Patent Publication Number: US-2021176575-A1

Title: Information processing device, music playing speed decision system, and program

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2019-222444, filed on Dec. 9, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiment described herein relate generally to an information processing device, a music playing speed decision system, and a program. 
     BACKGROUND 
     According to the related art, mass retailer stores employ the practice of playing music such as so-called BGM (background music). To play BGM in the stores, a BGM distribution system for selecting a piece of music according to the state in the store is proposed. 
     The BGM distribution system according to the related art selects a piece of BGM, based on information about customers inputted to a POS (point of sales) terminal. Specifically, the BGM distribution system acquires customer information such as gender and age, then determines the customer base in the store based on the customer information, and selects BGM that is expected to be liked by this customer base. 
     The BGM distribution system is intended exclusively to provide apiece of music that customers will find comfortable, and is not aimed at prompting any change in customers&#39; purchase behavior. Preferably, the store may effectively utilize BGM or the like played in the store, for example, to alleviate overcrowding in the store. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an entire system including an information processing device of an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  shows an outline of a store employing a music playing speed decision system. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device. 
         FIG. 4  shows contents of a music list section. 
         FIG. 5  shows contents of an attribute table. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information processing device. 
         FIG. 7  is a sequence chart showing a flow employed by the entire system. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing processing by a control unit. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An object of an embodiment is to provide an information processing device, a music playing speed decision system, and a program that enable a store to effectively utilize a piece of music played in the store, such as BGM. 
     In general, according to one embodiment, an information processing device includes: a crowd information acquisition unit configured to acquire crowd information representing a crowd level in a store; a decision unit configured to decide a speed of a piece of music played in the store, based on the crowd information acquired by the crowd information acquisition unit; and an output unit configured to output information about the piece of music played at the speed selected by the decision unit. 
     An embodiment of an information processing device and a music playing speed decision system will now be described.  FIG. 1  shows a BGM distribution system including an information processing device and a music playing speed decision system. The BGM distribution system has a BGM distribution server  1  and a music playing speed decision system  2 . 
     The BGM distribution server  1  is provided at a management center of a corporation providing a BGM distribution service to a mass retailer or the like. The BGM distribution server  1  stores many BGM contents. The music playing speed decision system  2  is installed at each store of a corporation operating a mass retailer. The music playing speed decision system  2  has a store server  3  and ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5 . 
     The store server  3  forms an information processing device and is connected to the BGM distribution server  1  via a network N such as the internet. The store server  3  is also connected to the ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5 , players  6 ,  7 , and a POS terminal  8  via a network such as a LAN (local area network). The ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5  form a detection device detecting the crowd level in the store and pick up an image showing the state of the selling area in the store. The ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5  also have the function of a detection device detecting a change in the crowd level in the store, and the function of a recognition device recognizing an attribute of a customer in the store. The “crowd level in the store” may be the number of customers in the entire area of the store or may be the number of customer in a predetermined area such as a first area Y or a second area Z, described later. That is, the “crowd level in the store” may be what is defined based on the number of customers present in any area, for example, the number of customers, or the number of customers per unit area or the like. 
     The players  6 ,  7  play a BGM content distributed from the BGM distribution server  1 . In a store A in  FIG. 1 , the ceiling area is divided into sections, and a BGM content based on the result of image pickup by the ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5  is provided on a per section basis. Meanwhile, in a store B, the ceiling area cameras  4 ,  5  are installed on a per section basis of the selling area. One player  6  is provided and the same BGM content is provided to the entire selling area. The number of players can be suitably set according to the size of the selling area. The POS terminal  8  is arranged in the selling area and performs commodity registration processing and payment processing. 
       FIG. 2  shows an example of an outline of the store A employing the BGM distribution system. In a selling area X of a mass retailer such as a supermarket, many product display shelves  9  are arranged. The selling area X is divided into a first area Y and a second area Z by the product display shelves  9 . In the first area Y, the selling area camera  4  picking up an image showing the state of customers present in the first area Y, and a speaker  10  connected to the player  6  for playing BGM in the first area Y, are provided. Similarly, in the second area Z, the selling area camera  5  picking up an image showing the state of customers present in the second area Z, and a speaker  11  connected to the player  7  for playing BGM in the second area Z, are provided. 
     In the selling area X, a plurality of checkout counters  12  where the customer performs the accounting, are installed. The POS terminal  8  is provided on each checkout counter  12 . In the illustration, the reference number  13  is the entrance of the selling area X and the reference number  14  is the exit. Instead of the selling area cameras  4 ,  5 , a detection device that can recognize the passage of a person, such as a camera or infrared sensor, can be provided at each of the entrance  13  and the exit  14 . Thus, the crowd level in the selling area X can be detected, based on the number of people entering the selling area X and the number of people exiting the selling area X. 
