System and method for providing information to moving body

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to an information providing service and an information providing method for a mobile body, and more particularly to an information providing service and an information providing method according to the detected position of a user.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, car navigation systems have become widespread in the field of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems). Even now, the system continues to be improved with the expansion of the market, and the car navigation system is used as a kind of information terminal, not only for displaying the current position on the map and providing directions to the destination, but also for providing traffic information. The number of services provided is also increasing.

【0003】

On the other hand, mobile computing is being actively carried out with the progress of miniaturization of personal computers and improvement of network environment. Against this background, it is desired to provide a wide range of services such as those provided by car navigation systems, not only in the car but also in pedestrians and the like.

【0004】

Therefore, recently, new systems that support the movement of users through mobile information terminals such as personal computers, PDAs, and mobile phones have begun to be proposed (Naoki Ikeya, Human Navigation System Applying Agent Technology, Information). Research Bulletin, 99, ITS-3, 1999, P97-104).

【0005】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

By the way, there are a wide variety of services that are required to be provided to users through mobile information terminals, including information on directions to various facilities that exist near the current location and destination, as well as information that introduces the outline of each facility. , Various guidance information is required. In reality, it is impossible to provide all of such a huge amount of information to the user, so it is important to provide the information that the user really needs from among the large amount of information. However, the interests and properties of each user are different, and even if they exist in the same position, the required information varies from user to user. It is very difficult to automatically select only the information to be provided and provide it to the user.

【0006】

As one solution, a mechanism is conceivable in which user profile data is prepared in advance for each user and information is selected based on the user profile data. However, in this case, in order to provide the guidance information adapted to the user, it is necessary to register a huge number of user profile data in advance, and what kind of guidance information is provided according to the user profile data. It is necessary to prepare detailed and advanced guidance information provision rules in advance for deciding whether to provide. This leads to many costs, both in terms of time and cost. Furthermore, even if a guidance information provision rule is created at a high cost, the created guidance information provision rule will probably include elements based on the subjectivity of the creator, so the service is actually provided. It may not be possible to adequately respond to the interests and nature of each individual user who receives it.

【0007】

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has realized a mechanism that can infer effective information for the user to whom information is provided, regardless of the viewpoint of the user profile and rules considered in advance. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information providing system and an information providing method capable of providing an information providing service that can sufficiently respond to the interests and properties of each individual user who receives the service.

【0008】

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is in an information providing system that detects a user's position and provides information according to the detected position, the movement history of the user to be provided information and each of a plurality of other users. Based on the movement history management means for managing the movement history of the information, the movement history of the user to be provided with the information, and the movement history of each of the other plurality of users, the user to be provided with the information and each of the other users. The information is provided based on the similarity determination means for determining the similarity with the user, the movement history of another user similar to the user to be provided with the information, and the current position of the user to be provided with the information. It is characterized by including a provision information determining means for determining information to be provided to a target user and an information providing means for providing the information determined by the provision information determining means to the information providing target user. To do.

【0009】

In this information providing system, based on the movement history of each of a plurality of users who are mobiles, the value of individual information for the user to be provided with information is inferred, and information suitable for the user is provided. It is used. This is based on the fact that the movement history of a user who is a moving body depends on the interest and nature of the user. That is, first, based on the movement history of the user to be provided with information and the movement history of each of the other plurality of users, the similarity between the user to be provided with information and each of the other users is determined. Will be. The similarity between users determined based on the movement history is directly the similarity of the movement history, but indirectly indicates the similarity of the interests and properties of the users who are the moving objects. Therefore, by determining the information to be provided to the user to be provided with information based on the movement history of other users similar to the user to be provided with information and the current position of the user to be provided with information, the interest and interest can be obtained. Since it is possible to provide guidance information about places, facilities, etc. that other users with similar properties have actually moved in the past, users who are the target of information provision regardless of the viewpoint of user profiles and rules considered in advance. It is possible to provide information with a high probability of being effective for the user.

【0010】

Further, by determining the similarity between users by considering not only the movement history but also the user profile of each user as necessary, it is possible to more accurately determine the similarity between users. In this case, the user profile may be relatively simple, such as preference, age, and gender.

