JP7518883B2 - Traffic Guidance Server, Method and Program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a traffic guidance server, a method and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to attract people to a specific area (for example, a shopping district in a certain town), it is known to give a special gift to people who visit the specific area.
Furthermore, in recent years, with the widespread use of mobile terminals such as smartphones, it has become possible to use mobile terminals to give special benefits to people who visit such specific areas.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a regional development system that includes a passage information collection unit that collects from the mobile phone via a public line network a passage point ID indicating the passage point among multiple points at which the mobile phone is located, a passage information database that records the passage point IDs, a passage information processing unit that determines whether the multiple passage point IDs recorded in the passage information database satisfy passage conditions, and when multiple passage points satisfy the passage conditions, provides a benefit to the user of the mobile phone by the multiple passage point IDs satisfying the passage conditions.
According to such a regional development system, it is possible to guide mobile phone users to passing points in a specific region, thereby gathering people in the specific region.

JP 2004-199607 A

However, even if the regional development system in Patent Document 1 was able to gather people in a specific area, there were cases where the people who gathered passed through the area without staying there, and it was not possible to bring vitality to the area.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a traffic guidance server, method and program capable of bringing excitement to a specific area.

To solve the above problems, the traffic guidance server of the present invention provides the following solutions.

(1) A first aspect of the present invention is a traffic guidance server that guides the passage of users to bring excitement to a specific area, comprising: a spot setting means for setting a plurality of spots on a route in the specific area; a transmission means for transmitting spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal; a reception means for receiving location information from the user terminal; a route identification means for identifying a route traveled by a user based on the location information; and a point granting means for granting points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed at least one of the plurality of spots set on the route on the route a plurality of times.

(2) The present invention further includes a travel guidance server according to (1), which further includes a travel speed acquisition means for acquiring a travel speed of the user terminal, and the point granting means grants the points when the travel speed of the user terminal while moving on the route is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed.

(3) In the present invention, in the traffic guidance server of (1) or (2), the receiving means receives image sharing information from the user terminal indicating that image information about the spot has been shared with another user terminal, and the point giving means gives the user the points according to the image sharing information.

(4) A second aspect of the present invention is a method executed by a traffic guidance server that guides the passage of users to bring excitement to a specific area, the method including the steps of setting multiple spots on a route in the specific area, transmitting information about the set spots to a user terminal, receiving location information from the user terminal, identifying a route traveled by the user based on the location information, and awarding points to the user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed at least one of the multiple spots set on the route multiple times on the route.

(5) A third aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a traffic guidance server that guides the passage of users to bring excitement to a specified area to function as a spot setting means that sets multiple spots on a route in a specified area, a transmission means that transmits spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal, a reception means that receives location information from the user terminal, a route identification means that identifies a route traveled by a user based on the location information, and a point granting means that grants points to a user according to the fact that the user has passed at least one of the multiple spots set on the route on the route multiple times.

(6) A fourth aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a traffic guidance server that guides the passage of users to bring excitement to a specified area to function as a spot setting means that sets multiple spots on a route in a specified area, a transmission means that transmits spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal, a spot passing information acquisition means that acquires spot passing information indicating passing through the spots, and a point granting means that grants points to a user according to having passed through at least one of the multiple spots set on the route multiple times based on the spot passing information acquired by the spot passing information acquisition means.

(7) A fifth aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a user terminal carried by a user and guiding the user's passage to function as: spot setting information acquisition means for acquiring spot setting information in which multiple spots are set on a route in a specified area from a passage guidance server for bringing excitement to people in the specified area; location information acquisition means for acquiring location information of the user terminal; spot passing determination means for determining whether the user terminal has passed within a specified distance range of the spot based on the location information and the acquired spot setting information; and point granting means for granting points to the user in accordance with the fact that the spot passing determination means has passed at least one of the multiple spots set on the route multiple times.

The present invention provides a traffic guidance server, method and program that can bring excitement to a specific area.

1 is a diagram illustrating a concept of a traffic guidance service in a traffic guidance system to which a traffic guidance server according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a traffic guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of data stored in a point DB in a table format. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of a traffic guidance process executed by a traffic guidance server according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating points in a point giving means.

