JP7597358B2 - Information processing device, information providing system, method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information provision system, a method, and a program for causing a computer to execute a process for supporting information provision.

Companies exhibit their products at exhibitions, conduct business negotiations regarding the exhibited products, and collect and exchange information on market trends (needs). In recent years, advances in communication technology have led to the proposal of digital exhibition systems that enable companies to exhibit products, conduct business negotiations, exchange information, etc. over the Internet (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2001-290963 A JP 2016-201125 A

However, the system described in Patent Document 1 only displays a list of exhibiting companies in alphabetical order, and visitors cannot view exhibited products, etc. unless they select a company name, register as a visitor, and enter the website of the selected company.

On the other hand, the system described in Patent Document 2 displays an avatar as the user's alter ego in a virtual space, and by moving the avatar, the user can select a specific company, etc., and view the exhibits without registering as a visitor.

However, when the booths of two or more companies exhibiting products that are of interest to visitors are located far apart, it takes time and effort to move the avatar. In addition, for exhibiting companies, the location of their booths may be affected, and even if many products are exhibited, they may not be viewed by many visitors. For this reason, there is a demand for a device, system, method, and program that makes it possible to provide information in the optimal order.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing device that supports the provision of information,
a storage means for storing registration information on information registered by each information provider or each information receiving user, or both, and address information indicating a storage location of the information provided by each information provider;
A receiving means for receiving a request for providing information from a user terminal;
a determining means for determining by lottery an order of information to be displayed on the user's terminal using the registered information stored in the storage means in accordance with a set condition;
An information processing device is provided, including a transmitting means for transmitting the determined order and address information of each piece of information stored in the storage means to a user terminal.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a device, system, method, and program that allows information to be provided in an optimal order.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information providing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device constituting the information providing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed by an information processing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a process executed by the information processing system. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining tabs displayed on a user's terminal. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a process executed by the information processing system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information provided by each provider. 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating a process for determining the order of display data to be displayed on a user's terminal. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal constituting the information providing system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a terminal. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining a terminal operation by a user and a timing at which the terminal requests display data. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of display data having a hierarchical structure. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating a process of transitioning an image depending on a selected area. 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a method for displaying image data captured by rotating the image by 360 degrees. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining a method of combining video data with text data and displaying the combined data. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method of combining a plurality of still image data and text data to configure video data including text. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating brightness adjustment of image data captured by an omnidirectional imaging device. A diagram explaining the Opportunity page. 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a method by which an information provider identifies a user who is currently viewing the information. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a user's browsing time. A diagram showing an example of a screen that prompts a user to move to a sales negotiation page.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information provision system. The information provision system includes at least an information processing device 10 that supports the provision of information. The information processing device 10 registers and manages information provided by information providers. Here, the information processing device 10 is described as registering and managing information provided by providers, but a device other than the information processing device 10 may be provided to register and manage information provided by providers. Below, the information provision system is described as a digital exhibition system for providing product information and conducting business negotiations, but the information provided is not limited to products and may be services, solutions, etc. Furthermore, information providers are not limited to companies providing product information and may be groups such as clubs providing information on club activities.

The information processing device 10 is connected to a PC 12 used by each provider (hereinafter referred to as an exhibitor) via a network 11 such as the Internet, and is connected to a user's terminal 13 using wireless communication such as 4G, 5G, or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or by a wired connection such as a cable. When connecting wirelessly, the terminal 13 connects to the network 11 via an access point 14.

The information processing device 10 provides a screen for inputting information about the visitor and a screen for asking questions (survey) to the visitor to the terminal 13 of the user (hereinafter referred to as visitor) who will be attending the exhibition. The terminal 13 transmits the information input by the visitor to the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 has a visitor database (visitor DB) that manages visitor information, and performs visitor authentication processing. Note that visitor authentication processing may be performed by a separately provided authentication server.

The information processing device 10 also communicates with each exhibitor's PC 12 to acquire exhibitor registration information, such as exhibitor information, address information (e.g., URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) indicating the storage location of display data of basic information provided by the exhibitor, and display data of exhibited products, etc. The information processing device 10 has an exhibitor database (exhibitor DB) that manages the acquired exhibitor registration information. According to set conditions, the information processing device 10 uses the visitor registration information registered in the visitor DB and/or the exhibitor registration information registered in the exhibitor DB to determine by lottery the order in which the display data of each exhibitor will be displayed, and transmits the determined order, URL, etc. to the terminal 13. In addition to the above order and URL, the information transmitted by the information processing device 10 to the terminal 13 includes exhibitor names, etc.

The information processing device 10 communicates with each exhibitor's PC 12 and acquires information provided by the exhibitor, such as display data introducing the exhibitor, display data displaying the exhibitor's booth (product list), and display data displaying details of each product. The information processing device 10 has an image database (image DB) that registers and manages the acquired display data. When the information processing device 10 receives a request for display data based on a URL from the terminal 13, it searches for the requested display data from among the display data managed in the image DB and transmits it to the terminal 13. When transmitting the display data, it can be encoded before transmission.

The terminal 13 implements a browser for displaying the display data received from the information processing device 10. The terminal 13 requests the display data managed in the image DB of the information processing device 10 based on the order and URL received from the information processing device 10, and acquires the display data from the image DB. The screen size of the terminal 13 is fixed, and the display size of each display data is also determined, for example, large, medium, and small, so the number of display data that can be displayed at one time is determined. Therefore, the terminal 13 requests the number of display data that can be displayed in the above order from the information processing device 10 that manages the display data using the URL, acquires each display data from the image DB of the information processing device 10, and displays them on the screen in the above order. As a result, the display data is displayed on the terminal 13 in an optimized display order. Note that if the display data is encoded, it can be decoded and restored to the data before encoding.

When a visitor presses his/her finger against the screen of the terminal 13 and slides it a long distance (swipes), the terminal 13 uses a URL to request the display data for the next sequence that is not yet displayed, and the sequence after that, from the information processing device 10, and retrieves and displays the data from the image DB of the information processing device 10.

The display data introducing the exhibitors is data that displays logos, company names, catchphrases, etc. that visualize the features of the exhibitors' products and services, and is data such as videos that express the company's image. The display data displaying the exhibitors' booths is data that displays a list of products exhibited by the exhibitors. These display data may be still image data or text data, but can also be video data. Video data is composed of multiple frames of still image data. The display data displaying details of each product may be video data, but can also be still image data or text data.

When a visitor swipes to request the next data to be displayed, it takes time for the video data to load, and so it takes time for the next data to be displayed. This makes it impossible to achieve a smooth display.

Therefore, when a request based on the first URL is received from the terminal 13, the information processing device 10 transmits not only the video data based on the requested URL, but also only the first frame of the video data of all exhibitors. Here, only the first frame is transmitted, but this is not limited to this, and several frames of video data of all exhibitors may be transmitted. When the information processing device 10 receives a request to obtain display data by swiping, it can transmit the data of the remaining frames.

Display data is lined up in order on the screen of terminal 13, and display data that has not yet been displayed is displayed in a predetermined order when the visitor swipes their finger. Display data lined up in a predetermined order is not all displayed at once, and display data that is later in the order is displayed with a time delay due to swiping, so it can be said that the display data is displayed in chronological order. Here, this display is called a timeline display.

The display data has the URL of other display data embedded in it, and visitors can transition to the other display data by briefly touching (tapping) the screen on the display data with their fingertip. For example, if the display data displayed in a timeline is display data that displays a list of exhibitors with a line of images introducing each exhibitor, tapping on an image of one exhibitor can transition to an image of that exhibitor's booth (image of a product list). The booth image can include information such as the company's business activities, number of employees, address, telephone number, email address, etc., as well as images introducing each product exhibited by the company.

