JP7741771B2 - Virtual space management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a virtual space management device that provides a virtual space to a user.

Patent document 1 describes a device that aims to reduce the calculation load for generating the movements of objects or creatures with a link structure and speed up drawing when using computer graphics to depict their movements. For example, it describes a device that determines the visibility and attention level of an object based on information about the object placed in a virtual space, information about the field of view for observing the object, and information about the object, and then displays the object's movements by simplifying or omitting movement calculations depending on whether the object appears on the rendering screen or the degree of attention given to the object.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-62864

In recent years, there has been a desire to provide users with virtual spaces based on real space, and to reflect the lively atmosphere of real space, such as crowds and hustle and bustle, in the virtual space. However, devices that provide general virtual spaces, such as those described in Patent Document 1, do not handle virtual spaces that reflect real space, and therefore are unable to reflect the lively atmosphere of real space, such as crowds, in the virtual space.

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a virtual space management device that provides a virtual space that reflects population information in real space.

The virtual space management device of the present invention comprises a population information acquisition unit that acquires population information for each predetermined area in real space, and a virtual space provision unit that provides a user with a virtual space constructed based on the real space and renders characters in the user's field of view in the virtual space, the number of characters corresponding to the population information.

This invention makes it possible to reflect real-world population information in virtual space.

1 is a diagram showing a system configuration including a virtual space management device 100 according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the virtual space management device 100. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a specific example of population information for each mesh. 1 is a diagram showing a user's viewpoint in a virtual space, a mesh based on that viewpoint, and a mesh that is a unit for counting population information. This is a diagram illustrating an example in which an NPC moves within a mesh based on the user's viewpoint. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the virtual space management device 100. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a virtual space in which an NPC is depicted. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between a position in real space and a mesh. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing other examples of the orientations of the mesh M and the mesh SM. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a virtual space management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Where possible, identical parts will be designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration including a virtual space management device 100 according to the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, this system includes the virtual space management device 100 and a population information management server 200. The virtual space management device 100 according to the present disclosure is a device that provides a virtual space based on real space to a user terminal 300. That is, the virtual space management device 100 stores data on the positions, sizes, shapes, etc. of buildings, roads, and other structures in real space, and generates streetscape data for real space in a virtual space based on that data. In doing so, it also stores information on passersby and the like, and represents this information in the virtual space. The user terminal 300 displays a virtual space based on real space and provides the virtual space to the user.

This user terminal is what is known as VR (Virtual Reality) goggles. By wearing the goggles, the user can experience a virtual space. Naturally, the device is not limited to the shape of VR goggles, and can also be a smartphone, tablet, PC, etc.

A user of the user terminal 300 can move through the virtual space by operating the user terminal 300. In the real space, people, bicycles, and cars come and go, creating what is known as the bustle of a city. The virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure reflects this bustle in the virtual space. In the real space, as the user moves, the bustle, such as crowds, changes depending on the location to which the user moves. In this virtual space, the bustle situation also changes at the user's destination to match the location in the real space. In other words, the bustle of the real space is reflected in the virtual space as the user moves within the virtual space. In the present disclosure, bustle is reflected in the virtual space, but this bustle is based on population information, and the aim is to reflect population information from the real space in the virtual space. In the following explanation, we focus on reflecting bustle, but this is synonymous with reflecting population information.

The population information management server 200 is a device that stores population information, which is an example of a lively situation such as a crowd. This population information indicates the number of people, and is information that is compiled for each mesh (rectangle) of a predetermined unit and for each predetermined time period based on the number of location registrations for base stations such as mobile phones. The population information may be calculated by multiplying the number of location registrations by a predetermined factor, or it may also be calculated by taking into account the flow of people. The population information management server 200 stores time, mesh (location), and population information in association with each other.

The virtual space management device 100 obtains population information from the population information management server 200, reflects this information in the virtual space, and provides it to the user terminal 300.

Next, the functions of this virtual space management device 100 will be explained. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the virtual space management device 100. As shown in the figure, the virtual space management device 100 is configured to include a population information acquisition unit 101, a population information storage unit 102, a virtual space information processing unit 103, and a communication unit 104.

