JP7613952B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an information processing device.

Patent Document 1 discloses technology related to an image processing system. In the image processing system disclosed in Patent Document 1, image data of a real-life photograph taken at a specified location and image data prepared by a user are acquired. Then, by combining both sets of image data, image data of a composite photograph resembling a commemorative photograph is generated.

JP 2005-72853 A

The objective of the present disclosure is to provide technology that allows a user to check the scenery or appearance of a desired location through image data.

The information processing device according to the present disclosure includes a control unit that executes the following: acquiring request information including information about a subject and a shooting position designated on map data by a first user; notifying one or more second users of the request information; acquiring image data corresponding to the request information and taken by at least one of the one or more second users; and providing the image data to the first user.

According to the present disclosure, a user can check the scenery or appearance of a desired location using image data.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image providing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of map data displayed on the first user terminal. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of the request information. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the management server. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of information and data in the image providing system.

The information processing device according to the present disclosure includes a control unit. The control unit acquires request information. The request information is information for the first user to request image data. The request information is information indicating which location the first user wishes to confirm the landscape or appearance of when viewed from where. Specifically, the request information includes information about the subject to be photographed and the photographing position specified by the first user on the map data. In other words, the first user requests the provision of image data showing the landscape or appearance of the desired subject to be photographed (location) when viewed from the desired photographing position.

When the control unit acquires the request information of the first user, the control unit notifies one or more second users of the request information. Here, the second user is a user different from the first user. Furthermore, the control unit acquires image data corresponding to the request information, which is photographed by at least one of the one or more second users. In other words, the control unit acquires image data from the second user, which is obtained by photographing the subject included in the request information from the photographing position included in the request information. Then, the control unit provides the image data acquired from the second user to the first user.

According to the information processing device as described above, it is possible to provide the first user with image data showing the scenery or appearance of the desired location as seen from a desired position. As a result, the first user is able to confirm the scenery or appearance of the desired location through the image data.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the present embodiment are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise specified.

<Embodiment>
(System Overview)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image providing system according to this embodiment. The image providing system is a system for providing image data to a user. The image data may be still image data or video data. The image providing system 1 includes a plurality of user terminals 100, 200 and a management server 300. Here, a user who requests the provision of image data is defined as a first user. A user who provides image data is defined as a second user. A user terminal associated with the first user is defined as a first user terminal 100. A user terminal associated with the second user is defined as a second user terminal 200.

In the image providing system 1, the first user terminal 100, each second user terminal 200, and the management server 300 are interconnected by a network N1. As the network N1, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network), which is a global public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone may be adopted. Note that in this embodiment, the image providing system 1 includes a plurality of second user terminals 200. In other words, there are a plurality of second users who can provide image data to the first user. However, there is not necessarily a need for a plurality of second users.

The first user terminal 100 is a terminal owned or operated by the first user. The second user terminal 200 is a terminal owned or operated by the second user. Examples of the first user terminal 100 and the second user terminal 200 include a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a wearable terminal. The first user terminal 100 and the second user terminal 200 are equipped with a display for displaying information to the first user or the second user.

The management server 300 is a server device for providing image data to the first user. The management server 300 is configured to include a general computer. The computer that constitutes the management server 300 has a processor 301, a main memory unit 302, an auxiliary memory unit 303, and a communication interface (communication I/F) 304.

Here, the processor 301 may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a D
The main memory unit 302 is, for example, a random access memory (RAM).
The auxiliary storage unit 303 is, for example, a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a flash memory.
may include a removable medium (portable recording medium). Here, the removable medium is, for example, a USB memory, an SD card, or a disk recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk. The communication I/F 304 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication.

The auxiliary storage unit 303 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various information tables, and the like. The processor 301 then loads the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 303 into the main storage unit 302 and executes them to realize a process for providing image data to the first user, as described below. However, some or all of the functions of the management server 300 may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA. The management server 300 does not necessarily have to be realized by a single physical configuration, and may be configured by multiple computers that work together. In this embodiment, the management server 300 corresponds to the "information processing device" according to the present disclosure.

In the image providing system 1, the first user inputs information for requesting image data into the first user terminal 100. Specifically, a specific application for the first user to use the image providing system 1 is executed in the first user terminal 100, and map data is displayed. The first user then specifies the subject to be photographed and the photographing position on the map data displayed on the first user terminal 100. Here, the subject to be photographed is a place where the first user wishes to confirm the scenery or appearance using image data. Specifically, examples of the subject to be photographed include natural spots, buildings, and facilities. The photographing position is a position corresponding to the viewpoint from which the first user wishes to confirm the scenery or appearance of the subject to be photographed. In other words, the photographing position indicates the position from which the first user wishes to confirm the scenery or appearance of the subject to be photographed.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of map data displayed on the first user terminal 100. On the map data shown in Figure 2, TP represents the subject to be photographed specified by the first user. Also, on the map data shown in Figure 2, SP represents the shooting position specified by the first user. In other words, Figure 2 shows that the first user requests the provision of image data showing the scenery when the subject to be photographed TP is viewed from the shooting position SP (i.e., image data taken from the shooting position SP in the direction of the white arrow with the subject to be photographed TP as the subject).

In the first user terminal 100, request information is generated based on the information input by the first user as described above. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of request information generated in the first user terminal 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the request information has a user ID field, a shooting subject field, and a shooting position field. A user ID, which is identification information for identifying the first user, is input in the user ID field. Data for identifying the shooting subject specified by the first user is input in the shooting subject field. Data for identifying the shooting position specified by the first user is input in the shooting position field. The request information is then transmitted from the first user terminal 100 to the management server 300 via the network N1.

