JP7187007B2 - Method and system for estimating affinity between individual animals - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and system for estimating affinity between individual animals and a method for increasing affinity.

Synchronization phenomena among multiple animal individuals have attracted attention. For example, we know circadian rhythms, the nervous system in individuals such as pacemakers, micro-synchronization and synchronization phenomena observed between cells, collective luminescence of fireflies, and macro-synchronization phenomena such as migratory birds and migratory large mammals. It is In addition, studies on coexistence between humans and dogs have shown that synchronous behavior between individual animals contributes to the development of social behavior (such as communication), the reduction of anxiety and stress, the improvement of symptoms in children with autism, and the reduction of trauma syndrome. , circulatory system improvement, and pain relief (see Non-Patent Document 1, Non-Patent Document 2, etc.). Quantitative understanding of such synchronous behaviors among individual animals is important for finding methods for maintaining or promoting the health of humans, pets, companion animals, or livestock.

Various techniques have been proposed for ascertaining the activity and health conditions of individual animals such as humans and dogs.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a three-dimensional acceleration signal (Gx, Gy, Gz) that is fixed to an animal and detects acceleration signals (Gx, Gy, Gz) in the X direction, which is the front-back direction of the animal, the Y direction, which is the left-right direction, and the Z direction, which is the up-down direction. a storage unit for accumulating an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor; and based on the acceleration signal, a horizontal tilt angle θx of the XY plane with respect to the Z direction centered on the X axis and a horizontal tilt angle θx centered on the Y axis and a tilt angle two-dimensional display control for displaying the left-right tilt angle θx of the XY plane and the forward-backward tilt angle θy of the XY plane in two-dimensional graphics on a screen. and an animal activity measuring device.

Patent document 2 establishes wireless communication with a sensor that detects the bark of a farmed animal and another compatibility determination device that is associated with another farmed animal, and transmits information about the farmed animal that is associated with the own device. a first wireless communication unit for transmitting to another compatibility determination device and receiving information on the other domestic animal from the other compatibility determination device; and receiving from the other compatibility determination device by the first wireless communication unit. The information on the other domesticated animal is stored in a storage unit, and when the sensor detects barking after receiving the information on the other domesticated animal, the bark is associated with the information on the other domesticated animal. a storage control unit for storing information indicating that a voice has been detected in the storage unit; and referring to the storage unit, information indicating that a bark has been detected is stored in association with information regarding the other breeding animal. In this case, if it is determined that the breeding animal is not compatible with the other breeding animal, and the information indicating that the bark has been detected is not stored in association with the information related to the other breeding animal, the above-mentioned Disclosed is a compatibility determination device comprising a breeding animal and a determination unit that determines whether the breeding animal is compatible with the other breeding animal.

In Patent Document 3, basic information about a dog and basic information about its owner or the owner's family are input, health management software or a health manager sends an optimal healthy lifestyle proposal menu, and the dog owner or the owner's family: Input the living histories of actual people and dogs, health management software or health managers analyze living histories based on basic information, send optimal healthy life proposal menus to dog owners or owner's family, and continuously It discloses a system of interaction.

Patent Document 4 discloses an organizational behavior analysis device that analyzes an organization composed of a plurality of persons, and includes sensor data acquired by an infrared transmitting/receiving unit and an acceleration sensor of a terminal worn by each of the plurality of persons, and , a receiving unit for receiving data indicating the subjective evaluation or objective evaluation of each of the plurality of persons, a control unit for analyzing the sensor data and the data indicating the subjective evaluation or objective evaluation, and the control unit a recording unit for recording analysis conditions for performing analysis and results analyzed by the control unit; index indicating behavior within the person is calculated from the sensor data based on the analysis conditions and recorded in the recording unit, and an index indicating characteristics of behavior and thinking for each of the plurality of persons is calculated based on the analysis conditions. based on the data indicating the subjective evaluation and recorded in the recording unit, and the index indicating the characteristics of the behavior and thinking of each of the plurality of persons, the relationship between the persons in the organization, and the relationship between the persons in the organization Disclosed is an organizational behavior analysis device that identifies factors of data indicating the subjective evaluation or the objective evaluation in the organization by correlating with an index indicating behavior in the organization.