Below, a detailed description of a form for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter, an embodiment) will be given with reference to the attached drawings. In the following figures, the same elements are given the same numbers or symbols throughout the description of the embodiment. Also, in the diagrams of the functional configuration, the arrows between the functional blocks indicate the direction of data flow or the direction of processing flow.

(Basic concept/basic configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a traffic guidance service in a traffic guidance system to which a traffic guidance server according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The traffic guidance system 1 is a system for providing traffic guidance services to a specific area (e.g., a shopping mall, etc.). It is a system for retaining people.

The traffic guidance system 1 includes a traffic guidance server that guides the traffic of users, and a user terminal that is connected to the traffic guidance server via a network and is operated by a user who visits a specific area.

The route guidance server sets multiple spots (A, B, C, D, and E in the example shown in Figure 1) on a route in a specified area, receives location information from the user terminal, and based on this location information, identifies the route traveled by the user (dotted arrow in the example shown in Figure 1), and gives points to the user according to the fact that the user passed at least one spot of the multiple spots set on the route multiple times on this route.

Specifically, in the example shown in Fig. 1, the dotted arrow indicates the route traveled by the user (movement of the user terminal), and the circles indicate spots. If this route overlaps with a spot, the user passed through this spot. That is, in the example shown in Fig. 1, the user passed through spots A, B, and C twice out of the multiple spots A, B, C, D, and E.
The traffic guidance server gives points to a user according to whether the user has passed through spots A, B, and C twice. In other words, the traffic guidance server does not give points if the user has passed through a spot only once. For this reason, the traffic guidance server does not give points to a user who has passed through spots D and E only once. Moreover, the traffic guidance server does not give points to a user if the user has passed through spots A, B, and C only once.

The points awarded in this way can be used, for example, at stores in a specific area, on credit cards, or with a membership card from a specific group.

For this reason, since a user cannot obtain points simply by passing through a route in a specified area, in order to obtain points, the user must travel back and forth along the route in the specified area and remain in the specified area. This makes it possible to, for example, guide the user's movement to the vicinity of a store that is desired to attract the user in a specified area (such as a shopping district), and to grant points for that behavior, without requiring the user to make a purchase at a store, as is the case with points on general cards.
This makes it possible to bring excitement to a specific area.

(Functional configuration)
2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a traffic guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The traffic guidance system 1 includes a traffic guidance server 10 that guides a user's traffic, and a user terminal 20 that is connected to the traffic guidance server 10 via a network and is operated by a user.

(Configuration of Traffic Guidance Server 10)
The traffic guidance server 10 includes a spot setting means 11, a receiving means 12, a moving speed acquisition means 13, a route identification means 14, a point allocation means 15, and a point database (hereinafter, point DB) 110 which is an example of a point storage means.

The spot setting means 11 sets a plurality of spots on a route in a predetermined area, associates points with spot information indicating the positions of the set spots, and stores the points in the point DB 110.
The traffic guidance server 10 receives location information of a location requested to be set as a spot from an external device (e.g., a terminal managed by a store in a shopping mall), and the spot setting means 11 sets a spot at a location based on this location information. Note that the spot setting means 11 can set a spot at any location. For example, the spot setting means 11 can set spots only on roads in a specified area where vehicles cannot pass.
Furthermore, the position set by one spot can be set within a predetermined range (for example, a circle with a radius of 5 m).

The spot setting means 11 may also transmit route information indicating a route on which multiple spots are set and location information of the set spots to the user terminal 20. This route information and spot location information may include, in addition to the multiple spots, detailed information for displaying the number of passes set for each spot and the number of points that can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing data stored in the point DB in a tabular format.
In the points DB 110, each piece of spot information is associated with an additional point (point) that is given to a user in accordance with the user having passed through the spot multiple times.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the point DB 110 associates different points with each other among a plurality of points (spot information).
Specifically, for example, spot information A is scored 1 point on the second pass, 2 points on the third pass, 3 points on the fourth pass, and 4 points on the fifth pass, while spot information B is scored 2 points on the second pass, 3 points on the third pass, 4 points on the fourth pass, and 5 points on the fifth pass.

Furthermore, in the point DB 110, the number of passes for which points are awarded may differ among multiple points.
Specifically, for example, points are given from the second pass for spot information A, B, and C. On the other hand, points are not given from the second pass for spot information D and E, but are given from the third pass for spot information D and E.

