WO2023248392A1

WO2023248392A1 - Terminal that generates vibration for notification

Info

Publication number: WO2023248392A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/024966
Authority: WO
Inventors: 琢也神田; 康雄石榑
Original assignee: 日本電信電話株式会社
Priority date: 2022-06-22
Filing date: 2022-06-22
Publication date: 2023-12-28
Also published as: WO2023248937A1

Abstract

This terminal is provided with a detection information acquiring unit that acquires information on detection of a user motion, and a vibration control unit that generates, on the basis of the information on the detection of the user motion, a vibration for notification to the user such that the vibration is generated while the user is performing the motion.

Description

[Name of invention determined by ISA based on Rule 37.2] Terminal that generates vibration for notification

The present invention relates to a terminal, a notification system, a notification method, and a program.

Techniques exist for systems to encourage action by sending notifications to users. Many of these notification methods that prompt users to take action may distract the user's attention and make the user feel bothered by the notification. Techniques have been developed to reduce the annoyance that users feel when a system sends notifications and engages users.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce the annoyance that the user feels when the system sends notifications to the user or other actions, a threshold value or a mental burden function based on the mental burden of presenting information accompanying the action is proposed. A technique has been disclosed that determines the content and presentation timing of information to be presented to a user when a condition indicated by a threshold value is satisfied.

JP 2019-185389 Publication

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, there are not many breaks in actions that can be intervened in, timings with a high possibility of interruption, etc. in daily life, so the frequency of notifications is low compared to the frequency that should be notified. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to notify the user at an appropriate timing.

The disclosed technology aims to notify the user at an appropriate timing according to the user's actions.

The disclosed technology includes a detection information acquisition unit that acquires information on detecting a user's motion, and a sensor configured to vibrate while the user is performing a motion based on the information on the detected motion of the user. This terminal is equipped with a vibration control unit that generates vibrations to notify the user.

It is possible to notify the user at an appropriate timing according to the user's actions.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a wearable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a wearable terminal according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the notification process based on Example 1 of embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation start time and an operation end time according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an acceleration prediction method according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a wearable terminal according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of notification processing according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a vibration adjustment method according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional structure of the wearable terminal based on Example 3 of embodiment of this invention. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of notification processing according to Example 3 of the embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (this embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are merely examples, and embodiments to which the present invention is applied are not limited to the following embodiments.

(Problems with conventional technology)
First, problems with the conventional technology will be explained. There are many technologies that encourage behavior by sending notifications from the system side. Many of the notification methods that encourage these actions steal the user's attention and make the user feel bothered. Many technologies have been developed to reduce the hassle of sending notifications from the system side and encouraging users. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for reducing the annoyance felt by a user when a system sends a notification to the user.

There is a method that uses a wearable terminal to send reminder notifications by vibrating the wearable terminal. While these types of vibrations make it easy to notice reminder notifications, they also take away a lot of people's attention. There are methods to reduce the annoyance of notifications, such as a method of detecting breaks in behavior and a method of estimating interruptibility and issuing notifications. However, the problem is that there are not many breaks in actions that can be intervened in, or timings where there is a high possibility of interruption, in daily life, and the frequency of notifications is small compared to the frequency of notifications.

Additionally, there are many methods in which the modality of notification itself is devised. For example, there are methods that use changes in heat to notify the user of the presence or absence of a notification, and methods that notify the user by lighting an LED in an ambient manner. However, the notification actuators used in these methods are not installed in many smartwatches currently on the market, and it is extremely costly to install new actuators for the sole purpose of notifications. Conceivable.

(Summary of this embodiment)
The timing at which the user does not feel bothered by notification vibrations is when the part of the body that feels the vibrations is moving. Therefore, in order to address the problems of the conventional technology described above, in this embodiment, we assume that notifications occur more frequently in daily life, and the parts of the user who is wearing a terminal that vibrates when a notification moves significantly. An example of vibration for notification at the appropriate timing will be explained. Notifications are made by vibrating during periods when the part of the body the device is attached to is moving significantly, and the vibrations end during periods when the body parts are moving significantly, thereby reducing the annoyance that users feel due to vibrations during notifications. can be reduced.

