Information processing apparatus
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods inaccurately determine dietary consumption as they fail to differentiate between food being eaten from a platter and food being moved to a small extra plate, leading to incorrect calculations of food consumption.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus that captures video images of a dining table, identifies individuals, vessels, and food types, estimates food amounts, and determines consumption by distinguishing between food being eaten directly from a platter or moved to a small extra plate, generating accurate consumption information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the amount of food on a platter is used to determine dietary consumption, then the recording process is simplified, but the accuracy of consumption judgment deteriorates when food is moved to small extra plates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the dining table into multiple monitoring zones, each associated with specific vessels (platter and small extra plates). By dividing the monitoring scope into distinct regions, the system can track food movement between segments while maintaining overall operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary determination process that acts as a mediator between simple platter monitoring and accurate consumption tracking. This intermediary layer analyzes video information to distinguish between food being eaten versus food being transferred, resolving the contradiction without complicating the user interface.
2Measurement precision
If video image information is analyzed to distinguish food consumption from food transfer, then consumption accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs self-service mechanisms where the video image information automatically provides the necessary data for determination. The acquirer obtains video information that inherently contains cues about food consumption versus transfer, allowing the system to self-determine outcomes without external intervention or complex additional hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The video image information serves multiple functions simultaneously: it monitors food amounts on platters, detects food transfer to small extra plates, identifies consumption events, and provides temporal sequencing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized systems for each monitoring task.
3Reliability
If multiple determination steps are implemented to distinguish consumption from transfer, then judgment reliability is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary organization of video image information by time sequence before detailed analysis. By pre-structuring the data chronologically and associating it with specific vessels and people, the subsequent determination steps can proceed efficiently without redundant processing, maintaining high reliability while minimizing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The determination process operates continuously on incoming video information rather than in discrete batch operations. This continuous analysis allows the system to maintain constant monitoring of food movement and consumption events, ensuring reliable judgment without significant delays in detecting and recording dietary intake.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes, when a first determiner determines the amount of food or beverage in a platter being decreased, a second determiner to determine whether food or beverage on the platter was consumed by one person of multiple people, or the food or beverage was moved onto one small plate of small plates, a consumption information generator to generate, when the food or beverage on the platter was consumed by the one person, consumption information in which an amount of food or beverage consumed by the one person, the one person, and the type of the food or beverage are associated with each other, and an estimator to increase, when the food or beverage was moved to one small plate, the amount of food or beverage on the one small plate by an amount of decrease in the food or beverage in the platter.