the first natural language processing model by using communication via the communication unit 140.

[0029] The location corresponding to the input name is, for example, the location the user wants to go to if the input name is the official name or common name of the place the user wants to go, or, for example, the location where the object corresponding to the input name exists if the input name is the official name or common name of the object the user wants to see.

[0030] The route search unit 1104 performs a route search from the starting point acquired by the starting point information acquisition processing unit 1101 to the destination point set by the destination point setting processing unit 1103.

[0031] The route output processing unit 1105 outputs the route found by the route search unit 1104. If the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, the route output processing unit 1105 outputs the route, for example, by the output unit 160. If the information processing device 100 is a server device, the starting point information acquisition processing unit 1101 outputs the route, for example, by using communication by the communication unit 140, to the output device of the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device (for example, a display or speaker).

[0032] Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the name entered by the user is not registered in the map data, it is possible to output a route to the location corresponding to the name entered by the user and guide the user.

[0033] Figure 4 shows an example of the processing operations performed in the control unit 110 when the starting point information acquisition processing unit 1101 acquires information about the starting point and the input name is acquired by the input information acquisition processing unit 1102. If the input name is included in the names of locations registered in the map data (step S401, YES), the destination point setting processing unit 1103 acquires the location corresponding to the input name from the map data and sets the acquired location as the destination point (step S402). If the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data (step S401, NO), the destination point setting processing unit 1103 uses a first natural language processing model to acquire candidate input locations that are candidates for locations corresponding to the input name, and sets the candidate input location as the destination point (step S403). The route search unit 1104 performs a route search from the starting point to the destination point set by the destination point setting processing unit 1103 (step S404). The route output processing unit 1105 outputs the route searched by the route search unit 1104 (step S405).

[0034] In this embodiment, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, the destination location setting processing unit 1103 will acquire an input location candidate (a location acquired as a candidate for a location corresponding to the input name using the first natural language processing model), and the user will be guided to this input location candidate. A location different from the location corresponding to the input name may be acquired as an input location candidate. For this reason, it is best to confirm that the input location candidate is the location corresponding to the input name before registering the input location candidate in the map data as the location corresponding to the input name.

[0035] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 110 further includes a user information acquisition processing unit 1106, a user information confirmation processing unit 1107, and a registration processing unit 1108, as shown in Figure 3.

[0036] A user who is guided to a location corresponding to the input name, that is, a user who is guided to the desired location, may acquire information about that location, such as by taking a photograph. Therefore, in this embodiment, the user acquisition information processing unit 1106 acquires user acquisition information, which is information acquired by the user, after the time the user arrives at the input location candidate (destination location) acquired by the destination location setting processing unit 1103. If the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, the user acquisition information processing unit 1106 may, for example, acquire the current location acquired by the location information acquisition unit 130 as the user's current location, and detect that the user has arrived at the input location candidate based on the acquired current location. Alternatively, if the information processing device 100 is a server device, the departure location information acquisition processing unit 1101 may, for example, use communication by the communication unit 140 to acquire the current location of the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device as the user's current location, and detect that the user has arrived at the input location candidate based on the acquired current location.

[0037] User-acquired information includes, for example, images taken by the user between the time the user arrives at a candidate input location and the time elapsed for a first period of time. If the user-acquired information includes images taken by the user, the user-acquired information acquisition processing unit 1106 acquires images taken by the imaging unit 170 and stored in the storage unit 150 as images taken by the user if the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, or if the information processing device 100 is a server device, it acquires images taken by the user using communication via the communication unit 140 and stored in the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device. The first period of time is set as appropriate.

[0038] User-acquired information includes, for example, images uploaded by the user to the cloud between the time the user arrives at a candidate input location and the time elapsed for a second period of time. Images uploaded by the user to the cloud include images posted by the user to so-called SNS (Social Networking Service). If user-acquired information includes images uploaded by the user, the user-acquired information acquisition processing unit 1106 acquires them from the cloud as images uploaded by the user using communication via the communication unit 140. The second period of time is set as appropriate.

[0039] User-acquired information includes, for example, audio recorded by the user between the time the user arrives at a candidate input location and a third time interval has elapsed. If user-acquired information includes audio recorded by the user, the user-acquired information acquisition processing unit 1106 acquires the audio recorded by the audio acquisition unit 180 and stored in the storage unit 150 as audio recorded by the user if the information processing device 100 is a mobile terminal device or an in-vehicle device, or if the information processing device 100 is a server device, it acquires the audio recorded by the mobile terminal device or in-vehicle device and stored using communication by the communication unit 140 as audio recorded by the user. The third time interval is set as appropriate.