Hereinafter, Examples 1 to 3 will be described as specific examples of this embodiment.

(Example 1)
In this embodiment, an example of a terminal that vibrates as a notification while the user is moving his or her body will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a wearable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wearable terminal 10 may be a device that is in constant contact with the user's body, such as a smart watch. They don't have to be in contact. The wearable terminal 10 is an example of a terminal that has a function of notifying a user by generating vibrations.

The wearable terminal 10 includes a CPU 101, a memory 102, a communication device 103, a sensor 104, and a vibration device 105, which are interconnected via a bus.

The memory 102 stores programs and the like that describe the processing contents described in this embodiment. The CPU 101 executes processing written in a program stored in the memory 102.

The communication device 103 is a device for transmitting and receiving signals with other devices.

The sensor 104 is a device that performs various measurements to detect the movements of the user wearing the wearable terminal 10. The sensor 104 may include, for example, an acceleration sensor that measures acceleration, a touch sensor that detects contact, a camera sensor that captures an image, and the like.

The vibration device 105 is a device that generates vibrations in response to instructions from the CPU 101. Vibration device 105 may be composed of one or more vibrators.

Note that the wearable terminal 10 may further include a display device for displaying messages. In that case, in the wearable terminal 10, the vibration device 105 may generate vibration and the display device may display a message when notifying the wearable terminal 10.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a wearable terminal according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. The wearable terminal 10 includes a storage section 11 , a detection information acquisition section 12 , a motion start confirmation section 13 , an acceleration prediction section 14 , a motion end estimation section 15 , and a vibration control section 16 . Each of these parts is realized by a CPU 101 and a memory 102 that constitute a computer. Specifically, each part is realized by the CPU 101 executing processing described in a program stored in the memory 102.

The storage unit 11 stores information indicating the message content of the notification, information indicating the timing of notification, information indicating the vibration duration d at the time of notification, etc.

The detection information acquisition unit 12 acquires detection information indicating the result of detecting the user's motion by the sensor 104. For example, the detection information acquisition unit 12 acquires information indicating acceleration. Note that the wearable terminal 10 may be premised on moving in space in unison with the body part of the user wearing the wearable terminal 10. That is, the acceleration of the wearable terminal 10 is considered to indicate the movement of the body part of the user wearing the wearable terminal 10.

The motion start confirmation unit 13 determines whether the user's motion has started based on the detection information acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 12. Then, the operation start confirmation unit 13 estimates the operation start time T _ms . Note that the motion start confirmation unit 13 may determine whether or not the user's motion has started based on detection information obtained by any type of sensor, as long as the information is related to the user's motion. good.

The acceleration prediction unit 14 predicts how the acceleration will change from the operation start time T _ms based on the detection information acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 12. For example, the acceleration prediction unit 14 may predict acceleration based on acceleration included in detection information acquired by an acceleration sensor. Note that the acceleration prediction unit 14 may predict acceleration based on detection information obtained by any type of sensor as long as the information is related to prediction of acceleration.

The motion end estimating unit 15 estimates the time at which the user's motion ends (motion end time T _me ) based on the acceleration prediction result. The operation end estimating unit 15 then estimates the vibration based on the time to start the vibration (vibration start time T _ns ), the time to continue the vibration (vibration duration d), the time to end the vibration (vibration end time T _ne ), etc. , it is determined whether the vibration due to the notification ends before the operation end time _Tme .

The vibration control unit 16 controls the vibration device 105 to generate vibrations based on the vibration start time T _ns , the vibration duration time d, the vibration end time T _ne , the determination result by the operation end estimation unit 15, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of notification processing according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. The notification process is started when a reason for notifying the user occurs.

The operation start confirmation unit 13 monitors the operation (step S101). Specifically, the motion start confirmation unit 13 determines whether the user's motion has started based on the detection information acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 12. Then, the operation start confirmation unit 13 estimates the operation start time T _ms .

Next, the acceleration prediction unit 14 predicts the acceleration of the wearing part (the part where the user wears the wearable terminal 10) (step S102). Specifically, the acceleration prediction unit 14 predicts how the acceleration will change from the operation start time T _ms based on the detection information acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 12.