When a visitor uses the system, the visitor registers his/her information in advance using terminal 13. The visitor's information is authentication information (login information) for starting to use the system. The login information is identification information (ID) and a password for identifying the visitor. The login information may be input via a reading device that reads from an IC (Integrated Circuit) card or the like, or may be biometric information such as a fingerprint or vein pattern.

When registering login information, the information processing device 10 provides a questionnaire screen to the terminal 13 as necessary. The questionnaire screen includes questions to investigate areas of interest to the visitor. The visitor answers the questionnaire on the questionnaire screen and sends the answers to the information processing device 10. The questionnaire may include a field for inputting information such as the visitor's job title and department. The information processing device 10 associates the login information with the answers and stores them in the visitor DB.

Exhibitors also register their information in advance in the information processing device 10 using the PC 12. Exhibitor information includes attribute information indicating the company name, product field, etc., the number of display frames (panels) for the display data, etc. Exhibitors also register the URL of the display data as information to be provided. In an actual exhibition, the degree of prominence varies depending on the size of the booth. The size of the booth varies depending on the number of products to be exhibited, and so does the exhibition fee. The number of panels mentioned above corresponds to the number of products to be exhibited. Therefore, by determining the display order according to the number of panels, companies that have spent money to make their booths larger can be given priority in displaying them first, making them more visible.

Since all exhibitors want their company's display data to be seen first, they prefer to be placed early in the order of display. Exhibitors with financial resources will use their funds to secure an early (higher) position in the order of display. This puts exhibitors with fewer funds at a disadvantage. On the other hand, if it were decided entirely by lottery, there would be no incentive to contribute a large amount of money to exhibit. Therefore, the order of display is determined by lottery so that exhibitors who have contributed a large amount of money and have many panels have a higher chance of being displayed at the top, and exhibitors with fewer panels have a lower chance of being displayed at the top.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 10 has been described as having all of the visitor DB, exhibitor DB, and image DB, but the information processing device 10 does not have to have all of the DBs, and a separately provided server or the like may have one or more DBs.

The number of PCs 12 and terminals 13 may be any number. The network 11 is not limited to one network, but may be composed of two or more networks connected by a relay device such as a router or a proxy server. The network 11 may be a wired network or a wireless network.

Here, the display order is determined by drawing lots depending on the number of panels, but this is not limited to the above. The system administrator or visitors may draw lots based on other conditions, or the display order may be determined based on certain criteria without drawing lots.

For example, the display order may be determined by drawing lots according to the order of the visitor's interests, based on the areas of interest obtained from a questionnaire answered by the visitor. In this case, the areas of interest of the visitor may be inferred from the browsing history of display data viewed by the visitor in the past, and the display order may be determined by drawing lots based on the inferred areas.

The administrator (exhibition organizer) may also determine the display order by lottery based on the registered information of exhibitors, according to conditions such as giving priority to exhibitors who have won awards, giving priority to exhibitors with few visitors, or in order of exhibitor popularity. These are just examples, and the conditions are not limited to these. The registered information to be registered in each DB can be determined according to the conditions.

These conditions may be selectable by the administrator or visitors. By selecting these conditions, the administrator or visitors can determine the display order by lottery based on the selected conditions. Since exhibitors pay an exhibition fee to exhibit, it is not desirable to determine the display order based only on the visitor's conditions, but rather to determine the display order in combination with the exhibitor's conditions (such as the number of panels).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 10. The information processing device 10 is a general computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 23, an input/output I/F 24, a communication I/F 25, a bus 26, an input device 27, and a display device 28. Here, the HDD 23 is used, but an SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like may be used instead of the HDD 23. The information processing device 10 may also include a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive, a media I/F, a microphone, a speaker, and the like. Here, the information processing device 10 is described as including the input/output I/F 24, the input device 27, and the display device 28, but these may be included as necessary.

The CPU 20 controls the overall operation of the information processing device 10. The ROM 21 stores programs used to drive the CPU 20. The RAM 22 provides a working area for the CPU 20. The HDD 23 stores various programs and data.

The input/output I/F 24 is an interface for connecting an input device 27 and a display device 28. The input device 27 is a device for inputting various instructions, characters, numbers, etc., such as a mouse or keyboard. The display device 28 is a device for displaying a cursor, pointer, menu, characters, numbers, images, etc., such as a display.

The communication I/F 25 is an interface for communicating data using the network 11. The bus 26 is an address bus, a data bus, etc. for electrically connecting each component such as the CPU 20.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing device 10. Each function of the information processing device 10 can be realized by a processing circuit such as a CPU 20. The processing circuit includes a processor programmed to execute each function by a program, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. designed to execute each function.

The information processing device 10 includes a storage unit 30, a receiving unit 31, a setting unit 32, a determination unit 33, a transmission unit 34, an authentication unit 35, and an acquisition unit 36. The information processing device 10 may include other functional units. Note that, if each DB and authentication server are provided separately, the information processing device 10 may not include the storage unit 30 and the authentication unit 35.

The memory unit 30 constitutes an attendee DB and stores the attendee's registered information, such as the attendee's ID, password, name, name of the company they work for, and questionnaire responses, in association with each other. The attendee's registered information may include the company name, as well as the type of job and position. The responses include interest tags that indicate the areas in which the attendee is interested. Like PR tags, interest tags are character strings, such as "5G," "IoT (Internet of Things)," and "AI (Artificial Intelligence)."

The storage unit 30 constitutes an exhibitor DB, and stores, as the registration information of the exhibitors, information on each exhibitor such as company name and ID, attribute information such as PR (Public Relations) tags indicating attributes of the information on the products exhibited by each exhibitor, and the number of panels in the display data introducing the products exhibited by each exhibitor, in association with each other. The storage unit 30 also stores URLs embedded in the display data introducing each exhibitor and URLs embedded in the display data displaying the booth. Here, the storage unit 30 is described as including two DBs, a visitor DB and an exhibitor DB, but the storage unit may be divided into two, with the visitor DB as the first storage unit and the exhibitor DB as the second storage unit. The PR tag is a character string indicating the attributes of the product, for example, "5G", "IoT", "AI", "resistance", "audio", "compression", "video", etc.

The memory unit 30 can include an image DB and stores each display data. The memory unit 30 can be divided into three, with the visitor DB as the first memory unit, the exhibitor DB as the second memory unit, and the image DB as the third memory unit.

The receiving unit 31 communicates with the attendee's terminal 13, and receives information about the attendee to be registered, responses to questionnaires, login information entered when using the system, logoff information entered when terminating use of the system, etc., transmitted from the terminal 13. The receiving unit 31 also communicates with each exhibitor's PC 12, and receives information about the exhibitor to be registered, display data, etc., transmitted from each exhibitor's PC 12.

In response to receiving login information entered by a visitor, the authentication unit 35 compares the information with the ID and password previously registered in the memory unit 30 and authenticates the visitor. If the ID and password included in the entered login information match the ID and password registered in the memory unit 30, the authentication is successful and the visitor is allowed to start using the system. On the other hand, if they do not match, the authentication is unsuccessful and the visitor cannot use the system.

If authentication is successful in the authentication unit 35, the acquisition unit 36 acquires the number of panels, URL, etc. from the memory unit 30. In addition, the acquisition unit 36 acquires interest tags and promotion tags associated with the visitor's ID as necessary.