[0040] The user information confirmation processing unit 1107 checks whether the user information includes information about the input name. At this time, for example, the user information confirmation processing unit 1107 uses a second natural language processing model (for example, a large-scale language model (LLM)) to check whether the user information includes information about the input name. The second natural language processing model may be the same as the first natural language processing model, or it may be different. The user information confirmation processing unit 1107 may include the second natural language processing model internally, or it may use an external natural language processing model as the second natural language processing model by using communication via the communication unit 140.

[0041] If user-acquired information includes images taken or uploaded by the user, the information regarding the input name includes images related to the input name. For example, if the input name is the official or common name of a place the user wants to go, the images related to the input name include images taken at the location corresponding to the input name, or images of the location corresponding to the input name. If the input name is the official or common name of something the user wants to see, the images related to the input name include images of the object corresponding to the input name. If user-acquired information includes audio recorded by the user, the information regarding the input name includes audio occurring at the location corresponding to the input name.

[0042] The user-acquired information confirmation processing unit 1107, when checking whether the user-acquired information includes information about the input name, may use a second natural language processing model to acquire a location related to the user-acquired information, check whether the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location, and if the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location, it may determine that the user-acquired information includes the information about the input name. In this case, for example, if the distance between the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name is less than or equal to a first distance, the user-acquired information confirmation processing unit 1107 determines that the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location. The first distance is set as appropriate. If the user-acquired information is an image taken by the user or an image uploaded by the user, the location related to the user-acquired information is, for example, the location where the image was taken, a location shown in the image, or a location where an object shown in the image exists. If the user-acquired information is audio recorded by the user, the location related to the user-acquired information is the location where the audio was generated.

[0043] The presence of information about the input name in the user-acquired information indicates that the user has acquired information about the input name at the location corresponding to the input name, that is, that the user has arrived at the location corresponding to the input name. Therefore, in this embodiment, if the user-acquired information includes information about the input name, the registration processing unit 1108 registers the candidate input location in the map data as the location corresponding to the input name. Specifically, the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input name in the map data as the name of the location corresponding to the input name, and registers the location information of the candidate input location in the map data as the location information of the location corresponding to the input name.

[0044] As described above, in the present embodiment, after confirming that the input point candidate is the point corresponding to the input name, the input point candidate is registered in the map data as the point corresponding to the input name. Therefore, in the present embodiment, different position information is not registered as the position information of the input name, and from the next time onward, it is possible to accurately guide to the point corresponding to the input name only by inputting the input name. As a result, in the present embodiment, it is possible to keep the map data in a useful state.

[0045] At this time, when registering the input point candidate as the point corresponding to the input name, the registration processing unit 1108 may register the input name and the position information of the point corresponding to the input name in the map data as POI information. By doing this, in the case of a navigation system or a navigation application that displays POI information on a map during route guidance, it becomes possible to display the point corresponding to the registered input name on the map.

[0046] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing operation executed by the control unit 110 after the user arrives at the input point candidate (destination point). A user-acquired information acquisition processing unit 1106 acquires user-acquired information, which is information acquired by the user after the time when the user arrives at the destination point set by the destination point setting processing unit 1103 (step S501). A user-acquired information confirmation processing unit 1107 uses a second natural language processing model to confirm whether information related to the input name is included in the user-acquired information (step S502). If information related to the input name is included in the user-acquired information (step S502, YES), the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input point candidate in the map data as the point corresponding to the input name (step S503), and ends the processing. If information related to the input name is not included in the user-acquired information (step S502, NO), the processing is ended.

[0047] In the processing operation shown in FIG. 4, when the name "XN" of an object that the user wants to view is input as an input name, in step S401, it is checked whether or not the input name "XN" is registered in map data. If the input name "XN" is not stored in the map data, in step S403, the first natural language processing model is used to acquire position information "YN" of an input point candidate that is a candidate for a point where "XN" exists, and the position information "YN" of the input point candidate is used as the position information of the target point. Then, in the processing operation shown in FIG. 5, for example, if an image of "XN" is included in an image captured by the user after arriving at the input point candidate, in step S503, the input point candidate is registered in the map data as a point where "XN" exists, as shown in FIG. 6. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, "XN" is registered as the name of the point where "XN" exists, and the position information "YN" of the input point candidate is registered as the position information of the point where "XN" exists.

