Patent ID: 7039630
Filing Date: 2006-05-02
Classification: H04N,Y10S

Abstract:
1. An information search and presentation system comprising: a 3D image converter for outputting 3D image data on the basis of a plurality of aerial photographs obtained by photographing a single area from different places, with a physical position of the area being specified; a first database for storing a pair of a textual expression and position information as a unit record, the textual expression pertaining to a name and contents of a landmark existing in the area photographed to obtain the aerial photographs; a search engine for outputting link information for page data including associated contents from a set of page data on public view in a World Wide Web in response to an input keyword; a 3D image browser for creating a 3D stereoscopic image viewed from a viewpoint position designated by a user on the basis of the 3D image data from said 3D image converter and the viewpoint position, presenting the image to the user, looking up said first database in accordance with an associated information presentation request associated with the position designated by the user, and, if a landmark corresponding to the designated position exists, outputting to said search engine the textual expression pertaining to a name and contents of the corresponding landmark as obtained from said first database, as a keyword to be provided as a search term to said search engine to search the World Wide Web; a second database for storing user stay information constituted by a pair of a landmark where the user stayed and a stay duration of a user's stay; a log retention section for recording a pair of a viewpoint position of the user and a corresponding time as a movement log; a time storage section storing a minimum stay duration in a landmark area, in advance, which is used to determine whether the user is interested in a specific landmark; a distance storage section storing a distance indicating a range of a landmark area, in advance, which is used to determine whether the user is interested in a specific landmark; a stay duration calculation section for extracting a position of a landmark over which the user passed and a corresponding time from movement logs retained in said log retention section by referring to said second database, and calculating a stay duration in the landmark area from first and last times at which a viewpoint position of the user is located within the range indicated by the distance stored in said distance storage section which corresponds to positions before and after the position of the extracted landmark; a stay landmark determination section for, when the stay duration output from said stay duration calculation section is not less than the time stored in said time storage section, determining that the user has stayed in the landmark, and adding a unit record constituted by a pair of a landmark name and a stay duration to said second database; an instruction log retention section for recording a unit record constituted by a pair of a landmark name for which an associated information presentation instruction is issued by the user and a designated time as an information presentation instruction log; and a presentation section for outputting all records in said second database and all records in said log retention section in accordance with a totalizing result presentation instruction.