The setting unit 32 sets conditions for determining the display order. The conditions may be in order of visitor interest, in order of the number of panels, in order of companies that have won awards, in order of the fewest visitors, in order of exhibitor popularity, etc., and may be a combination of two or more of these conditions.

The setting unit 32 may set the conditions by accepting that the system administrator has selected one of the above conditions, or may set the conditions by accepting that the visitor has selected one of the above conditions. For this reason, the setting unit 32 can provide a screen that allows the administrator or visitor to set the above conditions.

The determination unit 33 determines by lottery the order of the display data to be displayed on the terminal 13 based on the registration information of visitors and/or exhibitors stored in the memory unit 30, in accordance with the conditions set in the setting unit 32.

The transmission unit 34 transmits the order determined by the determination unit 33 and the URL, etc. to the terminal 13. At this time, the transmission unit 34 may transmit panel data including the company name or product name and the URL together with the determined order.

When the terminal 13 receives the order and URL etc. from the information processing device 10, it determines the number of display data that can be displayed based on the screen size and the size of the display data, determines the display data to be displayed based on the order and the determined number, and acquires the determined display data using the URL. For example, if the terminal 13 can only display two display data, it acquires only the first and second display data in the determined order. If the display data is video data, it also acquires the first frame of the display data that first introduces all the exhibitors, regardless of the screen size or size.

When a visitor swipes, terminal 13 displays the first frame of data that has already been acquired in the order in which it was received, and uses the URL to request the second and subsequent frames of data. If, when terminal 13 displays the first frame of data in the order in which it was received, the visitor swipes too quickly and it disappears from the screen, it does not request the second and subsequent frames of data that disappeared from the screen, and skips acquiring that display data.

The terminal 13 may also predict the display data to be displayed by the swipe, and request the second and subsequent frames of data of the display data predicted to be displayed according to the order of reception. The requested display data varies depending on the layout configuration of the page, etc., and if scrolling is performed only in one direction, up and down, the display data in the scroll direction may be required, but if scrolling is performed in the left and right directions or depth directions, the display data in the left and right directions or depth directions will be required.

When a visitor taps on one of the display data, terminal 13 requests the display data using the URL embedded in the tapped display data. The display data requested by terminal 13 is display data that displays the booth (product list) of the company selected by the tap.

The display data showing the booths, like the display data introducing each exhibitor, is data in which data introducing each product is arranged in order. Therefore, the display order of the data introducing each product can be determined by lottery, and the data can be displayed according to the determined display order. The method of determining the display order is the same as the display order of the display data introducing each exhibitor, and can be determined based on the number of panels for each product.

Figure 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing executed by the information processing system. Processing by the information processing system starts at step 100 when a visitor requests a login screen, inputs login information on the login screen, and transmits the information from the terminal 13 to the information processing device 10. Here, the process of displaying the display data in order of the number of panels by the exhibitors will be described.

In step 101, the receiving unit 31 receives login information from the terminal 13. The authentication unit 35 executes authentication processing. Here, it is assumed that the login is successful. If a separate authentication server is provided, information on the logged-in visitor, such as an ID, is received. Based on the received ID, the information processing device 10 identifies the terminal 13 to which the display data should be sent, and sends the display data to the identified terminal 13. Based on the received ID, the information processing device 10 also acquires information such as interest tags.

In step 102, the acquisition unit 36 acquires the number of panels and the URL of the display data from the memory unit 30.

In step 103, the determination unit 33 determines by lottery the order in which the display data introducing each exhibitor will be displayed on the terminal 13, based on the number of panels acquired as registration information, in accordance with the set conditions. In step 104, the transmission unit 34 transmits the determined order and the URLs of the display data, etc. to the terminal 13. As a result, the terminal 13 displays a list of exhibitors on the screen.

In step 105, it is determined whether the receiving unit 31 has received log-off information. If log-off information has not been received, the process proceeds to step 106, where the receiving unit 31 determines whether a request to obtain display data based on a URL has been received from the terminal 13. If a request to obtain display data has not been received, the process returns to step 105; if a request has been received, the process proceeds to step 107.

In step 107, the acquisition unit 36 acquires the number of panels for each product, display data (booth page) displaying the booth of the requested exhibitor, and the URL of the display data introducing each product to be displayed on the booth page. In step 108, the determination unit 33 determines by lottery the order in which the display data introducing each product will be displayed on the terminal 13, based on the number of panels for each product. In step 109, the transmission unit 34 transmits to the terminal 13 the display data of the booth page acquired by the acquisition unit 36, the URL of the display data introducing each product, and the determined order.

In step 110, it is determined whether the user has left the exhibitor's booth page. The user can leave the booth page by pressing an exit button or the like displayed on the booth page. If the user has returned, the process returns to step 105. If the user has not returned, the process proceeds to step 111, where the receiving unit 31 determines whether a request to acquire display data based on a URL has been received from the terminal 13. If so, the process proceeds to step 112, where the acquiring unit 36 acquires detailed display data of the requested product. In step 113, the transmitting unit 34 transmits the display data acquired by the acquiring unit 36 to the terminal 13. In step 114, it is determined whether the user has returned to the exhibitor's booth page. If the user has not returned, the process of step 114 is repeated. On the other hand, if the user has returned, the process returns to step 110.

If no logoff information has been received in step 105, proceed to step 115 and end the process.

Below, the processes executed by the information processing system will be explained in detail using specific examples. Note that these processes will also be explained assuming that the order of the number of panels by exhibitors is set as a condition.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a first example of processing executed by the information processing system. The system shown in Figure 5 is composed of a visitor DB 16, an exhibitor DB 17, and an image DB 18 that constitute a memory unit 30, and an information processing unit 19 that includes functional units other than the memory unit 30. After logging in, a visitor sends a request to the information processing unit 19 from his/her own terminal 13 to obtain a screen that includes his/her ID and information on tabs 40 that are set by default. The tab information is information that sets the conditions for determining the display order set by the visitor. In this example, the condition of ordering by the total number of panels by the exhibitor is set as the default setting.

Upon receiving a request from the terminal 13, the information processing unit 19 checks the tab information and, if necessary, retrieves visitor information from the visitor DB 16 based on the ID included in the request. The visitor's ID, password, name, company name, etc. are pre-registered in the visitor DB 16 as visitor information. A questionnaire is conducted when registering visitor information, and interest tags obtained from the responses to the questionnaire are also registered in the visitor DB 16. In this example, the condition is the order of the exhibitor's total number of panels, and visitor information is not required, so no process is performed to retrieve visitor information based on the ID.

Based on the tab information, the information processing unit 19 obtains from the exhibitor DB 17 the number of panels (total number of panels) for the entire company of each exhibitor and the URL of the display data introducing each exhibitor to be displayed in the company list.

The information processing unit 19 determines the display order of the display data introducing each exhibitor by drawing lots based on the number of panels of each exhibitor in accordance with the tab information. This allows companies with a larger number of panels to have a higher probability of being displayed at the top, while companies with a smaller number of panels can also be displayed at the top, resulting in a more fair and optimized display order.

Figure 6 is a diagram explaining an example of a lottery method. There are exhibitors A to H, with exhibitors A to C each having 20 panels, exhibitors D to F each having 10 panels, and exhibitors G and H each having 5 panels. The exhibitors and the number of panels are managed using a table. Exhibitors are ranked in order of the number of panels they have, and numbers are assigned. In the case of exhibitors with the same number of panels, numbers are assigned in order, starting with the exhibitor who requested to exhibit first. The probability of displaying is the same for exhibitors with the same number of panels, so the assigned numbers do not affect the lottery.