In this way, by assigning different levels of points to multiple spots, it is possible to control the places within a given area that you want to bring more activity to.

The points added also include points according to image sharing information received by the receiving means 12 when images relating to each spot are shared with other user terminals 20 (for example, when information about the spot is posted on a social networking service (SNS) such as an image sharing site).

The spot setting means 11 may also set a valid time for which points are awarded for each spot, and may vary the points awarded depending on the time of day, date, day of the week, etc.

Returning to FIG. 2, the receiving means 12 receives from the user terminal 20 user information including location information, movement speed information indicating the movement speed of the user terminal 20, and image sharing information indicating that image information at a certain location has been shared with another user terminal 20, at predetermined intervals (e.g., every second or every time the user terminal 20 updates the location information), together with user identification information for identifying the user. In this embodiment, the location information may be information indicating an address or information indicated by latitude and longitude, as long as it can identify the location of the user terminal 20.

The receiving means 12 also acquires spot passage information indicating the passage of a spot from the user terminal 20. Such receiving means 12 functions as a spot passage information acquisition means for acquiring spot passage information indicating the passage of a spot.

The movement speed acquisition means 13 acquires the movement speed of the user terminal 20. When movement speed information is included in the user information received by the receiving means 12, the movement speed acquisition means 13 acquires the movement speed of the user terminal 20 based on this movement speed information.
In addition, the movement speed acquisition means 13 may acquire the movement speed of the user terminal 20 by dividing the movement distance of the user terminal 20 from the location information received by the receiving means 12 at a certain point in time and the location information received by the receiving means 12 at the next point in time by the time difference between the certain point in time and the next point in time.

The route identification means 14 identifies the route traveled by the user (movement of the user terminal 20) based on the location information received by the receiving means 12. The route identification means 14 identifies the route by linking the location information received by the receiving means 12 from the user terminal 20 in chronological order.

The point giving means 15 gives the user points according to the fact that at least one spot among the multiple spots (multiple spots stored in the point DB 110) set on the route specified by the route specifying means 14 has been passed multiple times. In detail, the point giving means 15 counts the number of times that the route specified by the route specifying means 14 overlaps with the position information indicated by the spot information stored in the point DB 110 (see FIG. 3) for each piece of spot information, refers to the point DB 110, accumulates the added points according to the counted number, and calculates the points to be given to the user. Then, the point giving means 15 stores the calculated points in the storage unit in association with the user identification information that identifies the user. The point giving means 15 may also give the user points according to the fact that at least one spot has been passed multiple times, provided that all of the multiple spots set on the route have been passed. This means that points are not awarded for repeatedly passing through only one spot, so the user will pass through the entire designated area, making it possible to liven up the entire area.

In a modified example, the distance between spots may be set to a predetermined value or less (e.g., 10 m, 5 m, 1 m) to finely arrange the spots in a predetermined section (e.g., with respect to the distance between adjacent intersections) on the route to which the user is to be guided, and the point-giving means 15 may determine that the condition for point-giving is satisfied by passing through a predetermined percentage (e.g., 80%) or more of the spots, rather than all of the spots. In this way, when the spots are finely arranged in a predetermined section on the route and it is determined that the condition is satisfied by passing through a predetermined percentage or more of the spots in the predetermined section, the spot passing rate may be determined for each predetermined section (e.g., between adjacent intersections). This makes it possible to give points even if the user does not pass through all the spots, and reduces the user's sense of obligation to pass through all the spots, making it possible to guide the user to a predetermined area more easily. Also, depending on how the spots are set, it is possible that the user may pass through a designated spot without passing through the route that the user wants to pass through, but by setting the spot passing rate, which is a condition for point-giving, to a predetermined percentage or more, it is possible to guide the user to pass through the route as expected. In addition, by setting the spot passing rate, which is a condition for awarding points, higher in sections of a route in a specified area that are particularly desired to be lively than in other sections, it is possible to make certain sections in the specified area more lively.

The point allocating means 15 may calculate points at any time when the receiving means 12 receives location information from the user terminal 20, and transmit point information indicating the calculated number of points to the user terminal 20. This allows the user to check the number of points allocated at any time on the user terminal 20, thereby increasing the motivation to travel around a specific area.