【0011】

Further, the movement history of each user simply corresponds to the movement pattern to the place or area, but the movement history is the movement pattern information indicating the tendency of the movement pattern of the facility of each user for each user. Is preferably used. The movement pattern information can be generated from the geographical information indicating the type and position of each of the plurality of facilities to be guided and the above-mentioned movement history. As a result, it is possible to judge the similarity between users by considering not only the physical destination position but also the type of the facility at the destination, and to provide facility guidance of the type suitable for the user. ..

【0012】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1] First, the configuration of the information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This information provision system provides information provision services to multiple users according to the location of each user, 1) a stand-alone implementation that can operate within the user's personal digital assistant, and 2) a network. Through this, it is possible to use a network-type implementation in which the information providing server and the personal digital assistant operate while communicating with each other.

【0013】

Figure 1 shows the functional configuration of a mobile information terminal to which the stand-alone implementation of 1) is applied. This mobile information terminal is a user terminal that the user can carry around at all times, and is used, for example, a personal computer, a PDA, a mobile phone, or a combination thereof, which has a wireless telephone / data communication function. As shown in the figure, this mobile information terminal has a position detection device 11, a movement history management unit 20, a user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, a guidance information generation unit 40, and functions for realizing this information providing system. A guidance information providing unit 50 is provided. The movement history management unit 20, the user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, the guidance information generation unit 40, and the guidance information providing unit 50 are realized by a computer program that can be executed by the CPU of the mobile information terminal.

【0014】

The position detection device 11 is a device that detects the location of the user who brings the mobile information terminal, and examples thereof include a device using a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. When a user carries a mobile information terminal with a GPS device, the position can be calculated as a set of latitude and longitude. This location information is transmitted to the movement history management unit 20. In addition, for example, a configuration using PHS (Personal Handyphone System) is also conceivable, but in this case, a computer on the network that operates in cooperation with the exchange connected to the base station functions as a position detection server. Become. By sequentially transmitting the current position from this position detection server to the mobile information terminal, the position information of the mobile information terminal can be transmitted to the movement history management unit 20.

【0015】

The movement history management unit 20 manages the movement history of each of a plurality of users including the user of the mobile information terminal. The movement history management unit 20 is composed of a movement history data generation unit 21 and a movement history recording unit 22.

【0016】

In the movement history recording unit 22, movement history data relating to each of a plurality of registered users (users who receive the service of the above-mentioned information providing server) other than the user of the mobile information terminal is downloaded in advance from the information providing server. This download can be performed by the user connecting to the information providing server as needed, or can be performed automatically on a regular basis.

【0017】

As shown in FIG. 2, the movement history data is represented as a set of a user ID, position data, a time stamp, and the like. Position data is expressed by a method using coordinates such as latitude and longitude, or by indicating which of a predetermined area belongs to. The area can be defined, for example, as one area with a radius of about 10 meters or more, or as a unit of facilities such as buildings, theme parks, event halls, and stores. The time stamp is composed of a date and time (year, month, day, hour, minute) when the corresponding movement history data set is registered, a serial number indicating the registration order (movement order), and the like.

【0018】

The movement history data generation unit 21 acquires the position information indicating the current location of the user of the mobile information terminal from the position detection unit 10, generates the movement history data based on the position information, and generates the movement history recording unit 22. Record in. As the timing of generating and recording the movement history data, there are a method of periodically recording and a method of recording when the movement of the user is detected due to a change in the position information. By the function of the movement history data generation unit 21, the movement history recording unit 22 records the movement history data related to the user to be provided with information, which is the user of the mobile information terminal, and the movement history data of each of a plurality of other users. It will be managed.

【0019】

The inter-user similarity determination unit 30 is for determining the similarity between the user of the mobile information terminal to which the information is provided and each of the other users, and the inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31 and , It is composed of the user-to-user similarity recording unit 32.

【0020】

The inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31 together with the movement history data related to the target user for the purpose of determining the similarity of interests and properties between the user to be provided information (hereinafter referred to as the target user) and each other user. The similarity with the movement history data for each of the other users is calculated, and the resulting inter-user similarity data is recorded in the inter-user similarity recording unit 32.