The population information acquisition unit 101 acquires population information on a mesh-by-mesh basis from the population information management server 200. The population information acquisition unit 101 stores the acquired population information in the population information storage unit 102.

The population information storage unit 102 stores population information for each mesh. Figure 3 shows a specific example of this population information. As shown in the figure, for each mesh ID indicating location information, the time when the population information was acquired and the population information (number of people) are stored in association with each other.

The virtual space information processing unit 103 is the part that generates the virtual space provided to the user terminal 300. The virtual space information processing unit 103 stores data on buildings, roads, and other structures in the real world, and generates a virtual space that recreates the streetscape of the real world based on this data. This virtual space contains information that corresponds to mesh IDs in the real world.

The virtual space information processing unit 103 further uses this information to reflect NPCs (Non-Player Characters) such as passersby in the virtual space based on the population information stored in the population information storage unit 102. This processing will be described later.

The virtual space information processing unit 103 can draw (reflect) NPCs on a road-by-road basis within a mesh, based on information equivalent to the mesh ID in the virtual space. In other words, the virtual space information processing unit 103 draws NPCs as if they were on a road depicted in the virtual space. NPCs on a road may be determined by multiplying the total number of NPCs by a predetermined coefficient, but other methods may also be used.

The user can move within the virtual space by operating the user terminal 300, and the virtual space information processing unit 103 provides the virtual space to the user in accordance with that movement. The virtual space information processing unit 103 acquires a position corresponding to the real space based on the user's position in the virtual space, and acquires population information for that real space position. Then, based on that population information, it generates an NPC in the virtual space.

The communication unit 104 is the part that transmits to the user terminal 300 a virtual space in which the population information of the real space is reflected.

Next, we will explain the process of reflecting population information from real space in virtual space. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the field of view from a user's viewpoint in virtual space, a mesh SM based on that viewpoint, and a mesh M that is the aggregation unit for population information. As shown in the diagram, the viewpoint indicates where the user is looking. In this disclosure, since it indicates the viewpoint in virtual space, it will also indicate the direction the user is looking. The field of view indicates the range centered on that viewpoint (which can also be called the line of sight).

The mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint is smaller than the mesh used to obtain population information. For example, the mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint is a square with sides of 125 m, while the mesh M used to obtain population information is a square with sides of 500 m.

In this disclosure, one example of a lively situation is to depict the liveliness of a place by drawing NPCs, but the more NPCs displayed, the greater the load on the rendering process. Therefore, while it is desirable to render only the range of view from the user's viewpoint, the spatial resolution granularity of this range of view from the user's viewpoint does not match the aggregation unit (mesh) of the population information. In other words, if the population information from the population information is reflected directly in the virtual space, it will not reflect the actual lively situation.

In this disclosure, the lively situation in the real world can be reflected in the virtual space by adjusting the population information to be rendered as follows. Hereinafter, passersby (population information) in the virtual space will be referred to as NPCs (Non-Player Characters), and the lively situation in the city will be reflected by depicting NPCs.

Figure 5 shows an example of NPCs moving within a mesh based on the field of view from the user's viewpoint. The number of NPCs moving around the town (field of view) is calculated using the following formula (1).

Number of NPCs = population information N of mesh SM * passing time t (1)
N is population information for the 125m mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint, and is the number of people tallied in one-hour increments. Passing time t is the time (seconds) it takes for an NPC to pass through the range of the 125m mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint. Here, the time it takes to travel 125m is calculated. This passing time t varies depending on the size of the mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint. While set to 125m in this disclosure, this is of course not limited to this. The size of this mesh SM may be determined based on the user's field of view. Generally, a person's horizontal field of view is 150 degrees, and the size is determined based on that range and the visible distance. Therefore, it is best to set the range to roughly what the user can see based on the field of view from the user's viewpoint.