For example, the weight is the square of the number of panels. Exhibitors A to C would then have a weight of 400, exhibitors D to F a weight of 100, and exhibitors G and H a weight of 25. When calculating the display probability taking these weights into account, the display probability for exhibitors A to C is 25.81%, the display probability for exhibitors D to F is 6.45%, and the display probability for exhibitors G and H is 1.61%. Here, the weight is taken to be the square of the number of panels, but the weight is not limited to the square of the number of panels.

The determination unit 33 generates a random number that takes any value between 0 and 100. The random number can be generated, for example, using a function. The determination unit 33 compares the value of the generated random number with the value of the display probability of exhibitor A (number 1). If the value of the generated random number is, for example, 45, it is compared with the value of the display probability of exhibitor A (number 1), 25.81 (%). If the value of the random number is greater, the determination unit 33 adds the value of the display probability of exhibitor B (number 2) to the value of the display probability of exhibitor A. That is, the determination unit 33 compares the value of the random number with the cumulative value of the display probability values that have been added up to the value of the display probability of that number. The determination unit 33 compares the value of the random number, 45, with the cumulative value of the display probability values of exhibitors A and B, 51.62 (%), and determines exhibitor B as the winner of the lottery since it is less than the value of the random number. That is, it determines exhibitor B to be the first in the display order.

The display probability is recalculated excluding the determined exhibitor B. Then, the display probability of exhibitors A and C is 34.78%, the display probability of exhibitors D to F is 8.70%, and the display probability of exhibitors G and H is 2.17%. The determination unit 33 generates a random number again and compares the value of the generated random number with the display probability value of exhibitor A (number 1). If the value of the generated random number is, for example, 60, it is compared with the display probability value of exhibitor A (number 1), 34.78 (%). If the value of the random number is larger, the determination unit 33 adds the display probability value of exhibitor C (number 2) to the display probability value of exhibitor A. The determination unit 33 compares the random number value 60 with the cumulative value of the display probability values of exhibitors A and C, 69.57 (%), and determines exhibitor C as the winner of the lottery since it is less than the value of the random number. In other words, it determines exhibitor C as the second in the display order.

In the same way, recalculate the display probability for the remaining exhibitors A, D to H, and generate random numbers to determine the display order from 3rd place onwards.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the information processing unit 19 transmits the determined display order and the URL of the display data to the terminal 13. Based on the display order acquired from the information processing unit 19, the terminal 13 downloads the display data to be displayed using the URL from the image DB 18 and displays it on the screen. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the video data of the exhibitor list is determined to be arranged in the order of P company, Q company, ..., and the number of data that can be displayed is two based on the display size of the video data and the screen size, etc., so the terminal 13 requests the video data of P company and Q company. At this time, the terminal 13 downloads the first frame of the video data of all other exhibitors as well as the video data of P company and Q company. Therefore, when a visitor swipes, the first frame of the video introducing the exhibitors is displayed in the determined order, and while the first frame of the data is being displayed, the second and subsequent frames of data are acquired, thereby reducing the delay in display and realizing smooth automatic playback of the video.

In addition to the video data, the screen displayed on the terminal 13 displays a number of tabs 40 above the displayed video data, which set conditions for determining the display order. By selecting a tab 40, visitors can display the display data in a display order according to the tab information.

Figure 7 is a diagram explaining the tabs 40 displayed on the terminal 13. In the example shown in Figure 7, four tabs 40 are provided: "Standards," "Products," "Technology Field," and "By Theme." In this example, there are four tabs 40, but the number is not limited to four, and there may be two, three, or five or more tabs.

If you select "Standard," companies with a large number of panels will likely be ranked higher. "Standard" is set as the default. If you select "Product," products with a large number of panels will likely be ranked higher.

If you select "Technology field," companies with a large number of panels that match the visitor's interest tags will likely be displayed at the top. If you select "By theme," products that match the visitor's interest tags will likely be displayed at the top.

In this example, visitors are asked to select tab 40, but tab 40 may not be provided and the system administrator may set it as desired. Note that the names displayed on tab 40 are not limited to standards, products, technical fields, or themes, and may be other names.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a second example of processing executed by the information processing system. The example shown in Figure 8 is processing when "Technical Field" is selected in tab 40. Immediately after logging in, the screen is displayed in "Standard" which is set by default, so if a tab 40 other than "Standard" is selected, the screen will be displayed in "Standard" mode first. The visitor sends a request from his/her own terminal 13 to the information processing unit 19 to obtain a screen including his/her ID and information on the selected tab 40.

Upon receiving a request from the terminal 13, the information processing unit 19 checks the tab information and retrieves interest tags from the visitor DB based on the ID included in the request. In addition, the information processing unit 19 retrieves the total number of panels for each exhibitor, PR tags, and the URLs of display data introducing each exhibitor from the exhibitor DB 17 based on the tab information.

The information processing unit 19 determines the display order of the display data introducing each exhibitor by drawing lots based on the interest tags, PR tags, and total number of panels. The drawing method has already been explained, so a detailed explanation will be omitted here.

The information processing unit 19 transmits the determined display order and the URLs of the display data to the terminal 13. Based on the display order acquired from the information processing unit 19, the terminal 13 downloads the display data to be displayed using the URLs from the image DB 18 and displays it on the screen. At this time, the terminal 13 also downloads the data for the first frame of the video data introducing all the exhibitors.

In order to determine the display order of the display data, the information processing unit 19 may use the total number of panels of the exhibitor, the number of panels for a product having a specific tag, or the number of panels for the product.

The panels will be described with reference to Figure 9. Exhibitor A has five panels, and exhibitor B has four panels. That is, exhibitor A has a total of five panels, and exhibitor B has a total of four panels. Each panel is associated with a tag and display data that displays the product. Panels do not need to be associated with different products one by one, and exhibitor B can have multiple panels for the same product, as does exhibitor B.

When the display order is determined by drawing lots using the total number of panels, exhibitor A has a total of 5 panels and exhibitor B has a total of 4 panels, so if they are arranged in order of highest display probability, the order will be exhibitor A, exhibitor B. Therefore, if the display order is determined by drawing lots, exhibitor A will have a high probability of being ranked higher than exhibitor B. When the display order is determined by drawing lots using the number of panels for products with IoT tags, exhibitor A has two panels for products with IoT tags, product "A" and "I", and exhibitor B has four panels for products with IoT tags, product "K", "Ki", "Ki", and "Ki". Therefore, if they are arranged in order of highest display probability, the order will be exhibitor B, exhibitor A. Therefore, if the display order is determined by drawing lots, exhibitor B will have a high probability of being ranked higher than exhibitor A.

Even if products have the same tag, they are not necessarily the same product. For example, if product "I" and product "Ki" are the same product and the display order is determined using the number of panels for that product, exhibitor A will have one and exhibitor B will have three. If they are arranged in order of highest probability of display, the order will be exhibitor B, exhibitor A. For this reason, if the display order is determined by drawing lots, exhibitor B will be determined to have a high probability of being ranked higher than exhibitor A.

So far, we have explained the display order based on the number of panels. With reference to Figure 10, we will also explain the display order based on interest tags. Exhibitors A to E and O to S are companies in different industries, and each has a tag as a PR tag. Suppose visitor 1 registers "car manufacturer" as the industry attribute, and "development" as the job type. Also, suppose visitor 1 answers "video", "navigation", "LCD panel", and "design" to the areas of interest in a questionnaire, and these are registered as interest tags.

When exhibitors with common tags are identified based on the interest tags, exhibitors B, D, E, and Q that have shared tags that match or contain at least one of the interest tags "video," "navigation," "LCD panel," and "design" are determined to be companies that match the interest tags, and their display data is identified.