【0021】

There are several possible timings for executing this similarity determination process. For example, every time the movement history of the target user is updated, the target user user is determined to be similar to all other users, or periodically. There is a method of determining the similarity with each of the other users. An example of the user-to-user similarity determination method is specifically shown below.

【0022】

As a simple example of the inter-user similarity determination processing method by the inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31, the target user and each other user who determines the similarity have been visited in common within a certain period of time. There is a way to count the total number of areas as similarities. As a result, it is possible to determine the similarity of the movement history in units of two users who are moving bodies. This similarity of movement history means the similarity of behavior patterns, and by extension, the similarity of interests and properties. Figure 3 shows the processing procedure for the user-to-user similarity determination process.

【0023】

The inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31 first refers to the movement history data of the target user and searches for an area that the target user has visited (step S101). Next, the inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31 refers to the movement history data of each of the other users, and in the area that the target user has visited, the area that the other user has visited. The total number is checked for each of those other users, and the value is output as a list (step S102). In this case, the value obtained by dividing the total number of areas that have been visited in common by the total number of areas visited by the target user may be used as the similarity between users. In addition, as a condition of whether or not the area has been visited, a condition such as "has been visited within the past six months" can be added to other users.

【0024】

As another method, as shown in Fig. 4, a data string with "1" assigned to each area if it has been visited and "0" assigned to it if it has not been visited is prepared for each user. However, a method based on a mathematical method for calculating the correlation between the data strings as a similarity, or a method described in a program language can be considered. For example, assuming that the user with user ID 1 is the target user in FIG. 4, the correlation of the data column between the user with user ID 1 and the user ID 2, the correlation of the data column between the user with user ID 1 and the user ID 3, and the user. The correlation of the data column between the user with ID1 and the user ID4 may be examined sequentially.

【0025】

The guidance information generation unit 40 determines the guidance information to be provided to the target user based on the user-to-user similarity data obtained by the user-to-user similarity determination processing unit 31 and the current position of the target user, and further determines the guidance information to be provided to the target user. Data is processed for information as necessary and then output. The guidance information generation unit 40 includes a guidance information generation processing unit 41, a guidance information database 42, and a guidance information recording unit 43.

【0026】

A large amount of guidance information is stored in the guidance information database 42. Each guidance information is content for guiding (guidance) the user to the destination such as the corresponding facility (map near the facility, facility name, information introducing the outline of the facility, telephone number of the facility, address of the facility, etc. ) Consists of. Each guidance information is associated with location information.

【0027】

The guidance information recording unit 43 is a temporary storage device such as a memory in a computer. The guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires inter-user similarity data regarding the target user from the inter-user similarity recording unit 32, acquires the movement history of the target user and other users from the movement history recording unit 22, and guide information. The guidance information data is acquired from the database 42, the guidance information data for the target user is generated, and the guidance information data is recorded in the guidance information recording unit 43. The specific method is shown below.

【0028】

A simple method of the guidance information generation process is to select a place visited by another user who is most similar to the target user, acquire guidance information about that place from the database 42, and use it as guidance information data. is there. The detailed procedure for this example is shown in Figure 5.

【0029】

1) The guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires the user-to-user similarity data regarding the target user from the user-to-user similarity recording unit 32, and obtains the user-to-user similarity data between the target user and all other users. Compare the values and select one other user with the highest similarity (step S111). This is tentatively called the user with the highest similarity.

【0030】

2) Next, the guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires the current location of the target user from the movement history recording unit 22 (step S112).

【0031】

3) The guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires the movement history data of the user with the highest similarity selected in 1) from the movement history recording unit 22, and the target user indicated by the movement history data of the target user visits from there. Remove the location of the (step S113).

【0032】

4) The guidance information generation processing unit 41 selects the location closest to the current location of the target user acquired in 2) from the locations obtained in 3) that the target user has not visited (step S114).

【0033】

5) The guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires the guidance information about the location obtained in 4) from the guidance information database 42, and outputs this as guidance information data to the guidance information recording unit 43.