The point giving means 15 also gives points when the moving speed of the user terminal 20 moving on the route acquired by the moving speed acquisition means 13 is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed (for example, 10 km/h or less while moving). In this embodiment, the moving speed may be the average moving speed of the user terminal 20 on the route in the specified area, or the moving speed at a certain point on the route in the specified area. In other words, the point giving means 15 does not give points when the moving speed of the user terminal 20 exceeds the predetermined speed.

The point giving means 15 also gives the user points according to the fact that the user has passed at least one spot out of the multiple spots set on the route multiple times, based on the spot passing information acquired by the receiving means 12 as the spot passing information acquisition means. In detail, the point giving means 15 counts the number of times the user has passed each spot stored in the point DB 110 (see FIG. 3) based on the spot passing information, and refers to the point DB 110 to accumulate additional points according to the counted number of times to calculate the points to be given to the user. The point giving means 15 then stores the calculated points in the memory unit in association with user identification information that identifies the user.

The receiving means 12 may also receive passage time information indicating the time of passing a spot from the user terminal 20. In this case, the point giving means 15 may not add points when the difference between the time of passing a set spot and the time of passing another spot that is directly before or after in time is less than a predetermined time difference.

For example, let us consider a case where there are three spots (A, B, C), and the time course of passing through the spots is "A → B → C → C (C is passed twice)". The time of passing through the first spot (A) is considered to be T1, the time of passing through the second spot (B) is T2, the time of passing through the third spot (C) is T3, and the time of passing through the fourth spot (C) is T4. If any of T2-T1, T3-T2, and T4-T3 is less than a specified time difference, no points may be added. In particular, T4-T3 means passing through the same spot (C) twice, and if this time difference is too small, it is considered that there is no sense of wandering and that the person is not contributing to the liveliness of the specified area, so it makes sense to exclude them from the targets for which points are given.

In this way, by awarding points according to the time spent between one spot and another, it becomes possible to award more points to a user who stays in a given area more slowly than a user who simply rushes around the spots at a given speed, making it possible to bring more activity to the given area.

Further, the predetermined speed may be ranked (for example, rank A for an average moving speed of less than 1 km/h, rank B for an average moving speed of 1 km/h or more and less than 5 km/h, rank C for an average moving speed of 5 km/h or more and 10 km/h or less, etc.). In this case, the point giving means 15 may give points according to the rank of the predetermined speed. It is desirable for the point giving means 15 to give higher points to a rank with a slower average moving speed than to a rank with a faster average moving speed.
Specifically, the point giving means 15 may give points that are, for example, twice the points stored in the point DB 110 in the case of rank A, 1 time the points stored in the point DB 110 in the case of rank B, and 0.5 times the points stored in the point DB 110 in the case of rank B. This makes it possible to encourage people to move more slowly around a specific area, thereby making the specific area more lively.

In addition, when image sharing information is included in the user information, the point giving means 15 refers to the points DB 110 (see FIG. 3) and determines whether the position of the image indicated by the image sharing information is in the vicinity of any of the spots set by the spot setting means 11, and gives the user points according to the determined spot.

(Configuration of user terminal 20)
The user terminal 20 is composed of a device suitable for each user (e.g., a mobile terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, a game device, etc.). The user terminal 20 may be the device itself as described above, or may be a control device capable of exchanging information with the above-mentioned multiple devices via a local network.

The user terminal 20 includes a user terminal control means 21, a user terminal position information acquisition means 22 which is an example of a position information acquisition means, a user terminal transmission/reception means 23 which is an example of a user terminal reception means and a user terminal transmission means, and a user terminal input/output means 24.

The user terminal control means 21 controls the entire user terminal 20, including the various other means, and executes the processes described below.

In addition, if the user terminal control means 21 has a function for measuring the movement speed of the user terminal 20, it stores movement speed information indicating the measured movement speed in the storage unit.

In addition, when an image of a certain spot is shared with other user terminals 20 by user operation (for example, when information about the spot is posted on a social networking service (SNS) such as an image sharing site), the user terminal control means 21 stores image sharing information in the storage unit, including information indicating the location where the image was captured.