For example, if the population information N for one hour (3600 seconds) per 125m mesh SM based on the user's viewpoint is 2000 people, and it takes 90 seconds for an NPC to pass 125m (the time it takes to pass 125m at 5km/h), then the number of NPCs that should be drawn simultaneously is 2000 people / 3600 seconds * 90 seconds = 50 people. Note that by dividing by 3600 seconds, the population information N can be expressed in seconds, matching the unit of the passing time (seconds).

In addition to moving NPCs (such as passersby), stationary crowds (lightweight models that do not perform movement calculations) can also be randomly placed on sidewalks within the user's field of view according to the settings. This allows the number of NPCs to be increased without increasing the processing load.

This 125m mesh SM is a mesh based on the user's perspective, and the population information contained in this mesh is derived based on the population information of the 500m mesh obtained through the population information aggregation process. In other words, the population information for the 125m mesh SM is calculated using the area ratio.

Next, the operation of the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the virtual space management device 100. The virtual space information processing unit 103 acquires operation information from the user terminal 300 and acquires a mesh ID (equivalent to location information) based on the operation information (S101). The virtual space information processing unit 103 acquires population information corresponding to the mesh ID (location information) from the population information storage unit 102 (S102). The virtual space information processing unit 103 calculates the number of NPCs based on the population information of the mesh SM, as per equation (1) above (S103).

The virtual space information processing unit 103 generates a virtual space by reflecting the number of NPCs in the virtual space (S104). The communication unit 104 transmits the virtual space including the NPCs to the user terminal 300 (S105).

Note that the above flowchart of the present disclosure assumes that the spatial resolution of real space (the size of the mesh of the population counting unit) and the spatial resolution of virtual space (the mesh based on the user's viewpoint) are different, but there are cases where these resolutions are the same. In that case, step S104 generates a virtual space that directly reflects the population information contained in mesh M, without executing step S103.

The spatial resolution is determined to match when the size of the mesh M is a predetermined size. In the above example, this is when the mesh M has a side length of 125 m. The size of this mesh M may be obtained when acquiring population information from the population information management server 200, or the size of the mesh M may be set when providing the virtual space (or when the virtual space provision app is executed).

As described above, the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure acquires population information according to the mesh (location information) that corresponds to the real space within the user's virtual space, and calculates the number of NPCs accordingly. Meanwhile, the population information management server 200 stores population information by time in addition to location. Therefore, the population information changes as time passes within the user's virtual space, and the number of NPCs can be changed accordingly. The speed at which time passes within the virtual space can be set as appropriate, and time may pass faster than in reality.

In addition, this virtual space management device 100 can acquire current population information for the real space in real time and reflect it in the virtual space, but it can also generate the virtual space using past population information. In this case, it is possible to reflect the bustle of the real space in the past in the virtual space.

Figure 7 shows a virtual space in which NPCs are depicted. As shown in the figure, this virtual space is a reproduction of a real-world streetscape. The number of NPCs is determined based on the population information (level of congestion) of the real space. In Figure 7(a), NPCs are depicted in the virtual space based on a less crowded situation. In Figures 7(b) and 7(c), groups of NPCs are depicted according to the population information.

Naturally, the movements of these NPCs are also reproduced. They are depicted walking (moving) in a certain direction, and when they leave the user's field of view, the NPC is depicted in a different location and moved to match the calculated number of NPCs. This different location may be a predetermined position in the user's field of view, or it may be a random position. The direction of movement may also be predetermined or random.

It is better to increase the number of NPCs gradually, as it would look unnatural if the number of NPCs were to increase suddenly to reach the calculated number. Increasing the number of NPCs gradually, as shown in Figure 7(b) and Figure 7(c), allows for the reproduction of a natural cityscape or lively atmosphere.

Figure 8 shows the relationship between positions in real space and meshes M and SM. The user is in a virtual space that reflects real space. Mesh SM1 is a mesh based on the user's viewpoint. In the virtual space, the user is located at the center of this mesh. As a result of the population information aggregation process, population information for mesh M1 is obtained.

Here, the user moves from mesh SM1 towards mesh SM2. When the user is in mesh SM1, the number of NPCs to be depicted in mesh SM1 is calculated based on the population information of mesh M1. When the user moves through the virtual space to a position in real space that corresponds to mesh SM2, the number of NPCs to be depicted in mesh SM2 is calculated based on the population information of mesh M2.