【0034】

As another method of the guidance information generation process, for example, for all positions (areas, facilities), the number of visits is managed as a movement history for all other users, and the number of visits is multiplied by the goodness of fit. A method is conceivable in which the sum of the weighted values is taken as the goodness of fit, and the guidance information of the place where the value is the maximum is acquired from the guidance information database 42. This is shown in Fig. 6.

【0035】

In FIG. 6, the user with user ID 1 is the target user, and the users with user IDs 2 to 4 are other users. Here, the number of visits to areas A to E of the user with user ID 2 is 3, 2, 7, 9, and 0, respectively, and the number of visits to areas A to E of the user with user ID 3 is 2, respectively. It is assumed that the number of visits to areas A to E of the user with user ID 4 is 0, 0, 2, 4, and 0, respectively. ing. Further, the degree of similarity between users with the target user of user ID 1 determined by the user-to-user similarity determination processing unit 31 is "0.8" for the user with user ID 2, "0.2" for the user with user ID 3, and user ID 4 User is "0.4". When the goodness of fit is calculated by multiplying the goodness of fit between users corresponding to the number of visits of each user with user IDs 2 to 4 for each area, the area D is the highest at "8.8", followed by the area C at "7.0". .. If ward if the induction range close to the current position of the region A ~ D is the target user (which may be a relatively wide range, such as for example within walking range), in the area A ~ D, induction guidance information areas D It will be selected as data. Since the target user has not visited the area D, it is possible to provide information on a new location that is effective for the target user.

【0036】

In addition, the guidance information to be finally output is not simply the one obtained from the guidance information database 42 itself, but the relationship with the current location such as the distance to the guidance destination is calculated and added to the output. , It is conceivable that the guidance information generation processing unit 41 performs processing such as changing the content of the guidance information according to the number of past visits.

【0037】

The guidance information providing unit 50 provides the guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 40 to the user of the mobile information terminal, and a different configuration can be considered depending on the data type of the guidance information to be provided. For example, the guidance information display device 51 for displaying a file or the guidance information playback device 52 having a function such as stream data reproduction constitutes the guidance information providing unit 50, or the guidance information display device 51 and the guidance information playback device 52 The guidance information providing unit 50 may be configured from the combination. Further, when the above-mentioned network type implementation form is used, the guidance information is provided from the information providing server to the user of the mobile information terminal through the network, and the guidance information is displayed on the screen by the display function in the mobile information terminal. It will be.

【0038】

As described above, in the present embodiment, the value of the individual guidance information for the user to be provided is estimated based on the movement history of each of the plurality of users who are the moving body, so that the information suitable for the user can be obtained. A mechanism of providing is used, which can provide guidance information about places, facilities, etc. that other users with similar interests and properties have actually moved to in the past, so a user profile considered in advance. It is possible to provide guidance information with a high probability of being effective for the user to whom the information is provided, regardless of the viewpoint of rules and rules.

【0039】

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example when the above-mentioned network type implementation form is used. Each mobile information terminal 1 is connected to an information providing server (content server) 2 via a network such as the Internet. The above-mentioned movement history management unit 20, user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, and guidance information generation unit 40 are all prepared on the content server 2 side. In the content server 2, the movement history of a plurality of mobile information terminals 1 corresponding to each of the plurality of registered users is managed, and the similarity between users with each of the other plurality of users is determined for each target user. Then, the value of each guidance information is inferred for each target user from the similarity between users and the current position, and the guidance information selected by this is transmitted from the content server 2 to the corresponding target user via the network.

【0040】

The personal digital assistant 1 is equipped with a position detection device 11 such as GPS and display / playback units 51 and 52, and is not provided with a position detection device 11 such as GPS and is provided with only display / playback units 51 and 52. There is. The location of the mobile information terminal 1 that does not have the position detection device 11 is detected by the position detection server 3, which is a computer on the network that operates in cooperation with the exchange connected to the base station. The location information is sent from the location detection server 3 to the content server 2.

【0041】

It should be noted that the mobile information terminal to be managed by the movement history does not necessarily have to be the destination of the guidance information. For example, the movement history is managed by using the user's mobile phone or the like, and the user uses it in the office. It is also possible to provide guidance information about facilities such as stores around the office and the nearest station to the stationary personal computer.