     The hardware configuration of the store server  3  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 3 . The store server  3  is formed of a computer and has a control unit  20 , a memory unit  30 , a communication interface  40 , and the like. The control unit  20 , the memory unit  30 , and the communication interface  40  are connected to each other via a bus  41 . 
     The control unit  20  has a CPU (central processing unit)  21 , a ROM (read-only memory)  22 , and a RAM (random-access memory)  23 . The CPU  21 , the ROM  22 , and the RAM  23  are connected to each other via the bus  41 . The CPU  21  controls the operations of the store server  3  as a whole. The ROM  22  stores various programs such as a program used to drive the CPU  21 , and various data. The RAM  23  is used as a work area for the CPU  21 . In the RAM  23 , various programs and various data stored in the ROM  22  and the memory unit  30  are loaded. As the CPU  21  operates according to a control program stored in the ROM  22  or the memory unit  30  and loaded in the RAM  23 , the control unit  20  executes various kinds of control processing in the store server  3 . 
     The memory unit  30  has a control program section  31 , a BGM list section  32 , an attribute table section  33 , and a content memory section  34 . The control program section  31  stores various control programs, in addition to a control program for the store server  3  to function as an information processing device that is a part of the music playing speed decision system  2 . 
     The control program may be provided in the form of being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Also, the control program executed by the information processing device in this embodiment may be provided in the form of being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the internet and then downloaded via the network. Moreover, the control program may be provided or distributed via a network such as the internet. 
     The BGM list section  32  stores a list of pieces of BGM to be played by the players  6 ,  7 . Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the BGM list is a list of pieces of music corresponding to store state level  321 , number of customers  322 , BPM (beats per minute)  323 , title  324 , and genre  325 . The state level  321  indicates the degree of crowd in the selling area and is set on a per number of customers recognized by each selling area camera. The number of customers  322  is the number of customers recognized by each selling area camera. The BPM  323  is broadly known value indicating the speed of a piece of music and defines a range of BPM values corresponding to the state level  321 . The title  324  is the title of BGM. The genre  325  is the genre of music of the BGM content, such as classical, pop, rock, and traditional-style Japanese popular ballad. 
     The BGM list is set in such a way that the speed of music becomes higher as the number of customers becomes larger. This is based on the result of research showing that the walking speed of customers becomes higher as the tempo (speed) of BGM becomes higher in a supermarket or the like. Specifically, when the degree of crowd is high, playing a piece of music at a high speed facilitates the movement of customers and thus alleviates overcrowding. Meanwhile, when the degree of crowd is low, playing a piece of music at a low speed restrains the movement of customers and causes the customers to stay longer, and thus leads to increased sales. 
     The BGM list is used to decide the music speed of BGM played in the selling area. As will be described in detail later, as an example of the decision, if the number of customers picked up by the selling area camera  4  is fewer than 50 people, the control unit  20  determines that the state level is 1 and decides to play a piece of music in a music list 1 with BPM values of 81 to 120. Also, the way in which pieces of music in spare lists 1, 2 corresponding to the state level  321  and the number of customers  322  that are blank in  FIG. 4  will be described later. 
     The attribute table section  33  in the memory unit  30  stores an attribute table showing a correspondence between age  331  and music genre  332 , which is an example of attribute of customers, as shown in  FIG. 5 . As an attribute, not only age but also anything that can be estimated at least via the selling area camera  4 , such as gender, can be used. The content memory section  34  stores a BGM content distributed from the BGM distribution server  1 . 
     The communication interface  40  is connected to the BGM distribution server  1 , the selling area cameras  4 ,  5 , the players  6 ,  7 , and the POS terminal  8 . Thus, the control unit  20  can transmit and receive information (data) to and from each of the BGM distribution server  1 , the selling area cameras  4 ,  5 , the players  6 ,  7 , and the POS terminal  8 . 
     The functional configuration of the control unit in the store server  3  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 6 . As the CPU  21  operates according to the control program stored in the ROM  22  or the control program section  31  in the memory unit  30 , the control unit  20  functions as an input unit  201 , an analysis unit  202 , a crowd information acquisition unit  203 , a change information acquisition unit  204 , an attribute information acquisition unit  205 , a decision unit  206 , a selection unit  207 , a music selection unit  208 , and an output unit  209 . 
     The input unit  201  inputs crowd information outputted from an information output unit of the detection device detecting the crowd level in the store. Specifically, the input unit  201  input image information of the first area Y of the selling area from an information output unit of the selling area camera  4 . This image information is a kind of crowd information. The analysis unit  202  analyzes the image information inputted by the input unit  201  and grasps the number of customers present in the first area Y and the estimated ages of the customers. In addition, the analysis unit  202  generates estimated age distribution of the customers present in the first area Y. The analysis unit  202  also compares the image information inputted by the input unit  201  with previously inputted image information and calculates a change in the number of customers present in the first area Y. 