Visitors generally first select the area that interests them the most. From this, it can be assumed that visitors are interested in the following in order: "videos," "navigation," "LCD panels," and "design." For this reason, weights are set in the following order: "videos," "navigation," "LCD panels," and "design." The weights are set in advance as coefficients. For example, the first selection, "video," can have a coefficient of 20, the second, "navigation," a coefficient of 10, the third, "LCD panels," a coefficient of 5, and the fourth, "design," a coefficient of 2. Note that the coefficients shown here are merely examples and are not limited to these coefficients.

An exhibitor with the tag "video" is E, and an exhibitor with a tag including the tag "navigation" is D. An exhibitor with the tag "LCD panel" is B, and an exhibitor with a tag including the tag "design" is Q. Therefore, the weights are in the order of "video", "navigation", "LCD panel", and "design", so the display probability is highest for Company E, followed by Company D, Company B, and Company Q. When a lottery is held, the display order is determined with a high probability to be Company E, Company D, Company B, and Company Q.

Suppose visitor 2 registers "Home appliance manufacturer" as the industry attribute and "Purchasing manager" as the occupation. In addition, visitor 2 answers the questionnaire to the areas of interest, listing "LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes)," "Resistors," "Switches," "Plastics," and "Procurement systems," and these are registered as interest tags.

When exhibitors with common tags are identified based on the interest tags, exhibitors A, C, O, and P with tags that match or contain at least one of the interest tags "LED," "resistor," "switch," "plastic," and "procurement system" are identified as companies that match the interest tags.

Visitors generally first select the area in which they are most interested. From this, it can be assumed that visitors are interested in "LEDs," "resistors," "switches," "plastics," and "procurement systems," in that order. For this reason, the weights are set in the following order: "LEDs," "resistors," "switches," "plastics," and "procurement systems."

Exhibitors A and P have the tag "LED." Exhibitor A's only common interest tag is "LED." On the other hand, exhibitor P's common interest tags are "LED" and "resistor." Therefore, exhibitor P, who has a greater number of common tags, has a higher probability of being displayed.

There are no exhibitors with the tag "switch", the next tag "plastic" is exhibitor O, and the next tag "procurement system" is exhibitor C. Therefore, the display probability is Company P, Company A, Company O, and Company C, and if a lottery is drawn, the display order will be determined with a high probability to be Company P, Company A, Company O, and Company C.

So far, we have explained the mechanism for optimizing the display order of the display data displaying the exhibitor list and the product list. However, when visitors receive information or when exhibitors provide information, it is desirable for the display data to be displayed comfortably on the terminal 13 in addition to the display order of the display data. Next, we will explain the mechanism for displaying the display data comfortably.

The terminal 13 implements a function for comfortably displaying display data, for example, by installing an application. The information providing system includes the user's terminal 13 in addition to the information processing device 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 13.

The terminal 13 is, for example, a smartphone, and includes a CPU 50, a ROM 51, a RAM 52, an EEPROM 53, an image sensor I/F 54, an image sensor 55, various sensors 56, a display unit 57, an input unit 58, a communication circuit 59, an audio input/output I/F 60, a microphone 61, and a speaker 62.

The CPU 50 controls the overall operation of the terminal 13. The ROM 51 stores programs used to drive the CPU 50. The RAM 52 provides a working area for the CPU 50. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) 53 stores various programs, data, etc. The image sensor I/F 54 controls the operation of the image sensor 55. The image sensor 55 is a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, etc., and captures an image of a subject under the control of the CPU 50 and outputs image data.

The various sensors 56 are acceleration sensors, orientation sensors, GPS (Global Positioning System) sensors, etc., and measure the acceleration acting on the terminal 13, the orientation in which the top of the terminal 13 is facing, the position of the terminal 13, etc. The display unit 57 is an LCD display, an organic EL (Electroluminescent) display, etc., and displays various screens such as image data of captured subjects and a login screen. The input unit 58 is a touch panel, and accepts operations and inputs by visitors on the display unit 57.

The communication circuit 59 performs long-distance communication using 4G or 5G, and short-distance communication using Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The sound input/output I/F 60 controls a microphone 61 as a sound input device and a speaker 62 as a sound output device.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of terminal 13. An application is installed in terminal 13, and causes CPU 50 to function as each functional unit. The functional units include a memory unit 70, a receiving unit 71, a transmitting unit 72, an input accepting unit 73, a determining unit 74, a synthesizing unit 75, and a correcting unit 76.

The memory unit 70 stores the received display order, URL, display data, various setting data, etc. The receiver unit 71 receives the input screen, display order, URL, and display data from the information processing device 10. The transmitter unit 72 transmits to the information processing device 10 a request to obtain the input screen, login information, and a request to obtain display data based on the URL.

The input reception unit 73 receives operations such as swipes and taps by the visitor, and input of information such as the visitor's registration information. The judgment unit 74 judges whether to acquire display data and which display data to acquire based on the operation information received by the input reception unit 73. The synthesis unit 75 uses a template to synthesize video data as display data with text, still image data, etc., and displays it on the display unit 57. The correction unit 76 corrects the brightness, etc. of the display data.

Specific functions realized by the above-mentioned functional units of the terminal 13 are described in detail below. By swiping, the visitor can display the display data on the screen of the terminal 13 according to the determined display order. With reference to FIG. 13, the operation of the terminal 13 by the visitor and the timing of the request to obtain the display data will be described. The display data will be described as video data.

As shown in FIG. 13(a), when two videos A and B are displayed on the screen, the terminal 13 requests the acquisition of video A data using the URL of video A data, and after the download of video A data is completed, requests the acquisition of video B data using the URL of video B data. However, with this method, video B is displayed with a delay, so multiple booths that would be visible at the same time in an actual exhibition appear one after the other with a delay, and it is not possible to obtain the sense of realism of being at an actual exhibition.

The transmitting unit 72 of the terminal 13 first obtains the data for the first frame of videos of all exhibitors, then downloads the data for video A (data from the second frame onwards), and while video A is being played, requests the acquisition of data for video B (data from the second frame onwards). This allows the terminal 13 to start the download and playback of video B in parallel with the download and playback of video A. As the two videos that should be displayed on the screen are displayed almost simultaneously, it is possible to achieve a sense of realism as if you were at an actual exhibition.

In FIG. 13(a), part of video B has disappeared from the screen, but based on the operation information received by the input receiving unit 73, the determination unit 74 calculates how much area would be displayed if video B were displayed, and can determine whether or not to request acquisition of video B data based on the calculation result. The area is the area of the display region of the video.

The visitor can set a threshold area percentage (e.g., 50%) that determines whether or not to request the acquisition of video B data. The threshold value is stored in the memory unit 70, and any value may be set in advance as a default. For example, if the threshold is set to 50%, and the calculation result is 50% or more, the visitor can request the acquisition of video B data, download it from the information processing device 10, and start playing the video B data.

Figure 13(b) is a diagram showing an example of the screen when a visitor swipes. When a visitor swipes from the bottom to the top of the screen, based on the operation information, video A disappears from the screen, video B moves to the top of the screen, and video C appears.

Since video A starts playing as soon as it is downloaded, the download will continue even if a swipe is performed during the download. The terminal 13 has a cache memory used as the storage unit 70, accumulates downloaded data in the cache memory, and displays the video on the display unit 57 using the data accumulated in the cache memory. If the download continues, the accumulation of data in the cache memory also continues.