JP 2011-217928 A JP 2016-139874 A JP 2005-276141 A WO 2011/055628A

Miho Nagasawa, et al., "Coherent Behavior and Affinity in Animals," Report on the 28th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Animal Psychology, Journal of Animal Psychology, Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 130-132 Takeshi Kikusui "Relationship between humans and dogs by oxytocin" The Japanese Journal of Animal Psychology (2017) P1-9

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for estimating affinity between individual animals and a method for increasing affinity. Here, the degree of affinity means the degree of affinity between individuals, including the amount of attachment behavior toward the owner, chasing behavior when separated, joyful reaction when reunited, frequency of eye contact, and the like.

As a result of repeated studies to achieve the above object, the present invention including the following aspects has been completed.

[1] A first sensor is attached to a first individual animal, a second sensor is attached to a second individual animal, and the first sensor and the second sensor are attached to the first animal individual for the same predetermined period of time. obtain the first time-series data related to the animal and the second time-series data related to the second animal individual, evaluate the degree of synchronization between the first time-series data and the second time-series data, and evaluate the degree of synchronization based on the degree of synchronization A method for estimating the degree of affinity between one animal individual and a second animal individual.

[2] The method according to [1], wherein the degree of synchronization between the first time-series data and the second time-series data is evaluated by coherence.
[3] The method according to [1] or [2], wherein the first individual animal is a human and the second individual animal is a companion animal, companion animal, or livestock.
[4] The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the first sensor and the second sensor are acceleration sensors.

[5] a first sensor attachable to a first animal individual,
a second sensor attachable to a second individual animal;
Evaluating the degree of synchronization between the first time-series data relating to the first individual animal and the second time-series data relating to the second individual animal acquired by the first sensor and the second sensor over the same predetermined period. , a controller for estimating the degree of affinity between the first individual animal and the second individual animal from the degree of synchronization, and a display unit for indicating the estimated degree of affinity. system.

[6] Attaching the first sensor to an object other than the first animal individual, acquiring first time-series data related to the first animal individual with the first sensor, and synchronizing with the acquired first time-series data a first animal individual and an object other than the first animal individual, including generating a movement that produces second time-series data with a high degree of , and causing the object other than the first animal individual to perform the movement How to increase affinity.

The method and system for estimating the degree of affinity between individual animals according to the present invention can express and visualize the synchronous behavior between individual animals by numerical values such as coherence. In addition, the method and system for estimating the degree of affinity between individual animals and the method for increasing the degree of affinity of the present invention can contribute to maintaining or promoting the health of humans or pets, companion animals, or livestock.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of time-series data of the acceleration spectrum of a dog, time-series data of the acceleration spectrum of a human, and coherence spectra of these two time-series data when a human started to keep a dog. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of time-series data of dog acceleration spectra, time-series data of human acceleration spectra, and coherence spectra of these two time-series data after 3 months of breeding.

The method of estimating the affinity of the present invention comprises attaching a first sensor to a first individual animal, attaching a second sensor to a second individual animal, and Acquire the first time-series data related to the first animal individual and the second time-series data related to the second animal individual with the sensor, and evaluate the degree of synchronization between the first time-series data and the second time-series data and estimating the degree of affinity between the first animal individual and the second animal individual from the degree of synchronization.

Animal individuals include humans, companion animals, companion animals, livestock, and the like. Companion animals or companion animals can include dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, lizards, parrots, monkeys, and the like. Domestic animals include cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and the like. In the present invention, it is preferred that the first individual animal is a human and the second individual animal is a pet animal, companion animal or livestock.