In addition, when the user terminal control means 21 receives location information of a spot from the traffic guidance server 10, it determines whether or not the spot has been passed (determines whether or not the spot has been passed within a specified distance range of the position indicated by the spot location information), and when it determines that the spot has been passed, it transmits spot passage information indicating the passage of the spot to the traffic guidance server 10.

The user terminal position information acquisition means 22 acquires position information indicating the position of the user terminal 20 using a GPS (Global Positioning System) function possessed by the user terminal 20. Note that the user terminal position information acquisition means 22 may acquire position information calculated from the radio wave strength of a telephone company's antenna, in addition to GPS, or may acquire position information calculated by short-range wireless communication such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

The user terminal transmission/reception means 23, under the control of the user terminal control means 21, associates the location information acquired by the user terminal location information acquisition means 22, the movement speed information and image sharing information stored in the memory unit by the user terminal control means 21 with user identification information that identifies the user, and transmits them to the traffic guidance server 10.
In addition, the user terminal transmitting/receiving means 23 receives route information, spot position information, and point information from the traffic guidance server 10.
In addition, the user terminal transmitting/receiving means 23 transmits the spot passage information to the traffic guidance server 10 under the control of the user terminal control means 21 .

The user terminal input/output means 24 is, for example, configured as a touch panel, and displays route information and point information received from the traffic guidance server 10 under the control of the user terminal control means 21.

(Modification)
In a modified example, the user terminal 20 awards points to the user.
In the modified example, the user terminal transmission/reception means 23 functions as a spot setting information acquisition means for acquiring spot setting information in which multiple spots are set on a route in a specific area. The user terminal transmission/reception means 23 receives the spot setting information from the traffic guidance server 10 or other external devices. The spot setting information includes location information of previously set spots and information indicating additional points (points) given to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through the spot multiple times for each piece of spot information. That is, the spot setting information includes the points DB 110 shown in FIG. 3.

In addition, the user terminal location information acquisition means 22 functions as a location information acquisition means that acquires the location information of the user terminal 20.

The user terminal control means 21 functions as a spot passing determination means that determines whether the user terminal 20 has passed within a predetermined distance range (for example, within 10 m) of a spot based on the position information acquired by the user terminal position information acquisition means 22 and the spot setting information acquired by the user terminal transmission/reception means 23. When the user terminal control means 21 determines that the user terminal 20 has passed within a predetermined distance range of the position indicated by the position information of the spot included in the spot setting information, it stores the number of times the spot has been passed in the storage means.

In addition, as described above, the user terminal control means 21 functions as a movement speed acquisition means that acquires the movement speed of the user terminal 20.

The user terminal control means 21 also functions as a point granting means for granting points to the user in accordance with the number of times the user has passed at least one spot among the multiple spots set on the route. The user terminal control means 21 refers to the points DB 110 included in the spot setting information, and performs the same process as the points granting means 15 in the above embodiment based on the number of times the user has passed at least one spot stored in the storage means.
Points are calculated and awarded to the user.

In this way, the travel speed acquisition means 13, the point allocation means 15, and the point DB 110 provided in the traffic guidance server 10 in the above embodiment may be provided in the user terminal 20 or another computer carried by the user and used to guide the user's traffic.

The functional configuration of the present system described above is merely an example, and one functional block (database and functional processing unit) may be divided, or multiple functional blocks may be combined into one functional block. Each functional processing unit is a central processing unit (CPU) built into the device that processes computer and memory data stored in a storage device (storage unit) such as a read only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid state drive (SSD), or hard disk.
The functions are realized by a computer program that reads out a program (e.g., a core software or an application that causes the CPU to execute the various processes described above) and is executed by the CPU. That is, each functional processing unit is realized by the computer program reading and writing necessary data such as tables from a database (DB; Data Base) stored in a storage device or a storage area in memory, and in some cases controlling related hardware (e.g., an input/output device, a display device, a communication interface device). Furthermore, the database (DB) in the embodiments of the present invention may be a commercial database, but also means a simple collection of tables and files, and the internal structure of the database itself is not important.

(Processing flow)
4 is a diagram showing a flow of a traffic guidance process executed by a traffic guidance server according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the process flow diagram (flowchart) of FIG. 4, the processing order of each step may be changed as long as the relationship between the input and output of each step is not lost.