     The crowd information acquisition unit  203  acquires crowd information representing the crowd level in the store. Specifically, the crowd information acquisition unit  203  acquires the number of customers which is the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  202 . The change information acquisition unit  204  acquires change information representing a change in the crowd level in the store. Specifically, the change information acquisition unit  204  acquires the change in the number of customers which is the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  202 . The attribute information acquisition unit  205  acquires attribute information of customers present in the store. Specifically, the attribute information acquisition unit  205  acquires the estimated age distribution of the customers generated by the analysis unit  202 . 
     The decision unit  206  decides the speed of music played in the store, based on the crowd information acquired by the crowd information acquisition unit  203 . In this embodiment, the decision unit  206  decides the speed of the piece of BGM played in the first area Y, based on the crowd information from the crowd information acquisition unit  203  and the change information from the change information acquisition unit  204 . 
     The selection unit  207  selects the genre of the piece of music played in the store, based on the attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit  205 . In this embodiment, the selection unit  207  selects the genre corresponding to the largest age group of customers present in the store, based on the estimated age distribution of the customers from the attribute information acquisition unit  205  and with reference to the attribute table shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     The music selection unit  208  selects pieces of music that satisfy the condition from among the music lists shown in  FIG. 4  and generates a music list, based on the speed of music decided by the decision unit  206  and the genre selected by the selection unit  207 . The output unit  209  outputs information about pieces of music corresponding to the speed decided by the decision unit  206 . In this embodiment, the output unit  209  transmits the music list generated by the music selection unit  208  to the BGM distribution server  1 . The output unit  209  outputs the music list and thus outputs information about the pieces of music corresponding to the speed and information about the genre of the pieces of music. 
     The operations of the BGM distribution system including the music playing speed decision system  2  according to this embodiment will now be described with reference to  FIG. 7 . The sequence chart shown in  FIG. 7  shows an example of picking up an image of the first area Y by the selling area camera  4  and setting a piece of BGM to be played in the first area Y by the player  6  and the speaker  10 . To set a piece of BGM to be played in the second area Z, the BGM distribution system carries out a similar operation, using the selling area camera  5 , the player  7 , and the speaker  11 . In the case of the store B shown in  FIG. 1 , the BGM distribution system sets a piece of BGM, based on information from the selling area camera that detects a larger number of customers, of the selling area cameras  4 ,  5 . 
     First, the selling area camera  4  picks up an image of the first area Y (ACT  1 ) and transmits the picked-up image data to the store server  3  (ACT  2 ). The image data is a kind of crowd information representing the crowd level in the store. The analysis unit  202  of the store server  3  analyzes the received image data (ACT  3 ). Based on the result of the analysis, the crowd information acquisition unit  203  acquires the crowd information, that is, the number of customers present in the first area Y (ACT  4 ). Similarly, based on the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  202 , the change information acquisition unit  204  acquires change information, that is, the difference between the number of customers based on the result of the analysis on image data previously received from the selling area camera  4  and the number of customers based on the result of the analysis on the image data that is received this time (ACT  5 ). Also, based on the result of the analysis by the analysis unit  202 , the attribute information acquisition unit  205  acquires the attribute information, that is, the age distribution of the customers present in the first area Y (ACT  6 ). 
     The store server  3  then performs music selection processing (ACT  7 ). The music selection processing is the processing of generating a music list to be outputted from the output unit  209 , based on the speed of music decided by the decision unit  206  and the genre of music selected by the selection unit  207 . Details of the music selection processing will be described later, using a flowchart. 
     When the music list is generated, the output unit  209  of the store server  3  outputs a BGM content distribution request along with the music list to the BGM distribution server  1  (ACT  8 ). In response to the BGM content distribution request from the store server  3 , the BGM distribution server  1  transmits BGM contents of the pieces of music in the music list to the store server  3  (ACT  9 ). 
     The store server  3  temporarily stores the received BGM contents into the content memory section  34  (ACT  10 ) and transmits a piece of music to the player  6  when the timing to play the piece of music in the first area Y comes (ACT  11 ). The player  6  plays back the received piece of music and thus plays the piece of music via the speaker  10  provided in the first area Y (ACT  12 ). The player  6  outputs a detection instruction to the selling area camera  4  a predetermined time prior to the end of the piece of music currently being played, for example, one minute prior to the end of the piece of music (ACT  13 ). In response to the detection instruction, the selling area camera  4  picks up an image showing the state of the first area Y at the time (ACT  1 ). Then, the above processing is repeated. In this embodiment, the selling area camera  4  picks up image data at the time during the playback of a piece of music and transmits the picked-up image data to the store server  3 . However, the selling area camera  4  may transmit image data to the store server  3  every predetermined time, for example, every 15 minutes. 