The determination unit 74 determines whether or not video A will disappear from the screen based on the operation information received by the input reception unit 73, and if it will disappear, instructs the reception unit 71 to stop receiving the data of video A. The terminal 13 further includes an erasure unit, and when the download of the data of video A stops, the erasure unit erases the data of video A stored in the cache memory.

On the other hand, the determination unit 74 determines whether or not to request acquisition of data for video C, which is next in the display order, based on the operation information received by the input reception unit 73. Whether or not to request acquisition of data for video C can be determined based on whether an area that is equal to or larger than the threshold is displayed when video C is displayed. If it is determined that acquisition of data for video C is requested, the transmission unit 72 uses the URL of the data for video C to request acquisition of data for video C (data from the second frame onwards) from the information processing device 10, and the reception unit 71 downloads the data for video C from the information processing device 10. The data for video C is stored in a cache memory and is then played.

When visitors swipe across the screen of terminal 13 and find a video of a company that interests them, they can tap on the video that plays automatically to move to the page for that company's product booth, where they can watch videos of the products that the company will be exhibiting. A URL for transitioning to the page for that company's product booth is embedded in the video data introducing each company included in the exhibitor list that is displayed first, and the URL is transmitted when the visitor taps, and the data stored in the memory location indicated by the URL is downloaded and played.

The products exhibited by a company are not necessarily all from the same product category. For example, in a furniture store, the furniture sold varies depending on the room, such as the kitchen, living room, children's room, etc. In such cases, if all products were displayed side by side, the number of products would be too large, and visitors would have to swipe multiple times to find a video of the product they wanted.

As shown in FIG. 14, the display data can be managed in a hierarchical structure in the information processing device 10. The first layer is the top root node, and contains video and still image data introducing each company. The data in the first layer has embedded therein a URL indicating the storage location of the data in the second layer.

The second level is one level below the first level that branches off from the root node, and contains video and still image data that will be displayed in the product list to introduce each product group exhibited by the company. Examples of product groups include the furniture mentioned above, such as cupboards and counters, dining and living room furniture, and children's room furniture. The data in the second level has an embedded URL that indicates where the data in the third level is stored.

The third hierarchy is a hierarchy that branches off from the second hierarchy and is one level below the second hierarchy. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the third hierarchy is the lowest hierarchy, and contains video and still image data of products included in each product group in the second hierarchy. Examples of products include the dining and living room furniture mentioned above, such as a TV stand, dining table, and sofa.

By managing data in this hierarchical structure, visitors can find and view videos and still images of the products they want without having to repeatedly swipe.

A hierarchical structure is a structure that branches into multiple lower levels. For example, when branching from one piece of data in the first level to three pieces of data in the second level, the conditions for branching must be defined. For example, it is possible to branch into each piece of data depending on the display area of the image represented by the data in the first level.

With reference to FIG. 15, an example will be described in which the display area of an image is used as a branching condition. The display data for a page introducing dining and living room furniture from Company P is image data of a dining and living room as shown in FIG. 15(a). When the image in FIG. 15(a) is enlarged, it becomes an image as shown in FIG. 15(b). The image may be a still image or a video.

Note that if the image is a video and recorded as a single video, branching by display area like this is not possible. This is because it is not possible to distinguish individual elements within the video. However, when holding each still image of a video made up of multiple still images, it is possible to distinguish individual elements from each still image, so branching by display area like this is possible when holding each still image that makes up the video.

The image is divided into three display areas A to C, indicated by dashed lines. Area A contains images of a window and curtains. Area B contains an image of a dining table. Area C contains an image of a sofa set. In area A, the URL of image data of a page introducing the window and curtains is embedded. In area B, the URL of image data of a page introducing the dining table is embedded. In area C, the URL of image data of a page introducing the sofa set is embedded.

Therefore, by tapping anywhere within area A of the image showcasing dining and living room furniture and selecting area A, image data of a page showcasing windows and curtains can be displayed using the embedded URL. Similarly, by selecting area B, image data of a page showcasing a dining table can be displayed. Furthermore, by selecting area C, image data of a page showcasing a sofa set can be displayed.

When the image data to be displayed is video data, the video data may be video data obtained by placing a product 81 on a turntable 80 as shown in FIG. 16(a), arranging a video camera 82 capable of taking video at a predetermined position, and rotating the turntable 80 to take a video of the product 81 going around it.

In the example shown in FIG. 16(a), a pair of glasses is placed on a turntable 80 as a product 81, and the turntable 80 is rotated clockwise to capture a 360-degree video.

Figure 16(b) is a diagram showing an example of images of each frame when a 360-frame video is shot of one revolution. A frame is a unit for recording an image, and in this example, 360 images are recorded while the eyeglasses, which are the product 81, are rotated 360 degrees, and images 1 to 359 are shown. Note that the 360th image is the same as the first image, so it is omitted here.

Figure 16 (c) is a diagram showing an example of swiping a video on terminal 13. The swipe display rotates the product 81 in the direction of the operation by swiping, and displays an image of the product 81 at each rotation position. Therefore, when a visitor swipes to the right while facing the screen, the product 81 rotates to the right, and when a visitor swipes to the left, the product 81 rotates to the left.

Since it is not known whether a visitor will swipe to the right or to the left in the swipe display, it is not possible to rotate in any direction until all 360 frames have been loaded from the information processing device 10 into the cache memory of the terminal 13. This is because the frame in the desired direction has not yet been loaded. Incidentally, it takes one to several seconds to load all the frames.

Therefore, to enable rotation by swiping before all 360 frames are loaded, a method is adopted in which the frames of the video are thinned out before being loaded. To explain this method in detail, when loading frames 1 through 359, rather than loading frames in order starting from frame 1, after loading frame 1, the 180th frame, which is halfway between frames 1 and 359, is loaded next, and then the 90th frame, which is halfway between frames 1 and 180, and then the 270th frame, which is halfway between frames 180 and 359, and so on, thinning out the frames at first and gradually loading finer frames. In summary, the frames are loaded in the following order: 1st frame, 180th frame, 90th frame, 270th frame, 45th frame, 225th frame, 135th frame, 315th frame, ....

By performing this thinning-out reading, there are frames that have been read in both directions, and although the frames are roughly readable, they can be played back, allowing the image to be rotated in either direction. Initially, the image is roughly read, resulting in a rough rotation. To be more specific, if only the 1st, 180th, 90th, and 270th frames have been read, when the image is rotated in the direction in which the images are displayed starting from the 1st frame, the frames between them have not been read, so the images will rotate and be played in the order 1st, 90th, 180th, and 270th frames. After a while, the frames between the frames that have already been read will also be read, resulting in a smooth rotation.

Text information such as technical explanations can be added to images in the display data introducing each product or the display data showing details of each product. A method for adding text information to a video is described with reference to FIG. 17. A video is composed of still images for each frame, and text information can be added to each still image. However, adding text information to each still image for each frame is time-consuming, as it is necessary to insert text using editing software or the like. Furthermore, if it is desired to add different text information, it is necessary to insert text again using editing software from the pre-edited data. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare multiple copies of the pre-edited data.

Therefore, the video is configured to have a transparent virtual sheet (layer). This allows any text information to be added at any position on the transparent layer, and by overlaying the transparent layer 91 with the added text information on the original video (still images of each frame) 90, a video 92 with the added text information can be created without much effort. Specifically, the synthesis unit 75 acquires the text information and the information on the position to add the text information transmitted from the information processing device 10, adds the acquired text information at any position on the layer, and synthesizes it with the original video 90.

If you want to change the text information, you can remove the overlaid layer 91 and overlay a new transparent layer 93 with different text information on the original video 90, resulting in a video 94 with changed text information. In this way, as shown in Figure 17, it is possible to change the text information and conduct business negotiations with different business partners, the developer and the purchaser, eliminating the need to prepare unnecessary video data.