First, before the traffic guidance server 10 executes the traffic guidance process, the spot setting means 11 sets multiple spots on the route in a specified area, associates points with the spot information indicating the positions of the set spots, and stores them in the point DB 110 (see FIG. 3). After that, the traffic guidance server 10 executes the following traffic guidance process.

In step S1, the receiving means 12 receives from the user terminal 20 at a predetermined interval location information, movement speed information, image information at a certain location, and user information including image sharing information, together with user identification information that identifies the user.

In step S2, the movement speed acquisition means 13 acquires the movement speed of the user terminal 20 based on the movement speed information included in the user information received by the receiving means 12 in step S1.

In step S3, the point allocating means 15 determines whether the moving speed of the user terminal 20 moving along the route, acquired by the moving speed acquiring means 13 in step S2, is equal to or less than a predetermined speed, and if it is determined that the moving speed is equal to or less than the predetermined speed, the process proceeds to step S4, and if it is not determined that the moving speed is equal to or less than the predetermined speed, the process of guiding the passage is terminated.

In step S4, the route identification means 14 identifies the route traveled by the user (the movement of the user terminal 20) based on the location information included in the user information received by the receiving means 12 in step S1.

In step S5, the point allocating means 15 determines whether or not at least one of the multiple spots (multiple spots stored in the point DB 110) set on the route identified by the route identification means 14 in step S4 has been passed multiple times. If it is determined that the spot has been passed multiple times, the process proceeds to step S6, and if it is not determined that the spot has been passed multiple times, the process ends.

In step S6, the point-granting means 15 grants the user points based on the fact that the user has passed at least one spot multiple times among the multiple spots set on the route (multiple spots stored in the point DB 110) and on the image sharing information included in the user information received by the receiving means 12 in step S1 (the points are stored in the memory unit in association with the user identification information that identifies the user).

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating points in the point giving means.
A specific example of a method for calculating points in the point giving means 15 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG.
In Fig. 5, the thin dotted arrow indicates the route traveled by the user (movement of the user terminal 20) identified by the route identification means 14 in the processing of step S4 (see Fig. 4), and the circle indicates a spot. If this route overlaps with a spot, the user passed through this spot. Also, in Fig. 5, the thick dotted arrow indicates that the user terminal 20 has shared an image of spot E with another user terminal 20 (for example, has posted information about the spot on a social networking service (SNS) such as an image sharing site).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, out of the multiple spots A, B, C, D, and E, the user has passed through spots A, B, and D twice, spot C three times, and spot E once. The user also shares an image of spot E with another user terminal 20.

In this case, the point giving means 15, in the process of step S6, refers to the point DB 110 (see FIG. 3) and calculates the points to be given to the user as follows.
The point allocating means 15 adds one point for passing through spot A twice, and adds two points for passing through spot B twice. Note that spot D is also passed through twice, but in the example shown in FIG. 3, points are not added unless spot D is passed through three times. Also, the point allocating means 15 adds seven points (the cumulative value of three points for the second pass and four points for the third pass) for passing through spot C three times. Note that spot E is passed through once, but in this embodiment, points are not added unless spot E is passed through multiple times.

The point-giving means 15 also adds 6 points to the user when the user shares an image related to spot E with another user terminal 20.

Then, the point-granting means 15 grants the user the sum of the above-mentioned added points, 16 points (1+2+7+6) (stores this in the memory unit in association with the user identification information that identifies the user).

(Effects of the embodiment)
According to this embodiment, since a user cannot obtain points simply by passing through a route in a specified area, the user travels back and forth along the route in the specified area and stays in the specified area in order to obtain points. This makes it possible to guide the user's movement to the vicinity of a store that is desired to attract the user in a specified area (such as a shopping district) and to grant points for that action, without requiring the user to make a purchase at a store, as is the case with points on a general card.
This makes it possible to bring excitement to a specific area.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, points are awarded when the moving speed of the user terminal 20 during movement is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed. In other words, points are not awarded when the moving speed of the user terminal 20 exceeds the predetermined speed. As a result, for example, points are not awarded when a person travels along a route for which points have been set in a car or bicycle, which has a relatively fast moving speed, so it is possible to liven up a designated area by walking around with people. For this reason, a person who visits a designated area by car or the like can be awarded points by, for example, parking the car or the like next to the designated area and exploring the designated area on foot.