When the management server 300 receives the request information from the first user terminal 100, it transmits the request information to each second user terminal 200 via the network N1. As a result, the request information of the first user is notified to each second user. When each second user is notified of the request information of the first user, they can attempt to acquire image data corresponding to the request information. At this time, for example, if the second user is present near the shooting position included in the request information, the second user can shoot the shooting object included in the request information from the shooting position. In this case, the second user may acquire image data corresponding to the request information by shooting the shooting object included in the request information from the shooting position included in the request information. In addition, the second user may acquire image data corresponding to the request information by searching for image data corresponding to the request information from image data that the second user has shot in the past.

When at least one of the multiple second users acquires image data corresponding to the request information of the first user, the image data is transmitted from the second user terminal 200 of the second user to the management server 300 via the network N1. When the management server 300 receives the image data from the second user terminal 200, it transmits the image data to the first user terminal 100 via the network N1. As a result, the image data corresponding to the request information is provided to the first user. Note that when the management server 300 receives image data from the second user terminals 200 of multiple second users, the multiple image data transmitted from each second user terminal 200 may be provided to the first user.

According to the image providing system 1 as described above, image data showing the scenery or appearance of a desired place when viewed from a desired position can be provided from the second user to the first user via the management server 300. Therefore, the first user can remotely check the scenery or appearance of a desired place when viewed from a desired position without having to move himself/herself.

(Functional configuration)
Next, the functional configuration of the management server 300 constituting the image providing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the management server 300 according to the present embodiment.

The management server 300 has a communication unit 310, a control unit 320, and an image database (image DB) 330. The communication unit 310 has a function of connecting the management server 300 to the network N1. The communication unit 310 can be realized by the communication I/F 304. The control unit 320 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the management server 300. The control unit 320 can be realized by the processor 301.

The control unit 320 includes a notification unit 321 and a provision unit 322 as functional units. The control unit 320 performs a process of receiving the request information transmitted from the first user terminal 100 using the communication unit 310. In this way, the control unit 320 acquires the request information of the first user. The control unit 320 also performs a process of storing the request information received from the first user terminal 100 in the image DB 330. Furthermore, in the control unit 320, the notification unit 321 performs a process of transmitting the request information of the first user to each second user terminal 200 using the communication unit 310.

The control unit 320 also performs a process of receiving image data transmitted from the second user terminal 200 using the communication unit 310. As a result, the control unit 320 acquires image data corresponding to the request information of the first user. The control unit 320 also performs a process of storing the image data received from the second user terminal 200 in the image DB 330. At this time, the request information of the first user and the image data corresponding to the request information are stored in the image DB 330 in a linked state. Furthermore, in the control unit 320, the provision unit 322 performs a process of transmitting image data corresponding to the request information to the first user terminal 100 using the communication unit 310.

(Information and data flows)
Next, the flow of information and data in the image providing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of information and data in the image providing system 1.

First, the first user inputs the subject and the shooting position on the map data displayed on the display of the first user terminal 100 (S101). Furthermore, the first user terminal 100 generates request information based on the subject and the shooting position input in S101 (S102). Next, the request information is transmitted from the first user terminal 100 to the management server 300 (S103).

In the management server 300, the request information received from the first user terminal 100 is stored in the image DB 330 (S104). Furthermore, the request information received from the first user terminal 100 is transmitted from the management server 300 to the second user terminal 200 (S105).

In the second user terminal 200, image data corresponding to the request information received from the first user terminal 100 is acquired (S106). As described above, the image data acquired here is image data photographed by the second user. Furthermore, the image data acquired in S106 is transmitted from the second user terminal 200 to the management server 300 (S107).

In the management server 300, the image data received from the second user terminal 200 is stored in the image DB 330 (S108). Furthermore, the image data received from the second user terminal 200 is transmitted from the management server 300 to the first user terminal 100 (S109). Then, in the first user terminal 100, the image data received from the management server 300 is output to the display (S110).

(Modification)
In the image providing system 1, the request information transmitted from the first user terminal 100 to the management server 300 may include information on the time of shooting in addition to the subject and the shooting location. In this case, the shooting time included in the request information indicates the time (e.g., time of day or season) at which the first user wants to confirm the landscape or appearance when the subject is viewed. By including the shooting time in the request information, it becomes possible for the first user to confirm the landscape or appearance when the desired location is viewed at the desired time based on the image data.

Furthermore, the shooting subject and shooting location included in the request information are not limited to one location each. For example, the shooting location may be specified as a shooting route for continuously or intermittently shooting the shooting subject.

In addition, in the image providing system 1, an incentive may be given to a second user who provides image data corresponding to the request information of a first user. In this case, the first user may evaluate the image data provided by the second user. The content of the incentive to be given to the second user may then be determined based on the evaluation result of the image data by the first user.

<Other embodiments>
The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

In addition, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Or, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors of the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the system bus of the computer, or may be provided to the computer via a network. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, such as, for example, a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a Blu-ray disk, etc.), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, or an optical card.

Reference Signs List 1: Image providing system 100: First user terminal 200: Second user terminal 300: Management server 310: Communication unit 320: Control unit 321: Notification unit 322: Providing unit 330: Image database

Claims (1)

Acquiring request information including information on a subject and a photographing position designated by a first user on map data and information on a photographing time period, which is a time period or a season, designated by the first user ;
notifying one or more second users of the request information;
acquiring image data corresponding to the request information, the image data including past image data captured by at least one of the one or more second users;
providing the image data to the first user;
An information processing device comprising a control unit that executes the above.

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