The first sensor and the second sensor are not particularly limited as long as they can be attached to an individual animal. Examples of sensors include acceleration sensors, electrocardiographs, and electroencephalographs. The acceleration sensor is preferably a triaxial acceleration sensor. The sensor may be built into a collar or harness that can be attached to a dog or the like, or may be an electronic device (smartphone, etc.), a wristwatch, a pedometer, a headset, a headband, or a hat that can be carried by a person. , a wrist band or the like. The number of sensors attached to one individual animal is not limited to one, and may be plural. As a power source for driving sensors, communication devices, and the like, a combination of a battery such as a primary battery, a secondary battery, and a solar battery, a power generator such as a vibration power generator or a photovoltaic power generator, and a power storage element may be used. Furthermore, in order to extend battery life, sensors, communicators, etc., may be activated only when the individual animal is active. A three-axis acceleration sensor can detect acceleration of a node or motion of a node. From the acquired time-series data of acceleration, it is possible to know the intensity of movement of the individual animal and behavior such as walking. Measurements by the first sensor and the second sensor are taken over the same predetermined period of time. For example, measurements are made over a period of time when a human is walking a dog. The acquired time-series data can be transferred to the control unit through wired communication or wireless communication, preferably wireless communication. As wireless communication, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), IrDA, and the like can be used. The acquired time-series data may be temporarily stored in the recording unit and then transferred to the control unit. The recording unit or the control unit may be provided in a portable electronic device, or may be provided in an information processing apparatus installed at a remote location such as a cloud system. In addition to the sensors described above, a rangefinder, GPS, or the like may be installed to acquire time-series data such as the posture and position of the individual animal.

また、相関係数は次のような式で定義される。

なお、τは二つの時系列データにおける遅れ時間である。 The degree of synchronization is evaluated using time-series data. A method for evaluating the degree of synchronization is not particularly limited. For example, a cross-correlation function can be used to quantitatively characterize the degree of synchronization between two time-series data x'(t) and y'(t). If the time series data x(t) = x'(t ₎ - _{u x ,} y(t) = y'(t) - u _y , the cross-correlation function is defined by the following formula:

Also, the correlation coefficient is defined by the following formula.

Note that τ is the delay time between the two time-series data.

τ=0の場合、

が導き出される。 Assuming that the Fourier transforms of x(t) and y(t) are X(ω) and Y(ω), the cross spectrum is defined by the following formula.

When τ=0,

is derived.

と表すことができる。K_xyはコスペクトル、Q_xyはクオドスペクトルと呼ばれる。
コヒーレンスは、二つの時系列データのフーリエ周波数成分の相関係数に相当し、次式で表わすことができる。コヒーレンスの値が大きいほど２つの時系列データの同調の度合いが高いことを表す。

また、位相の差は次式で表わすことができる。位相差の変動が低いほど２つの時系列データの同調性が大きい傾向があることを示していると考えられる。

The cross spectrum is generally complex and

It can be expressed as. K _xy is called cospectrum and Q _xy is called quadspectrum.
Coherence corresponds to the correlation coefficient of Fourier frequency components of two time-series data, and can be expressed by the following equation. A larger coherence value indicates a higher degree of synchronization between the two time-series data.

Also, the phase difference can be expressed by the following equation. It is thought that this indicates that the lower the fluctuation of the phase difference, the greater the synchrony of the two time-series data tends to be.

Furthermore, EOF analysis can be used when the time-series data used to evaluate the degree of synchronization between individual animals is 3 or more.

If the numerical value of the degree of synchronization evaluated by the control unit is approximately proportional to the degree of affinity, the numerical value may be displayed as it is on the display (display unit) of a smartphone, personal computer, etc. The height of the numerical value may be displayed by a bar graph, a circle graph, or the like, or a symbol, figure, mark, picture, moving image, or the like may be displayed according to the range of the numerical value.

The recording unit, the control unit, and the display unit may be centrally installed in one information processing device, or may be distributed and installed in a plurality of information processing devices using a cloud system, the Internet, or the like. .

On the other hand, it is preferable to record the motions of the first animal individual and the second animal individual over the period of time-series data acquisition. For example, behavior when a human takes a dog out for a walk, behavior when a dog stares at a human alternately, behavior when a human talks to a dog, two humans walking, jogging, doing housework, etc. It records the movements when the horse is riding, the movements when a human is riding a horse, and the movements during attachment (attachment) behavior, etc., and correlates each movement with the degree of synchronization evaluated by the control unit. From this, it is possible to know what kind of action causes an increase in the degree of affinity between individual animals.