[0048] <Registration of Alternative Name> Even when a point corresponding to an input name is registered in map data, a name different from the input name may be registered as the name of the point. Therefore, if the user acquisition information includes information related to the input name and the map data includes a point that is the same as the input point candidate, the registration processing unit 118 may register the input name as an alternative name for the same point as the input point candidate. At this time, it is preferable that the registration processing unit 118 determines that a point existing within a second distance from the input point candidate is the same point as the input point candidate. The second distance is set as appropriate, may be the same as the first distance, or may be different from the first distance.

[0049] Figure 7 shows an example of the processing operation performed in step S503 of Figure 5. In other words, the processing operation shown in Figure 7 is performed in step S502 of Figure 5 if the user-acquired information includes information about the input name. The registration processing unit 1108 checks whether the same location as the input location candidate is included in the map data (step S701). If the same location as the input location candidate is not included in the map data (step S701, NO), the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input location candidate in the map data as the location corresponding to the input name (step S702). If the same location as the input location candidate is included in the map data (step S701, YES), the input name is registered in the map data as an alternative name for the same location as the input location candidate (step S703).

[0050] The Meganebashi Bridge in Nagasaki City is known as Japan's first stone arch bridge. Furthermore, heart-shaped stones called "heart stones" are embedded in the bridge's embankment, and the bridge is also known as the location of these "heart stones." In the processing operation shown in Figure 4, if the user inputs "heart stones" as the name of the object they want to see, and "heart stones" are not registered in the map data, then in step S403, the location information of the Meganebashi Bridge (32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude) may be acquired as a candidate location (input location candidate) for where the "heart stones" are located. As a result, the user may be guided to the Meganebashi Bridge. Then, in the processing operations shown in Figures 5 and 7, after arriving at "Meganebashi," the user takes a photo of "Heartstone," and furthermore, regarding the location where "Meganebashi" is located, as shown in Figure 8, if "Meganebashi" is registered as the name in the map data and the location information is registered as "32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude," then in step S703, as shown in Figure 9, "Heartstone" is registered as an alternative name for "Meganebashi." In other words, as shown in Figure 9, in addition to "Meganebashi," "Heartstone" is registered as the name of the location where the location information is "32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude."

[0051] <Registered Location Candidate Storage Processing Unit 1109> If a location corresponding to an input name is not registered in the map data, the system may guide the user to the location corresponding to the input name multiple times before registering the location corresponding to the input name in the map data. Therefore, the control unit 110 may further include a registered location candidate storage processing unit 1109.

[0052] If the user-acquired information includes information about the input name and the input location candidate is not already stored in the storage unit 150 as a registration location candidate, the registration processing unit 1109 stores the input location candidate in the storage unit 150 as a registration location candidate. Then, if the user-acquired information includes information about the input name and the input location candidate is already stored in the storage unit 150 as a registration location candidate, the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input location candidate as a location corresponding to the input name in the map data.

[0053] In other words, if the user-acquired information includes information about an input name, and the location corresponding to that input name (candidate input location) is the first location that has been guided, the registered location candidate storage processing unit 1109 stores the input name in the storage unit 150 as the name of the registered location candidate and stores the location of the input location candidate in the storage unit 150. If the location corresponding to that input name (candidate input location) is not the first location that has been guided, the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input name in the map data as the name of the location corresponding to the input name, and registers the location information of the input location candidate in the map data as location information of the location corresponding to the input name.

[0054] The registration processing unit 1108 and the registration location candidate storage processing unit 1109 determine, for example, that if a registration location candidate located within a third distance from the input location candidate is stored in the storage unit 150, then the input location candidate is stored in the storage unit 150 as the registration location candidate. The third distance is set as appropriate and may be the same as the first distance or the second distance, or it may be different from the first distance or the second distance.

[0055] In this case, the names of registered location candidates that are within a third distance from the input location candidate may differ from the input name. Therefore, if the user-acquired information includes information about the input name and the input location candidate is stored in the storage unit 150 as a registered location candidate, the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input name and / or the name for the registered location candidate as the name of the location corresponding to the input name in the map data, and registers the location information of the input location candidate and / or the location information of the registered location candidate as the location information of the location corresponding to the input name in the map data.

[0056] Figure 10 shows an example of processing operations performed in the control unit 110 after the user arrives at a candidate input location. The user acquisition information processing unit 1106 acquires user acquisition information, which is information acquired by the user, after the time the user arrives at the destination location set by the destination location setting processing unit 1103 (step S1001). The user acquisition information confirmation processing unit 1107 uses a second natural language processing model to check whether or not the user acquisition information contains information about the input name (step S1002). If the user acquisition information does not contain information about the input name (step S1002, NO), the process is terminated.