Subsequently, the motion end estimating unit 15 estimates the end time of the motion (step S103). Specifically, the motion end estimating unit 15 estimates the motion end time _Tme based on the acceleration prediction result.

Then, the operation end estimating unit 15 determines whether the duration of the notification (vibration) is before the end time of the operation (step S104). Specifically, the operation end estimating unit 15 determines whether the vibration due to the notification will end before the operation end time _Tme based on the vibration start time _Tns , vibration duration d, vibration end time _Tne, etc. Determine whether

When the operation end estimating unit 15 determines that the duration of the notification (vibration) is not before the end time of the operation (step S104: NO), it ends the notification process. On the other hand, if the operation end estimating unit 15 determines that the duration of the notification (vibration) is before the end time of the operation (step S104: YES), the vibration control unit 16 generates vibration (step S105).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation start time and operation end time according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. For example, when the user lifts his arm while wearing the wearable terminal 10 on his arm, the movement start time T _ms is the time at which he starts the movement with his arm lowered. The motion end time _Tme is the time when the motion of raising the arm ends and the arm becomes in a raised state.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an acceleration prediction method according to Example 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a method for predicting acceleration in the user's motion shown in FIG. The vertical axis in FIG. 5 indicates acceleration, and the horizontal axis indicates time. FIG. 5 shows an operation start time T _ms , an operation end time T _me , a vibration start time T _ns , a vibration end time T _ne , and a vibration duration time d.

Further, the storage unit 11 may store in advance information indicating the vibration duration d for notification and a threshold value A _th for determination regarding acceleration. In step S101 of the notification process, the operation start confirmation unit 13 monitors the operation and acquires information indicating the acceleration of the measurement result. A graph 901 is an example of acceleration as a measurement result.

Then, the operation start confirmation unit 13 detects the start of the operation using the threshold value A _th based on the information indicating the acceleration of the measurement result. For example, the operation start confirmation unit 13 may determine that the operation has started when the acceleration exceeds the threshold value A _th . The operation start confirmation unit 13 sets the time when the start of the operation is detected as the operation start time T _ms .

Next, in step S102 of the notification process, the acceleration prediction unit 14 predicts how the acceleration will change after the start of the motion is detected. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the acceleration prediction unit 14 calculates that the acceleration changes from the point at which the acceleration reaches the maximum by the same amount of decrease as the amount of increase over time until the acceleration reaches the maximum. The acceleration may be predicted based on the model that A graph 902 is an example of acceleration as a prediction result. Hereinafter, the acceleration of the prediction result will be referred to as A(t).

Subsequently, in step S103 of the notification process, the motion end estimation unit 15 estimates the motion end time _Tme based on the acceleration prediction result. For example, the motion end estimation unit 15 may estimate the time when the predicted acceleration A(t) becomes 0 as the motion end time T _me . Note that the motion end estimating unit 15 may estimate the time when the predicted acceleration A(t) becomes equal to or less than the threshold value A _th as the motion end time T _me .

The movement end time _Tme can be estimated by any other method as long as it is possible to estimate the movement end time _Tme , such as by using a musculoskeletal model formula, by machine learning, or by using a statistical model. This method may also be used.

In step S104 of the notification process, the motion end estimating unit 15 checks whether the vibration end time _Tne , which is the vibration start time _Tns plus d, is earlier than the estimated motion end time _Tme . Then, if the vibration end time T _ne is earlier than the estimated operation end time T _me , the vibration control unit 16 generates vibration in step S105 of the notification process.

Note that the method of this embodiment may be implemented in combination with the conventional techniques described above, such as a method of detecting a break in behavior, a method of estimating a timing with high interruptibility, and issuing a notification. good.

According to this embodiment, vibration for notification can be generated while the user is moving the part to which the wearable terminal 10 is attached. This can reduce the annoyance felt by the user.