【0042】

[Embodiment 2] Next, a more specific example of the first embodiment will be described as the second embodiment of the present invention. In the information providing system according to the second embodiment, movement pattern information considering the type of facility visited and the number of visits is used as the movement history, and individual guidance information is used based on the similarity of movement patterns between users. The value of is estimated. In addition, the user profile of each user is used as auxiliary information.

【0043】

The information providing system of the second embodiment can be applied to both the stand-alone type and the network type as in the first embodiment.

【0044】

Figure 8 shows the functional configuration of a mobile information terminal to which a stand-alone implementation is applied. This mobile information terminal is a user terminal that the user can carry around at all times, and is used, for example, a personal computer, a PDA, a mobile phone, or a combination thereof, which has a wireless telephone / data communication function. As shown in the figure, this mobile information terminal has a position detection device 11, a movement history management unit 20, a user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, a guidance information generation unit 40, and guidance as functions for realizing this information providing system. An information providing unit 50 and a user profile recording unit 60 are provided. The movement history management unit 20, the user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, the guidance information generation unit 40, and the guidance information providing unit 50 are realized by a computer program that can be executed by the CPU of the mobile information terminal.

【0045】

Since the basic functions of the position detection device 11, the movement history management unit 20, the user-to-user similarity determination unit 30, the guidance information generation unit 40, and the guidance information providing unit 50 are the same as those described in the first embodiment. , In the following, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

【0046】

In addition to the movement history data generation unit 21 and the movement history recording unit 22 of FIG. 1, the movement history management unit 20 is provided with a user movement pattern extraction unit 23, a geographic information recording unit 24, and a user movement pattern recording unit 25. There is. The movement history data generation unit 21 acquires position data as input from the position detection device 11 and outputs it to the movement history recording unit 22 as movement history data. The timing of recording the movement history data includes a method of periodically recording the movement history data and a method of recording when the movement of the user is detected. As described above, the movement history data is represented as a set of a user ID, position data, a time stamp, and the like.

【0047】

The user movement pattern extraction unit 23 reads the movement history data output by the movement history data generation unit 21 from the movement history recording unit 22, acquires geographic information data from the geographic information recording unit 24, and uses these to move the user. Pattern data is created and recorded in the user movement pattern recording unit 25. The user movement pattern data for each of the other users is downloaded from the information providing server and recorded in the user movement pattern recording unit 25.

【0048】

Geographic information is for linking a location with various facilities existing there, and indicates the type and location of each of a plurality of facilities to be guided. Specifically, for example, it can be expressed as a facility ID, detailed data of the facility, a genre (type) of the facility, a set of location coordinates of the facility, and the like. User movement pattern data is generated from this geographic information and the movement history of the user. The user movement pattern data shows the tendency of the movement pattern of the facility of the user for each user in consideration of the type of facility visited and the number of visits (cumulative value). An example of this is shown in FIG.

【0049】

In FIG. 9, the user movement pattern data is composed of a user ID, a stop location (facility / location) ID, a stop location genre, a stop time (minutes), a cumulative number of stops, and the like. Of course, in practice, it is preferable to also record the time stamp and the position information such as the longitude / latitude or the area.

【0050】

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example of a specific pattern extraction method in the user movement pattern extraction unit 23. For example, if you stay within 50m for 15 minutes or more, it will be detected as a stop point, and the facility ID of that place, the genre of the facility, the stop time, the cumulative number of stops in the past, etc. will be used as the result user movement pattern data. User movement pattern data is generated by the process of recording in the recording unit 25.

【0051】

That is, for example, when a certain number of movement history data related to the target user is accumulated, the movement history data related to the target user is read (step S122), and the time stamps are compared and the positions of the continuous movement history data are compared. By comparing the information and the like, it is determined whether or not the user stays within 50 m for 15 minutes or more for each moving location (step S123). If you stay within 50m for 15 minutes or more (NO in step S123), read the geographic information data to acquire the current location information, create user movement pattern data using the information about the facility at the current location and the stop duration time, and create the user movement pattern data. This is recorded in the user movement pattern recording unit 25 (step S124).