In addition, according to this embodiment, points are awarded in accordance with the sharing of images related to the spot with other user terminals 20. This allows users who are livening up a specific area to proactively spread the word about the area through images, making it possible to attract more people to the specific area.

Although the present invention has been described above using an embodiment, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiment. Furthermore, it is clear from the claims that forms incorporating such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention. Note that in the above embodiment, the present invention has been described as an invention of a product, the traffic guidance server, but it can also be considered as an invention of a method executed by the traffic guidance server in the present invention, or a program that causes the traffic guidance server to function as various means.

1 Traffic Guidance System 10 Traffic Guidance Server 11 Spot Setting Means 12 Receiving Means 13 Travel Speed Acquisition Means 14 Route Identification Means 15 Point Granting Means 20 User Terminal 21 User Terminal Control Means 22 User Terminal Position Information Acquisition Means 23 User Terminal Transmission/Reception Means 24 User Terminal Input/Output Means 110 Point DB (Point Database)

Claims (7)

A traffic guidance server that guides users to walk around a certain area in order to bring about lively activity to the area,
A spot setting means for setting a plurality of spots in a predetermined area ;
a transmitting means for transmitting the spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal;
A receiving means for receiving location information from the user terminal;
A route identification means for identifying a route traveled by a user based on the location information;
and a point-granting means for granting points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through at least one of the plurality of spots multiple times on the route, and for enabling the points to be granted to the user to be changed in accordance with the number of times the user passes through the spot . The mobile terminal further includes a moving speed acquisition means for acquiring a moving speed of the user terminal,
The traffic guidance server according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the moving speed of the user terminal during movement is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed, the point allotting means considers the user of the user terminal to be a user walking around the predetermined area, and awards the points to the user. The receiving means receives, from the user terminal, image sharing information indicating that image information related to the spot has been shared with another user terminal,
The traffic guidance server according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the point giving unit gives the points to the user according to the image sharing information. A method executed by a traffic guidance server for guiding a user to walk around a certain area in order to bring about lively activity to the area, comprising the steps of:
Setting a plurality of spots in a predetermined area ;
transmitting the set spot information to a user terminal;
receiving location information from the user terminal;
Identifying a route traveled by the user based on the location information;
A method comprising the steps of: awarding points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through at least one of the plurality of spots multiple times on the route; and making it possible to change the points awarded to the user in accordance with the number of times the user passes through the spot . A traffic guidance server that guides users to walk around a specific area in order to make the area more lively,
A spot setting means for setting a plurality of spots in a predetermined area ;
a transmitting means for transmitting the spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal;
A receiving means for receiving location information from the user terminal;
A route identification means for identifying a route traveled by a user based on the location information;
A program that functions as a point-granting means that grants points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through at least one of the plurality of spots multiple times on the route , and enables the points to be granted to the user to be changed in accordance with the number of times the user passes through the spot . A traffic guidance server that guides users to walk around a specific area in order to make the area more lively,
A spot setting means for setting a plurality of spots in a predetermined area ;
a transmitting means for transmitting the spot information set by the spot setting means to a user terminal;
a spot passage information acquiring means for acquiring spot passage information indicating passage of the spot;
Based on the spot passing information acquired by the spot passing information acquisition means,
a point giving means for giving points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through at least one spot among the plurality of spots a plurality of times , and making it possible to change the points to be given to the user in accordance with the number of times the user passes through the spot;
A program characterized by causing the program to function as a A user terminal owned by a user,
A spot setting information acquisition means for acquiring spot setting information in which a plurality of spots are set in a predetermined area from a traffic guidance server that guides users to walk around the area in order to bring about lively activity to people in the predetermined area;
A location information acquisition means for acquiring location information of the user terminal;
a spot passage determination means for determining whether the user terminal has passed within a predetermined distance range of the spot based on the location information and the acquired spot setting information;
The program is characterized in that the spot passage determination means functions as a point granting means that grants points to a user in accordance with the fact that the user has passed through at least one of the plurality of spots multiple times , and that makes it possible to change the points granted to the user in accordance with the number of times the user passes through the spot.