[0057] If the user-acquired information includes information about the input name (step S1002, YES), the registered location candidate storage processing unit 1109 checks whether the input location candidate is stored in the storage unit 150 as a registered location candidate (step S1003). If the input location candidate is not stored in the storage unit 150 as a registered location candidate (step S1003, NO), the registered location candidate storage processing unit 1109 stores the input location candidate in the storage unit 150 as a registered location candidate (step S1004) and terminates the process. If the input location candidate is stored in the storage unit 150 as a registered location candidate (step S1003, YES), the registration processing unit 1108 registers the input location candidate in the map data as a location corresponding to the input name and a location corresponding to the name for the registered location candidate (step S1005) and terminates the process.

[0058] If the user enters "Meganebashi" as the input name for the destination, and "Meganebashi" is not registered in the map data, then in step S403 of the processing operation shown in Figure 4, the location information of "Meganebashi" (32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude) is acquired as the location information of a candidate location (input location candidate) where "Meganebashi" exists, and as a result, the user is guided to "Meganebashi". Then, in the example processing operation shown in Figure 10, for example, if the user has taken a photograph of "Meganebashi" or a photograph taken from "Meganebashi" among the photographs taken by the user at the input location candidate (the location where "Meganebashi" exists), then in step S1004, "Meganebashi" is stored in the storage unit 150 as the name of the registered location candidate, and "32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude" is stored as the location information of the registered location candidate. Subsequently, if the user enters "Heartstone" as the input name for the item they want to see, and "Heartstone" is not registered in the map data, then in step S403 of the processing operation shown in Figure 4, the location information of "Meganebashi" (32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude) will be obtained as the location information of a candidate location (input location candidate) where "Heartstone" exists, and as a result, the user may be guided to "Meganebashi". Then, in the example processing operation shown in Figure 10, for example, if the photos taken by the user after arriving at a candidate input location (the location where "Meganebashi" exists) include an image of "Heartstone", then in step S1005, since the location information of "Meganebashi" (32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude) is already registered, for example, "Heartstone" and "Meganebashi" are registered in the map data as the names of the locations corresponding to "Heartstone", and the location information of "Meganebashi" (32.7472222 degrees North latitude, 129.8800323 degrees East longitude) is registered in the map data as the location information of the location corresponding to "Heartstone".

[0059] <Deletion of Registered Locations> Spots that are no longer talked about, or spots where the things that were talked about no longer exist, may remain in the map data. Therefore, the control unit 110 of the information processing device 100 according to this embodiment further includes a topicality confirmation processing unit 1110 and a map data editing processing unit 1111.

[0060] The topicality verification processing unit 1110 uses a third natural language processing model (e.g., a large-scale language model (LLM)) to verify the topicality of at least some of the locations registered in the map data (topicality verification locations). The topicality verification locations include, for example, locations registered in the map data by the registration processing unit 1108. The topicality verification processing unit 1110 evaluates the topicality of the topicality verification locations at a level of 2 or higher.

[0061] The map data editing processing unit 1111 edits the map data based on the topicality of the topicality-confirmed locations as confirmed by the topicality-confirming processing unit 1110. If the topicality of the topicality-confirmed locations is evaluated at a level of 2 or higher, the map data editing processing unit 1111 edits the map data based on the topicality level of the topicality-confirmed locations as evaluated by the topicality-confirming processing unit 1110.

[0062] Thus, in this embodiment, map data is edited based on topicality for at least some registered locations. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to keep the map data in a useful state.

[0063] At this time, the map data editing processing unit 1111 deletes from the map data, for example, locations that have been confirmed to be popular by the popularity confirmation processing unit 1110 but have low popularity. For example, if the popularity confirmation processing unit 1110 evaluates the popularity of a location to be at a level of 2 or higher, the map data editing processing unit 1111 deletes from the map data any locations that have been evaluated to be below a predetermined level. In this way, even if a location no longer exists where something that was once popular is no longer popular, it will not be deleted from the map data as long as it still has some popularity. This makes it possible to accommodate needs such as pilgrimages to sacred sites.