A method of adding text information to a video has been described with reference to FIG. 17, but it is also possible to combine multiple still images and text and display them as a video. In this case, videos may be combined. In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, a video material DB 100, a material DB 101 of still images to be combined, a material DB 102 of text to be combined, and a DB 103 that stores templates to be used when combining each material are used. These DBs may be included in the information processing device 10, or may be provided separately from the information processing device 10. Note that the material to be combined is not limited to still images and text, and sound, etc. may also be combined.

When logging in, the transmitting unit 72 of the terminal 13 transmits an ID to the information processing device 10, and the receiving unit 71 receives and acquires the display order and URL. At that time, the receiving unit 71 also receives and acquires the name, interest tag, etc. When the transmitting unit 72 sends a request to acquire display data using the URL, the receiving unit 71 receives and acquires multiple still images, text, and templates required to configure the display data from each DB. The acquisition request can include interest tags, and still images, text, and templates that match the interest tags can be acquired. The synthesis unit 75 uses the templates acquired by the receiving unit 71 to combine multiple still images, text, names, etc. to create a video.

For example, when selecting an exhibitor and transitioning to a product list page, the video data constituting the product booth page in DB101 can be displayed using multiple still images from DB101 and templates from DB103, with the acquired name and text data from material DB102 added, and text information such as "Thank you for entering, Mr./Ms. XX" added. This creates a sense of realism as if the user were actually at the exhibition and exchanging greetings.

It is also possible to use templates in DB103 to make still images and text retrieved from material DBs 101 and 102 move like animations, in order to attract the interest of visitors. The technology for moving still images and text like animations is well known, so it will not be described in detail here.

Although 360-degree video has been described above, it is also possible to display an image area in any direction within a still image (spherical image) captured in 360 degrees by an omnidirectional imaging device (spherical camera) by swiping. This allows visitors to change the viewing direction by swiping, allowing them to compare products, for example.

A spherical camera captures images in all directions, 360 degrees from the center of the camera, at once. For this reason, depending on the position of the lighting and the presence or absence of windows, the captured image will have bright and dark areas. This can result in overexposure, where bright areas become pure white, or underexposure, where dark areas become pure black, which can make it impossible to recognize the shape or design of a product.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19, a certain range of brightness is set, and for area A having a brightness higher than that range, the correction unit 76 lowers the brightness so that it falls within that range, and for area B having a brightness lower than that range, the correction unit 76 raises the brightness so that it falls within that range.

The brightness can be corrected, for example, by applying a conversion formula to the brightness values of each pixel that makes up the image and converting the brightness values. Note that this correction method is only one example, and is not limited to this method.

The display data introducing each product for displaying the product list can be displayed in a timeline format with display data introducing the products arranged as shown in FIG. 20(a), similar to the display data introducing each exhibitor for displaying the exhibitor list described above. Since the display data introducing the products is also associated with the number of panels and has a PR tag attached, the display order can be determined by lottery based on the number of panels or the interest tag, or both, and the products can be displayed in the determined display order.

On the product list page, where display data introducing products is arranged in a determined display order, an inquiry/negotiation button 110 can be displayed, and when a visitor taps and presses the inquiry/negotiation button 110, a negotiation page 111 shown in FIG. 20(b) can be displayed. On the negotiation page 111, negotiations can be conducted with the person in charge by text or voice using means such as telephone, chat, web conference, etc. In the example shown in FIG. 20(b), negotiations are conducted by chat. Also, on the negotiation page 111, business card information created in advance can be attached to messages and sent to each other, and business card information can be exchanged. Furthermore, when the negotiation is completed, a questionnaire can be sent from the PC 12 to the terminal 13 at any time.

Next, referring to FIG. 21, a method for a person in charge of an exhibiting company to identify a visitor who is visiting the company's booth will be described. When a visitor taps to select one of the display data introducing a company included in the exhibitor list displayed in a timeline format, data for that company's booth page is downloaded based on the URL embedded in the selected display data, and the display data introducing the company's products is displayed in a timeline on terminal 13. Here, the display data introducing the products is described as being displayed in a timeline, but is not limited to a timeline display. When a visitor selects a piece of display data introducing a company, terminal 13 uses the URL to send a request to obtain the display data including the visitor ID.

When the information processing device 10 receives a request to obtain display data from the terminal 13, it obtains the visitor ID included in the request. The information processing device 10 also obtains the exhibitor ID providing the requested display data. Based on the obtained visitor ID, the information processing device 10 refers to the visitor DB to identify the visitor's name, etc., and based on the obtained exhibitor ID, refers to the exhibitor DB to identify the exhibitor's booth that the visitor entered. At this time, the information processing device 10 may obtain the visitor's job title, department, interest tag, etc. The information processing device 10 associates the visitor ID, the visitor's name, etc., the name of the exhibitor's booth that the visitor entered, etc., with the time of entry, and stores them as history information.

In addition, when a visitor operates the terminal 13 and returns to the exhibitor list page, the information processing device 10 receives a notification that the visitor has returned to the exhibitor list page along with the visitor ID, and detects that the visitor has left the company's booth. The information processing device 10 associates the visitor ID, the visitor's name, etc., the name of the exhibitor's booth from which the visitor left, etc., and the time of exit, and stores this as history information.

The information processing device 10 identifies the name of the visitor, and after identifying the exhibitor's booth that the visitor entered, notifies the PC 12 owned by the exhibitor of the name of the visitor who entered. The information processing device 10 also identifies the name of the visitor, and after identifying the exhibitor's booth that the visitor left, notifies the PC 12 owned by the exhibitor of the name of the visitor who left. By receiving such a notification, the person in charge of each company can detect which user entered and when they left their company's booth. In addition, since the information processing device 10 records the information as historical information, it is possible to obtain information such as how many users entered at what time and how long they stayed. In addition, the exhibitor can grasp the situation of the visitor from the management screen of the PC 12, and if the visitor's stay is long, a pop-up such as "Do you have any questions?" can be displayed on the screen of the visitor's terminal 13 by pressing (clicking) the "Call" button on the management screen.

With reference to FIG. 22, a method for detecting which display data a visitor who has entered a company's booth has been viewing and for how long will be described. The visitor begins by swiping on the terminal 13 he or she carries, searching for the product or the like that he or she wishes to view. While the visitor is swiping, display data introducing products that have not been displayed on the terminal 13 up until that point must be displayed one after another, so the terminal 13 transmits a request to the information processing device 10 to obtain display data including the visitor ID based on the URL. For this reason, the information processing device 10 receives a request to obtain display data from the terminal 13 and transmits the corresponding display data to the terminal 13.

On the other hand, when a visitor is intently viewing a piece of display data, the visitor does not swipe on terminal 13. In other words, terminal 13 does not send a request to obtain display data. Therefore, information processing device 10 does not send display data to terminal 13 either. When the visitor finishes viewing, he or she starts operating again. Therefore, terminal 13 starts sending a request to obtain display data. In response to this, information processing device 10 also starts displaying data to terminal 13. Information processing device 10 can detect the time from when reception of the request to obtain display data from terminal 13 stops until reception of the request to obtain display data resumes as the time the display data is being viewed.

The display data being viewed by the visitor is the display data displayed on the terminal 13, and is the display data sent by the information processing device 10 based on the acquisition request made immediately before the display was stopped.

In this way, the display data viewed by each visitor and the viewing time can be obtained, and the information processing device 10 can record this information as a viewing history in association with the visitor ID, etc.