In this way, the user is in a virtual space that reflects the real world, but in the real world, the number of passersby and other people varies depending on the location. Therefore, by changing the number of NPCs in the virtual space depending on the location, the user can experience the bustle of the real world while in a virtual space.

In the present disclosure, mesh M (M1, M2, etc.) and mesh SM (SM1, SM2, etc.) have the same shape (rectangle) and face the same direction, but this is not limited to this. The orientation of mesh SM may be changed relative to the user's direction of movement. For example, Figure 9 is a diagram showing the change in orientation. The shape and orientation of mesh M are determined to a predetermined shape (rectangle) and orientation based on population information. Therefore, the direction of movement (or facing direction) of user U and the orientation of mesh M may not be the same.

This disclosure has been explained assuming that NPCs move, but of course this is not limited to this. Stationary NPCs also exist. The population information management server 200 stores population information on an hourly basis, but also stores floating population information. Floating population information is information that indicates the flow of people moving, and indicates the number of people moving between meshes.

Therefore, the virtual space information processing unit 103 calculates the ratio between the population information per hour and the floating population, and multiplies this by the number of people to be drawn in formula (1) above to determine the number of stationary NPCs to be drawn. Furthermore, the number of people outdoors and indoors is also managed from location information in the population information management server 200, and the virtual space information processing unit 103 calculates the ratio of the number of people outdoors to indoors. The virtual space information processing unit 103 can then multiply this number of people ratio by the number of stationary NPCs to determine the number of stationary NPCs to be drawn.

The virtual space information processing unit 103 may subtract the number of stationary NPCs from the number of drawn NPCs (number of NPCs) calculated using formula (1) to determine the number of moving NPCs, and perform drawing control on these NPCs to move them. On the other hand, for stationary NPCs, drawing control is performed to indicate that they are stationary.

Next, the effects of the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure will be described. In the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure, the population information acquisition unit 101 acquires population information for each specified area collected in real space from the population information management server 200. The population information management server 200 can collect the number of terminals in a specified area (corresponding to the mesh described above) by collecting the location registration information of user terminals 300. The collection of population information in real space is performed based on information obtained by location registration processing or GPS positioning processing for mobile phones, etc. Note that, while the population information is obtained based on the number of location registrations in the above example, this is not limiting, and the number may also be collected based on location information obtained by GPS positioning.

The virtual space information processing unit 103 provides the user with a virtual space constructed based on real space, and also renders and provides NPCs (number of characters) from the user's viewpoint in the virtual space, with the number of NPCs corresponding to the population information. This number of NPCs is calculated by calculating the time-unit population per predetermined time unit in the population information in the population information management server 200. The population information management server 200 manages, for example, population information per hour. The number of NPCs is then calculated from this population per time unit (time-unit population) and the time required to move along one side of the mesh SM, which is the area based on the user's viewpoint.

With this configuration, users can experience the excitement of real space in a virtual space based on real space.

This number of NPCs is also determined based on the time required for the NPCs to move through a mesh SM (a specified area from one end of that area) based on the user's viewpoint. This time is determined based on a predetermined NPC movement speed.

Generally, population information managed by the population information management server 200 is in units of a 500m square mesh, and the user's field of view in virtual space is smaller. In the present disclosure, a 125m square mesh is defined based on the user's field of view and the user's viewpoint. In this case, the granularity of the population information differs. The more NPCs displayed, the greater the rendering processing load. For this reason, it is desirable to render only the field of view from the user's viewpoint. However, as mentioned above, the size of the mesh of population information managed by the population information management server 200 does not match the spatial resolution granularity of the user's field of view in virtual space (drawing range).

Therefore, the number of NPCs to be drawn is calculated using the time required to move through a mesh SM (predetermined area) based on the user's viewpoint. This eliminates the need to draw NPCs from the population information managed by the population information management server 200, thereby reducing the processing load.