[0064] Furthermore, the map data editing processing unit 1111 may determine the display format of the topicality-confirmed location on the map based on the topicality of the topicality-confirmed location confirmed by the topicality-confirming processing unit 1110. When the topicality-confirming processing unit 1110 evaluates the topicality of the topicality-confirmed location at a level of 2 or more, for example, the display format of the topicality-confirmed location on the map is determined based on the topicality level of the topicality-confirmed location evaluated by the topicality-confirming processing unit 1110. In this case, for example, the lower the evaluated topicality level, the fainter and less conspicuous the display on the map may be made, or the lower the evaluated topicality level, the longer the press time required to select it on the map may be made, making it more difficult to select. In this way, it becomes possible to display the map according to the topicality.

[0065] The topicality confirmation processing unit 1110 may, when confirming the topicality of a topicality confirmation point, confirm the topicality for a period from the current time to a point four time prior. The fourth time period may be one week, one month, three months, six months, one year, three years, five years, or the cycle in which the topicality confirmation processing unit 1110 performs processing, and may be set as appropriate.

[0066] Figure 12 shows an example of a processing operation performed by the control unit 110. The processing operation shown in Figure 10 is performed, for example, when map data is updated. The processing operation shown in Figure 12 may be performed at predetermined intervals.

[0067] The topicality verification processing unit 1110 uses a third natural language processing model to verify the topicality of at least some of the locations registered in the map data (topicality verification locations) (step S1201). The map data editing processing unit 1111 edits the map data based on the topicality of the topicality verification locations verified by the topicality verification processing unit 1110 (S1202).

[0068] The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, various modifications and changes can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the claims.

[0069] 100 Information Processing Unit 110 Control Unit 1101 Departure Point Information Acquisition Processing Unit 1102 Input Information Acquisition Processing Unit 1103 Destination Point Setting Processing Unit 1104 Route Search Unit 1105 Route Output Processing Unit 1106 User Acquisition Information Acquisition Processing Unit 1107 User Acquisition Information Confirmation Processing Unit 1108 Registration Processing Unit 1109 Registered Location Candidate Storage Processing Unit 1110 Topic Relevance Confirmation Processing Unit 1111 Map Data Editing Processing Unit 120 Input Unit 130 Location Information Acquisition Unit 140 Communication Unit 150 Storage Unit 160 Output Unit 170 Shooting Unit 180 Audio Acquisition Unit

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an input information acquisition processing unit that acquires an input name which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting processing unit that, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in the map data, uses a first natural language processing model to acquire candidate input locations which are candidates for locations corresponding to the input name and sets the candidate input locations as destination locations; a user acquisition information acquisition processing unit that acquires user acquisition information which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrives at the destination location; a user acquisition information confirmation processing unit that, using a second natural language processing model, checks whether the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name; and a registration processing unit that, if the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name, registers the candidate input locations as locations corresponding to the input name in the map data.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the user acquisition information confirmation processing unit uses the second natural language processing model to acquire a location related to the user acquisition information, checks whether the location related to the user acquisition information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location, and determines that the user acquisition information contains information related to the input name if the location related to the user acquisition information and the location corresponding to the input name indicate the same location.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the user-acquired information confirmation processing unit determines that the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name are the same location if the distance between the location related to the user-acquired information and the location corresponding to the input name is less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user acquisition information includes images taken between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name includes images relating to the input name.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user acquisition information includes images uploaded to the cloud between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name includes images related to the input name.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user acquisition information includes audio recorded between the time the user arrives at the destination and a predetermined time has elapsed, and the information regarding the input name includes audio generated at the location corresponding to the input name.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration processing unit, if the user acquisition information includes information regarding the input name and the same location as the input location candidate is included in the map data, registers the input name in the map data as an alternative name for the same location as the input location candidate.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a registered location candidate storage processing unit that stores the input location candidate as the registered location candidate if the user acquisition information includes information regarding the input name and the input location candidate is not stored as the registered location candidate, wherein the registration processing unit registers the input location candidate as the location corresponding to the input name in the map data if the user acquisition information includes information regarding the input name and the input location candidate is stored as the registered location candidate.

9. An information processing method performed by a computer, comprising: an input information acquisition process step of acquiring an input name which is a name entered by a user; a destination point setting process step of acquiring an input location candidate which is a candidate location corresponding to the input name, using a first natural language processing model, if the input name is not included in the names of locations registered in map data, and setting the input location candidate as a destination point; a user acquisition information acquisition process step of acquiring user acquisition information which is information acquired by the user after the time the user arrived at the destination point; a user acquisition information confirmation process step of checking whether the user acquisition information contains information relating to the input name; and a registration process step of registering the input location candidate as a location corresponding to the input name in the map data, if the user acquisition information contains information relating to the input name.

10. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method described in claim 9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing the information processing program described in claim 10.

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