【0052】

The inter-user similarity determination unit 30 includes an inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31 and an inter-user similarity recording unit 32. The user-to-user similarity determination processing unit 31 determines the similarity of interests and properties of the user to be provided with information (hereinafter referred to as the target user) with each other user, and the movement pattern data related to the target user and others. From the movement pattern data for each user and the data indicating the characteristics of each user registered in advance in the user profile recording unit 60, the similarity calculation process is performed using the part related to the target user and the part related to other users. , The user-to-user similarity data selected as a result is recorded in the user-to-user similarity recording unit 32. There are several possible timings for executing this similarity determination process, for example, a method of determining the similarity of the user with all other users each time the movement history of the user is updated, or periodically all users. Examples include a method of determining the similarity between the two. An example of the user-to-user similarity determination method is specifically shown below.

【0053】

As a simple example of the inter-user similarity determination processing method by the inter-user similarity determination processing unit 31, there is a method of describing a rule for similarity determination. An example of this rule is shown in Figure 11. For example, for the target user and another user who determines the similarity (similarity), "add 5 points to the similarity if the gender is the same" and "10 points to the similarity if the age groups match". Judgment rules based on user profiles such as "addition", "add 3 points to similarity if the prefecture of residence is the same", and movement patterns such as increasing or decreasing the similarity according to the number and ratio of common visiting facilities Describe the judgment rule based on. By making a judgment based on this rule, the similarity can be calculated. FIG. 12 shows an example of the procedure for the user-to-user similarity determination process.

【0054】

While reading the judgment rules one by one, calculate the similarity points between the target user and each of the other users according to the current judgment rules (steps S131, 132), and calculate the similarity points calculated so far. Is added to (step S133). By repeating all the determination rules (step S124), user-to-user similarity data can be obtained.

【0055】

In addition, all user profile items and movement pattern items are quantified and created, and the correlation coefficient for the entire user profile and movement pattern to be judged is mathematically calculated and used as similarity. , Or this can be combined with the determination method according to the above rule.

【0056】

The guidance information generation unit 40 is composed of a guidance information generation processing unit 41, a guidance information database 42, a guidance information recording unit 43, a movement candidate position generation unit 44, and a movement candidate position recording unit 45.

【0057】

The guidance information database 42 stores the content for guiding the user as guidance information, and the stored guidance information data can be read from the outside. The guidance information data is at least associated with the position, and a simple example is a combination of a facility and a guidance information character string.

【0058】

As the guidance information recording unit 43, for example, a temporary storage device such as a memory in a computer can be considered, and the guidance information generated by the guidance information generation processing unit 41 is recorded.

【0059】

The movement candidate position generation unit 44 generates the movement candidate position recommended to the target user from the user movement pattern data, the similarity between users, the user profile, and the geographic information, and stores it in the movement candidate position recording unit 45. FIG. 13 shows an example of a specific movement candidate position generation method.

【0060】

1) First, another user who has moved to the current location of the user to be provided with information is selected from the user movement pattern data (step S141).

【0061】

2) Among the other users selected in 1), the target users are sorted in descending order of similarity between users (step S142).

【0062】

3) Examine the other users sorted in 2) in order from the top, and use the user profile and geographic information data to determine whether the location where the other user moved next is appropriate to recommend to the target user. (Steps S143, S144). This determination is made under the condition that the part describing the characteristics of the target user included in the geographic information data, the distance from the current location, or the place where the target user has already visited today is excluded.

【0063】

4) Check in the order sorted in 2) until it is determined that it is appropriate to provide to the target user in 3). As a result, the place visited next to the current location by another user who has similar interests and properties to himself / herself is output as a movement candidate position (step S145).

【0064】

The guidance information generation processing unit 41 acquires guidance information data from the movement candidate position recording unit 45 and the guidance information database 42, generates guidance information data for the target user, and records it in the guidance information recording unit 43. The specific method of this is shown below.