Furthermore, in the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure, the virtual space information processing unit 103 moves NPCs out of the field of view from the user's viewpoint, and also moves them from out of the field of view to within the field of view, according to the number of NPCs.

With this configuration, NPCs can be moved appropriately based on the calculated number of NPCs. NPCs are so-called passersby, and as they move, they may go out of sight. In such cases, in order to maintain a lively atmosphere, when an NPC moves out of sight, an NPC is brought into sight instead, thereby maintaining the lively atmosphere of the real world in the virtual space.

In the present disclosure, the virtual space information processing unit 103 may change the number of NPCs to be drawn when the user moves across a mesh (predetermined area) in the virtual space managed by the population information management server 200, which corresponds to the mesh in the real space. In this case, the virtual space information processing unit 103 changes the number of NPCs to be drawn according to the changed population information. This allows the liveliness of the real space to be appropriately reflected.

Furthermore, in the virtual space management device 100 disclosed herein, the population information acquisition unit 101 acquires population information that has changed depending on the time of day, and the virtual space information processing unit 103 changes the number of NPCs if a predetermined amount of time has passed and the population information has changed.

With this configuration, even if there is a change in population information in real space, the change can be appropriately reflected in the number of NPCs. Population information also changes depending on the time of day in real space. In this disclosure, by reflecting such changed population information in NPCs, the liveliness of real space can be accurately reflected in virtual space.

Furthermore, in the virtual space management device 100 of the present disclosure, the virtual space information processing unit 103 calculates the moving population and the stationary population from the population information. Then, based on the moving population and the visiting population, moving characters and stationary characters are drawn separately.

In real space, there are a variety of people, such as passersby who are moving around and people who are staying overnight to meet up with others. In this disclosure, the floating population can be determined from population information in a certain mesh separately from the population information, and the stationary population can be calculated based on that floating population. Therefore, by utilizing this, it is possible to distinguish between moving and stationary NPCs among the number of NPCs to be rendered, thereby providing a virtual space that is more in line with real space.

The virtual space management device 100 disclosed herein has the following configuration.

[1]
a population information acquisition unit that acquires population information for each predetermined area that is aggregated based on terminal position information in real space;
a virtual space providing unit that provides a user with a virtual space configured based on the real space and that renders characters in the user's field of view in the virtual space, the number of characters corresponding to the population information;
A virtual space management device comprising:

[2]
The population information acquisition unit
Acquire location registration information or aggregated population information based on positioning processing of the mobile device;
The virtual space management device according to [1].

[3]
The virtual space management device according to [1] or [2], wherein the number of characters is further determined based on the time required for the characters to move within the field of view.

[4]
The number of characters is determined based on a predetermined movement speed.
The virtual space management device according to [3].

[5]
The number of characters is
Calculating the population per unit time per predetermined unit time in the population information;
Calculated from the time unit population and the time required to move through the field of view,
The virtual space management device according to [3] or [4].

[6]
The virtual space providing unit
moving characters out of the field of view and from out of the field of view into the field of view in accordance with the number of characters;
The virtual space management device according to any one of [1] to [5].

[7]
The virtual space providing unit
When the user moves across the predetermined area and there is a change in the population information, the number of characters is changed.
The virtual space management device according to any one of [1] to [6].

[8]
the population information acquisition unit acquires population information changed according to a time period;
The virtual space providing unit
If a predetermined time has passed and there is a change in the population information, the number of characters is changed in accordance with the changed population information.
The virtual space management device according to any one of [1] to [7].

[9]
The virtual space providing unit
Calculate the moving population and the stationary population from the population information;
Drawing moving characters and stationary characters separately based on the floating population and the staying population.
A virtual space management device according to any one of [1] to [8].

[10]
The virtual space providing unit
When a spatial resolution for the population information based on the predetermined area and a spatial resolution for the population information based on the user's field of view match, the population information is treated as the number of characters without calculating the number of characters according to the population information.
[1] - [9] The virtual space management device according to any one of [1] to [9].

The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of hardware and/or software. Furthermore, there are no particular limitations on how each functional block is realized. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (e.g., using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. A functional block may also be realized by combining software with the single device or multiple devices.

Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, assessment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, election, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, regard, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs transmission functions is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on how these functions are implemented.

For example, the virtual space management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the virtual space management method of the present disclosure. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the virtual space management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The above-described virtual space management device 100 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

In the following explanation, the term "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, device, unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the virtual space management device 100 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

Each function of the virtual space management device 100 is realized by loading specific software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communications via the communication device 1004, and control at least one of reading and writing data from and to the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The processor 1001, for example, runs an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) that includes an interface with peripheral devices, a control unit, an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. For example, the virtual space information processing unit 103 described above may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 also reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above-described embodiments. For example, the virtual space information processing unit 103 may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks. While the above-described various processes have been described as being executed by a single processor 1001, they may also be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented on one or more chips. The programs may also be transmitted from a network via telecommunications lines.

Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of, for example, at least one of ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory (primary storage device), etc. Memory 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc. for implementing a virtual space management method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray® disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium that includes at least one of memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission/reception device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, or communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, etc. to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the population information acquisition unit 101 and communication unit 104 described above may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The population information acquisition unit 101 and communication unit 104 may be implemented as physically or logically separated units, or may be configured as an integrated unit.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

The virtual space management device 100 may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by this hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

The notification of information is not limited to the aspects/embodiments described in the present disclosure and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed using physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination of these. Furthermore, RRC signaling may be referred to as an RRC message, such as an RRC Connection Setup message or an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message.

The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

Input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be sent to another device.

The determination may be made based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of specified information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may also be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specified information).

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, which are defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended for illustrative purposes only and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared or microwave), these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

Note that terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of a channel and a symbol may be a signal (signaling). Furthermore, a signal may be a message. Furthermore, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, radio resources may be indicated by an index.

The names used for the parameters described above are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical formulas using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching a table, database, or other data structure), and ascertaining something that is considered a "determination." Also, "determining" and "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and other actions that are considered a "determination." Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding actions such as resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and comparing as having been "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judgment" or "decision." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, and/or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

As used in this disclosure, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must in some way precede the second element.

When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, when the term "or" is used in this disclosure, it is not intended to be an exclusive or.

In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the noun following these articles being plural.

In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." It should be noted that the term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

100... Virtual space management device, 200... Population information management server, 300... User terminal, 101... Population information acquisition unit, 102... Population information storage unit, 103... Virtual space information processing unit, 104... Communication unit.

Claims (10)

a population information acquisition unit that acquires population information for each predetermined area that is aggregated based on terminal position information in real space;
a virtual space providing unit that provides a user with a virtual space configured based on the real space and that renders characters in the user's field of view in the virtual space, the number of characters corresponding to the population information;
A virtual space management device comprising: The population information acquisition unit
Acquire location registration information or aggregated population information based on positioning processing of the mobile device;
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 . The virtual space management device of claim 1, wherein the number of characters is further determined based on the time required for the characters to move through the field of view. The number of characters is determined based on the movement speed of the characters.
The virtual space management device according to claim 3 . The number of characters is
Calculating the population per unit time per predetermined unit time in the population information;
Calculated from the time unit population and the time required to move through the field of view,
The virtual space management device according to claim 3 . The virtual space providing unit
moving characters out of the field of view and from out of the field of view into the field of view in accordance with the number of characters;
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 . The virtual space providing unit
When the user moves across an area corresponding to the predetermined area in the virtual space, if there is a change in the population information, the number of characters is changed.
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 . the population information acquisition unit acquires population information changed according to a time period;
The virtual space providing unit
If a predetermined time has passed and there is a change in the population information, the number of characters is changed in accordance with the changed population information.
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 . The virtual space providing unit
Calculate the moving population and the stationary population from the population information;
Drawing moving characters and stationary characters separately based on the floating population and the staying population.
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 . The virtual space providing unit
When a spatial resolution for the population information based on the predetermined area and a spatial resolution for the population information based on the user's field of view match, the population information is treated as the number of characters without calculating the number of characters according to the population information.
The virtual space management device according to claim 1 .