(Example 2)
Example 2 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the intensity of vibration is adjusted according to the user's movement. Therefore, in the following explanation of the second embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained, and parts having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals as used in the explanation of the first embodiment. A symbol is given and the explanation thereof is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a wearable terminal according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. The wearable terminal 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a vibration adjustment section 17 is added to the wearable terminal 10 according to the first embodiment.

The vibration adjustment unit 17 adjusts the intensity of the vibration to be generated based on the prediction result of the acceleration estimated by the acceleration prediction unit 14.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of notification processing according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. The flow of the notification process according to the present embodiment is the same as the notification process according to the first embodiment with step S201 added.

In step S104, if the operation end estimating unit 15 determines that the duration of the notification (vibration) is before the end time of the operation (step S104: YES), the vibration adjustment unit 17 adjusts the intensity of the vibration (step S201). Then, in step S105, the vibration control unit 16 generates vibration with the adjusted intensity.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a vibration adjustment method according to Example 2 of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a method for adjusting vibrations in the user's actions shown in FIG.

In step S201 of the notification process according to the second embodiment, the vibration adjustment unit 17 adjusts the vibration intensity according to the following equation (1) in response to the time-series acceleration A(t) predicted by the acceleration prediction unit 14. Adjust the length V _s (t).

V _s (t)=αA(t)...Formula (1)

Note that α is a constant. Graph 903 shows the intensity of vibration adjusted in this way.

Further, the vibration adjustment unit 17 may divide the acceleration predicted by comparison with one or more reference threshold values into groups, and adjust the intensity to be different for each group.

Sensitivity to vibrations is thought to change depending on the movement of the worn part of a smartwatch, etc. Therefore, conventional smart watches etc. send notifications with a constant vibration regardless of the user's actions, and do not respond to changes in the sensitivity of the user receiving notifications to vibrations, so notification vibrations can be annoying. Conceivable.

According to the wearable terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain information on the acceleration of the part of the user to which the wearable terminal 10 is attached using the installed sensor, and to generate vibrations with an intensity corresponding to the magnitude of the acceleration. . This can further reduce the annoyance felt by the user.

(Example 3)
Example 3 will be described below with reference to the drawings. The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that information indicating a notification schedule (schedule information) is acquired and vibration is generated based on the schedule. Therefore, in the following explanation of the third embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained, and parts having the same functional configuration as the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals as those used in the explanation of the first embodiment. A symbol is given and the explanation thereof is omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a wearable terminal according to Example 3 of the embodiment of the present invention. The notification system according to this embodiment includes a wearable terminal 10 (first terminal) and an electronic terminal 20 (second terminal).

The electronic terminal 20 is, for example, a mobile terminal, a server device, etc., and stores schedule information. Note that the electronic terminal 20 may be any other device as long as it can store schedule information.

The electronic terminal 20 includes a storage section 21 and a communication section 22. The storage unit 21 stores schedule information. The schedule information may be information indicating, for example, the date and time of notification, day of the week, frequency, number of times, etc.

The communication unit 22 acquires schedule information from the storage unit 21 and transmits it to the wearable terminal 10.

The wearable terminal 10 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a communication unit 18 is added to the wearable terminal 10 according to the first embodiment. The communication unit 18 receives schedule information from the electronic terminal 20 and stores it in the storage unit 11 .

Further, the vibration control unit 16 according to the present embodiment generates notification vibration at an appropriate timing using the method of the first embodiment, as long as it is within the schedule time, based on the schedule information stored in the storage unit 11.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of notification processing according to Example 3 of the embodiment of the present invention. The flow of the notification process according to the present embodiment is a flow in which step S301 and step S302 are added to the notification process according to the first embodiment.

When the notification process is started, the communication unit 18 receives notification schedule information from the electronic terminal 20 (step S301). Schedule information is stored in the storage unit 11.

Next, the wearable terminal 10 determines whether it is within the scheduled time (step S302). When the wearable terminal 10 determines that it is within the scheduled time (step S302: YES), the process proceeds to step S101.

On the other hand, if the wearable terminal 10 determines that it is not within the scheduled time (step S302: NO), it ends the notification process.