【0065】

The guidance information generation unit 41 acquires movement candidate position data from the movement candidate position recording unit 45, and acquires guidance information data corresponding to the movement candidate position from the guidance information database 42. As described above, the guidance information data is configured as a set of, for example, a position, guidance information, and a target user profile, and there may be a plurality of guidance information for one position. The target user profile describes the characteristics of the user to which each guidance information should be provided with priority, or the characteristics of the user who should not be provided. For example, even when recommending the same place, control that provides guidance information that shows a flat path even in a detour for the elderly, and provides information that is prohibited under the age of 18 only to users over the age of 18. Is possible.

【0066】

The guidance information providing unit 50 is composed of, for example, a guidance information display device 51 and a guidance information reproduction device 52. This may have different configurations depending on the information provided. The guidance information display device 51 and the guidance information reproduction device 52 acquire guidance information by a method such as communication with the guidance information recording unit 43, and display and reproduce the guidance information.

【0067】

When the network type form is used, the configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 7.

【0068】

The configuration and method of the present invention have been described above by dividing them into the first and second embodiments, but these can be used in combination as appropriate. In addition, since the functions of each embodiment can be realized by a computer program product (synonymous with a computer program) that causes a computer to execute the functions, a computer program that executes the functions and processing procedures of each embodiment is prepared and information is provided. By executing it on a server or a mobile information terminal, an efficient information providing service can be realized. In addition, by storing the computer program in a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM and distributing it, the computer program can be simply installed in a network-connected ordinary computer or personal digital assistant through the storage medium. The same effect as that of the present embodiment can be easily obtained.

【0069】

In addition, various other modifications are possible. For example, by taking in the evaluation value at the time of facility use by each user as an input and including this in the movement history, the guidance information generation unit utilizes this evaluation value. It is also possible to determine whether or not to provide to similar users. Further, by including the input unit of the guidance information display request by the user in the guidance information generation unit, it is possible to create a configuration in which the guidance information is provided according to the request from the user.

【0070】

Further, the present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and can be variously modified at the implementation stage without departing from the gist thereof. Further, the above-described embodiment includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent requirements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, the problems described in the column of problems to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effects described in the column of effects of the invention can be solved. If is obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

【0071】

[Effect of the invention]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information providing service that can sufficiently respond to the interests and properties of each individual user who actually receives the service, and the provision of guidance information suitable for the individual is low. It can be realized at cost.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

The block diagram which shows the structure of the information providing system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

The figure which shows the configuration example of the movement history data used in the information provision system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 3]

The flowchart which shows the procedure of the similarity determination processing between users in the information providing system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 4]

The figure which shows an example of the data string used in the inter-user similarity determination process in the information provision system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 5]

The flowchart which shows the procedure of the guidance information generation processing in the information provision system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 6]

The figure for demonstrating another example of the guidance information generation processing in the information providing system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 7]

The block diagram which shows the other configuration example of the information provision system of the 1st Embodiment.

[Fig. 8]

The block diagram which shows the structure of the information providing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[Fig. 9]

The figure which shows an example of the user movement pattern data used in the information provision system of the 2nd Embodiment.

[Fig. 10]

The flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the user movement pattern data generation processing in the information provision system of the 2nd Embodiment.

[Fig. 11]

The figure which shows an example of the similarity judgment rule between users used in the information provision system of the 2nd Embodiment.

[Fig. 12]

The flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the similarity determination processing between users in the information providing system of the 2nd Embodiment.

[Fig. 13]

The flowchart which shows the procedure of the movement candidate position generation processing in the information providing system of the 2nd Embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Position detector 20 ... Movement history management department 21 ... Movement history data generator 22 ... Movement history recording section 23 ... User movement pattern extraction unit 24 ... Geographic Information Recording Department 25 ... User movement pattern recording unit 30 ... User-to-user similarity judgment unit 31 ... User-to-user similarity determination processing unit 32 ... User-to-user similarity recording unit 40 ... Guidance information generator 41 ... Guidance information generation processing unit 42 ... Guidance information database 43 ... Guidance information recording section 44 ... Movement candidate position generator 45 ... Movement candidate position recording section 50 ... Guidance Information Service Department 60 ... User profile recording section