A method of increasing affinity between a first animal individual and an object other than the first animal individual of the present invention comprises attaching a first sensor to an object other than the first animal individual, and Temporary series data is acquired by a first sensor, a motion that produces second time series data with a high degree of synchronization with the acquired first time series data is generated, and the motion is performed on an object other than the first animal individual. including allowing Here, the thing other than the first individual animal is not limited to the second individual animal, and may be a robot, a virtual character, or the like. The method of increasing the degree of affinity of the present invention improves the degree of affinity, which has been low, by making an action that increases the degree of affinity obtained from the above findings between individual animals or between an individual animal and a robot or virtual character. can be expected. Correlation data between motion and coherence can also be used, for example, to control the motion of pet robots, companion robots, care robots, virtual characters, and the like. Specifically, robots and virtual characters capture time-series data of the movements of individual animals such as humans (facial expressions, blinks, head directions, vocalizations, etc.) using 3D cameras, optical sensors, touch sensors, Acquired by sensors (first sensor) such as angle sensor, sound sensor, distance sensor, odor sensor, etc., and generates motion (posture, voice quality, facial expression, etc.) that has high coherence with respect to the time series data. Have the virtual character perform the action. It is preferable to perform this operation so that the phase difference becomes small. This makes it possible for individual animals such as humans to feel warmth and have a good impression of robots and virtual characters. It should be noted that artificial intelligence (AI) or the like can also be used for calculation of motion generation.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail by showing examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Using an accelerometer to measure the movement (frequency) of 6 dogs inherited from the earthquake disaster area, the movement (frequency) of the human (owner) and the dog (pet dog) were taken for a walk for 3 months from the start of their ownership. did.

As shown in FIG. 1, when we started to keep the disaster-stricken dog, both the human (owner's) acceleration spectrum and the dog's (domestic dog) acceleration spectrum were not stable, and the coherence was low at any frequency.
After 3 months of breeding, as shown in FIG. 2, the human (owner's) acceleration spectrum and the dog's (domestic dog) acceleration spectrum showed high coherence (white band) at a frequency of about 2 Hz. rice field. Dogs (domestic dogs) tended to follow their owner's behavior.
In addition, the coherence detected when a person other than the owner (a person with low affinity for the dog) took the dog out for a walk was low at any frequency, similar to that shown in FIG.
From these facts, it can be said that when the degree of affinity (attachment) between a human (owner) and a dog (domestic dog) increases, the degree of synchronization (coherence value) of time-series data increases.

A frequency of about 2 Hz is the central frequency of delta waves that are associated with slow-wave sleep (non-REM sleep). Movement at this frequency is thought to be related to human mobility. For example, it is known that the walking rate of humans during free walking is about 1.9 steps per second, and that humans walk at a rhythm of approximately 2 Hz. In addition, there is also knowledge that a decrease in muscle tone was observed by continuing small-amplitude passive exercise of 2 Hz (On Tanaka et al., "Investigation of exercise therapy for autonomic nerve dysfunction (sympathetic nerve dominant state)" 50th Japan Physiotherapy Academic Congress). Since it is suggested that improved affinity with dogs affects the autonomic nervous system, such as changes in human parasympathetic nerve activity and decreased muscle tone, the present invention is useful for maintaining the health of humans, pets, companion animals, or livestock. Or it can be expected to help promote health.

Claims (3)

Attaching the first acceleration sensor to the first animal individual,
Attaching a second acceleration sensor to a second animal individual,
acquiring first time-series data relating to the first animal individual and second time-series data relating to the second animal individual with the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor over the same predetermined period;
Evaluating the degree of synchronization between the first time-series data and the second time-series data using the coherence value,
A method for estimating the degree of affinity between the first individual animal and the second individual animal from the degree of synchronization. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first animal individual is a human and the second animal individual is a companion animal, companion animal, or farm animal. a first acceleration sensor attachable to a first animal individual;
a second acceleration sensor attachable to a second animal;
The degree of synchronization between the first time-series data relating to the first individual animal and the second time-series data relating to the second individual animal acquired by the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor over the same predetermined period , a control unit for evaluating using the coherence value and estimating the affinity between the first animal individual and the second animal individual from the degree of synchronization, and a display unit for showing the estimated affinity Affinity estimation system between individual animals with

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