Incidentally, if the scheduled time has passed because the notification could not be made within the scheduled time, the vibration control unit 16 may immediately generate a notification vibration.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to set the vibration timing of the wearable at an appropriate timing when notifying a message such as a reminder that has a predetermined notification time period.

(Summary of embodiments)
This specification describes at least the terminal, notification system, notification method, and program described in each section below.
(Section 1)
a detection information acquisition unit that acquires information on detected user motion;
a vibration control unit that generates vibration for notification to the user so as to vibrate while the user is performing the action, based on information obtained by detecting the user's action;
terminal.
(Section 2)
an operation start confirmation unit that determines whether the user has started an operation based on information obtained by detecting the user's operation;
an acceleration prediction unit that predicts a change in acceleration in the user's movement based on information obtained by detecting the user's movement;
further comprising a motion end estimation unit that estimates an end time of the user's motion based on a predicted change in acceleration in the user's motion;
When the vibration control unit determines that the vibration will end before the estimated end time of the user's motion based on a predefined vibration duration, the vibration control unit may be configured to send a notification to the user. generate vibrations,
The terminal described in paragraph 1.
(Section 3)
further comprising a vibration adjustment unit that adjusts the intensity of the vibration to be generated according to a predicted change in acceleration in the user's motion;
The terminal described in Section 2.
(Section 4)
A notification system comprising a first terminal and a second terminal,
The first terminal is
a communication unit that receives information indicating a schedule for notification to the user from the second terminal;
a detection information acquisition unit that acquires information on detected user motion;
a vibration control unit that generates a vibration for notification to the user, based on information obtained by detecting the user's movement, at a scheduled notification timing, so as to vibrate while the user is performing the movement; and,
The second terminal is
comprising a communication unit that transmits information indicating a schedule for notification to the user to the first terminal;
Notification system.
(Section 5)
A notification method performed by a terminal,
a step of obtaining information on detected user motion;
a step of generating vibration for notification to the user so as to vibrate while the user is performing the action, based on information obtained by detecting the user's action;
Notification method.
(Section 6)
A program for causing a computer to function as each part of the terminal according to any one of items 1 to 3.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. It is.

10 Wearable terminal 11 Storage unit 12 Detection information acquisition unit 13 Operation start confirmation unit 14 Acceleration prediction unit 15 Operation end estimation unit 16 Vibration control unit 17 Vibration adjustment unit 18 Communication unit 20 Electronic terminal 21 Storage unit 22 Communication unit 101 CPU
102 Memory 103 Communication device 104 Sensor 105 Vibration device

Claims

a detection information acquisition unit that acquires information on detected user motion;
a vibration control unit that generates vibration for notification to the user so as to vibrate while the user is performing the action, based on information obtained by detecting the user's action;
terminal.
an operation start confirmation unit that determines whether the user has started an operation based on information obtained by detecting the user's operation;
an acceleration prediction unit that predicts a change in acceleration in the user's movement based on information obtained by detecting the user's movement;
further comprising a motion end estimation unit that estimates an end time of the user's motion based on a predicted change in acceleration in the user's motion;
When the vibration control unit determines that the vibration will end before the estimated end time of the user's motion based on a predefined vibration duration, the vibration control unit may be configured to send a notification to the user. generate vibrations,
The terminal according to claim 1.
further comprising a vibration adjustment unit that adjusts the intensity of the vibration to be generated according to a predicted change in acceleration in the user's motion;
The terminal according to claim 2.
A notification system comprising a first terminal and a second terminal,
The first terminal is
a communication unit that receives information indicating a schedule for notification to the user from the second terminal;
a detection information acquisition unit that acquires information on detected user motion;
a vibration control unit that generates a vibration for notification to the user, based on information obtained by detecting the user's movement, at a scheduled notification timing, so as to vibrate while the user is performing the movement; and,
The second terminal is
comprising a communication unit that transmits information indicating a schedule for notification to the user to the first terminal;
Notification system.
A notification method performed by a terminal,
a step of obtaining information on detected user motion;
a step of generating vibration for notification to the user so as to vibrate while the user is performing the action, based on information obtained by detecting the user's action;
Notification method.
A program for causing a computer to function as each part of the terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3.