The longer a visitor's viewing time, the more interested they are in the product. For this reason, a threshold is set for the viewing time, and when the viewing time exceeds the threshold, the information processing device 10 can notify the PC 12 owned by the person in charge of the company providing the display data of the display data being viewed along with the visitor's information. The visitor information is information such as a visitor ID that enables direct communication with the visitor's terminal 13. This allows a person in charge of the company exhibiting that product to send a notification to a visitor who is intently viewing a particular product, asking if they have any questions.

The notification can be made, for example, by a pop-up that appears to jump to the foreground. Alternatively, instead of a notification, a pop-up 112 urging negotiation, as shown in FIG. 23, can be displayed to prompt the user to move to the negotiation page.

Browsing history traces the behavior of visitors over time. Therefore, based on browsing history, it is possible to analyze trends that are likely to lead to business matching, provide exhibitors with information about visitors who are likely to enter into business negotiations, and encourage visitors to move on to the business negotiation page. In this way, it is possible to appropriately connect visitors wishing to enter into business negotiations with exhibitors.

The information providing system may have functions other than those described above. For example, a function for displaying advertisements from sponsors, a function for watching seminar videos, a survey function for taking surveys and changing product display, etc.

As explained above, by providing the device, system, method, and program of the present invention, it is possible to provide information in the most optimal order for visitors and exhibitors.

Thus far, the device, system, method, and program of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified within the scope of what a person skilled in the art can imagine, including other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc., and any aspect is within the scope of the present invention as long as it provides the functions and effects of the present invention.

10: Information processing device 11: Network 12: PC
13: Terminal 14: Access point 20: CPU
21...ROM
22...RAM
23...HDD
24... Input/output I/F
25...Communication I/F
26... Bus 27... Input device 28... Display device 30... Storage unit 31... Receiving unit 32... Extracting unit 33... Determining unit 34... Transmitting unit 35... Authenticating unit 36... Acquiring unit 37... Processing unit 40... Tab 50... CPU
51...ROM
52...RAM
53...EEPROM
54...imaging element I/F
55: Image sensor 56: Various sensors 57: Display unit 58: Input unit 59: Communication circuit 60: Sound input/output I/F
61: microphone 62: speaker 70: memory unit 71: receiving unit 72: transmitting unit 73: input receiving unit 74: determining unit 75: combining unit 76: correcting unit 80: turntable 81: product 82: video camera 90, 92, 94: video 91, 93: layers 100 to 102: material DB
103...DB
110... Inquiry/Negotiation button 111... Negotiation page 112... Pop-up

Claims (20)

An information processing device that supports the provision of information,
a storage means for storing registration information relating to information registered by each provider who provides information or each user who receives information, or both of them, and address information indicating a storage location of the information provided by each provider;
A receiving means for receiving a request for providing information from a user terminal;
a determining means for determining, by drawing lots, an order of information to be displayed on the terminal of the user, using the registration information stored in the storage means in accordance with a set condition;
a transmitting means for transmitting the determined order and address information of each piece of the information stored in the storage means to a terminal of the user. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means calculates the probability of displaying each piece of information using the registered information related to the condition, generates a random number, and performs a lottery based on the random number and the probability of displaying each piece of information. The registration information includes the number of slots for information provided by each of the providers,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the determining means determines the order of the information provided by each of the providers by drawing lots using the registered information in accordance with the condition set as the order of the number of slots. The registration information includes information on a plurality of fields set for information provided by each provider and information on a plurality of fields in which each user is interested,
3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the order of the information provided by each of the providers by drawing lots using the user information included in the request for provision and the registration information, in accordance with the condition set as an order of user interest. The registration information includes information on a plurality of fields set for information provided by each provider and a browsing history of information browsed by each user,
The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination means uses the user information included in the provision request and the registration information to infer fields in which the user having the user information is interested from the browsing history of the user, in accordance with the condition set as an order of the user's interests, and determines by lottery the order of the information provided by each of the providers from the inferred fields. The registration information includes attribute information of each of the providers,
3 . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the determining means determines the order of the information provided by each of the providers by drawing lots using the registered information, in accordance with the condition that a provider having a specified attribute is given priority. The registration information includes information on a plurality of fields set for information provided by each provider, information on a plurality of fields in which each user is interested, and information on the scale of information provided by each provider,
3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the order of the information provided by each of the providers by drawing lots using the user information and the registration information contained in the request for provision, in accordance with the conditions set as the order of user interest and the order of the size of each of the providers. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a setting unit for setting the condition selected by the user. 9. An information providing system comprising: an information processing device according to claim 1; a user terminal; and a management device managed by each information provider. 10. The information providing system according to claim 9, wherein the terminal includes a terminal transmitting means for transmitting a request to acquire other information provided by a provider using address information embedded in the information of the provider displayed on the screen of the terminal . The information providing system according to claim 10, wherein the terminal includes an input receiving means for receiving operation information from a user, and a judgment means for judging whether or not to request acquisition of information not displayed on a screen of the terminal based on the operation information received by the input receiving means . a terminal receiving means for receiving the information requested by the terminal transmitting means;
12. The information providing system according to claim 11, wherein the determination means determines whether the requested information will disappear from the screen of the terminal during reception based on the operation information received by the input receiving means, and if it determines that the requested information will disappear, instructs the terminal receiving means to stop receiving the information that is being received. The information provided by each of the providers is data having a hierarchical structure,
13. The information providing system according to claim 9 , wherein each layer of data except for the data at the lowest layer includes address information indicating a storage location of the data at the layer one level lower than each layer. The information providing system of claim 13, wherein the information provided by each of the providers includes video data of a video composed of a plurality of still images, and the video data is assigned address information indicating storage locations of two or more other data provided by each of the providers for each of two or more areas specified in each still image. The information provided by each of the providers includes video data consisting of a plurality of still image data captured at each predetermined angle when the product is rotated 360 degrees in the horizontal direction,
13. The information providing system according to claim 12, wherein the terminal receiving means receives the plurality of still image data obtained in the order of shooting in a manner that changes the order so that an image of a rotated product is displayed regardless of whether the user operates the device to the left or right in the horizontal direction. The information provided by each of the providers includes video data of a video composed of a plurality of still images,
The information providing system according to any one of claims 9 to 15 , wherein the terminal includes a synthesis means for overlaying a transparent layer to which text information has been added onto each still image to create the video data including the text information. the information provided by each of the providers includes a plurality of still image data and character string data;
17. The information providing system according to claim 16 , wherein said synthesizing means uses a template to combine said plurality of still image data and said character string data to form video data including character strings. The information provided by each of the providers includes spherical image data,
a correction unit that corrects a luminance of an image area when data of a part of an image area of the spherical image is displayed on a screen of the terminal in accordance with the operation information received by the input receiving unit . A method for assisting in providing information, the method comprising:
the information processing device includes a storage means for storing registration information on information registered by each provider providing information or each user receiving information, or both of them, and address information indicating a storage location of the information provided by each provider;
The method comprises:
receiving a request for information from a user terminal;
determining by lottery an order of information to be displayed on the user's terminal using the registered information stored in the storage means according to a set condition;
transmitting the determined order and address information of each of the information stored in the storage means to a terminal of the user. A program for causing a computer to execute a process for supporting the provision of information,
receiving a request for information from a user terminal;
a step of determining by lottery an order of information to be displayed on the terminal of the user using registration information stored in a storage means for storing registration information related to information registered by each information provider or each user receiving the information, or both, according to set conditions, and information provided by each information provider;
a step of transmitting the determined order and address information of each piece of information stored in the storage means to a terminal of the user.