     Through the above flow, a piece of music to be played in the first area Y is set. In other words, the speed of the piece of music played in the first area Y is decided, based on the crowd level in the first area Y, and the genre of music is decided, based on an attribute of customers in the first area Y. 
     The music selection processing carried out by the control unit  20  will now be described with reference to the flowchart of  FIG. 8 . The decision unit  206  determines whether the state level is 1 or not, based on the crowd information acquired by the crowd information acquisition unit  203  (ACT  21 ). Specifically, the decision unit  206  determines whether the number of customers in the first area Y is 50 people or fewer, or not. If the state level is 1 (Yes in ACT  21 ), the decision unit  206  determines whether there is any change or not, based on the change information acquired by the change information acquisition unit  204  (ACT  22 ). Specifically, the decision unit  206  determines whether the number of customers in the first area Y acquired by the crowd information acquisition unit  203  is increased by 5 people or more from the previous number of customers, or not. 
     If there is a change (Yes in ACT  22 ), the decision unit  206  selects the music list 1 (ACT  23 ). If there is no change (No in ACT  22 ), the decision unit  206  selects the spare list 1 (ACT  24 ). If the number of customers is increased by 5 people or more at the state level 1, where the degree of crowd is low, the piece of music in the music list 1 played at the time is determined as effective (increasing the staying time) and therefore the speed of the music list 1 is maintained. If the piece of music is determined as effective, the speed of the music list 1 is maintained so as not to make customers feel uncomfortable due to unnecessary slowdown of the music. If the number of customers is not increased by 5 people or more, the music list 1 is determined as not effective and therefore the spare list 1 with faster pieces of music is selected. 
     If the state level is not 1 in ACT  21  (No in ACT  21 ), the decision unit  206  determines whether the state level is 2 or not (ACT  25 ). If the state level is 2 (Yes in ACT  25 ), the decision unit  206  selects the music list 2 (ACT  26 ). Specifically, the decision unit  206  determines whether the number of customers in the first area Y is 51 people or more and 100 people or less, or not. If the state level is 2, the decision unit  206  determines the number of customers in the first area Y as appropriate and selects the music list 2, which does not actively prompt customers to take any particular action. 
     If the state level is not 2 in ACT  25  (No in ACT  25 ), that is, if the state level is 3, where the number of customers is 101 people or more, the decision unit  206  determines whether there is any change or not, based on the change information acquired by the change information acquisition unit  204  (ACT  27 ). This determination on whether there is a change or not is the determination on whether the number of customers in the first area Y acquired by the crowd information acquisition unit  203  is decreased by 5 people or more from the previous number of customers, or not. 
     If there is a change (Yes in ACT  27 ), the decision unit  206  selects the music list 3 (ACT  28 ). If there is no change (No in ACT  27 ), the decision unit  206  selects the spare list 2 (ACT  29 ). If the number of customers is decreased by 5 people or more at the state level 3, where the degree of crowd is high, the piece of music in the music list 3 played at the time is determined as effective (alleviating overcrowding) and therefore the speed of the music list 3 is maintained. If the piece of music is determined as effective, the speed of the music list 3 is maintained so as not to make customers feel uncomfortable due to unnecessary speedup of the music. If the number of customers is not decreased by 5 people or more, the music list 3 is determined as not effective and therefore the spare list 2 with even faster pieces of music is selected. 
     After the decision unit  206  selects one of the music lists and decides the speed of music, the selection unit  207  selects a genre based on the attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit  205  (ACT  30 ). Specifically, the selection unit  207  selects the genre corresponding to the largest age group of customers in the first area Y, referring to the attribute table in  FIG. 5 . Subsequently, the music selection unit  208  extracts pieces of music corresponding to the genre selected by the selection unit  207 , from the music list corresponding to the music speed decided by the decision unit  206 , and generates a music list (ACT  31 ). Then, the music selection processing ends. 
     As described above, the store server  3 , which is the information processing device in this embodiment, decides the speed of music played in the store according to the crowd level in the store and outputs information about pieces of music corresponding to this speed. Specifically, the speed of music becomes higher as the degree of crowd in the store becomes higher. Therefore, the BGM distribution system receiving the output from the store server  3  provides, to the store, a piece of music with a higher speed corresponding to a higher degree of crowd and thus can prompt the movement of customers and can lead to alleviation of overcrowding in the store. Meanwhile, if the degree of crowd is low, the BGM distribution system provides, to the store, a piece of music with a lower speed and thus can restrain the movement of customers and increase the staying time, leading to an increase in sales in the store. Thus, the store server  3  in this embodiment enables a store to effectively utilize music played in the store, such as BGM. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the number of customers indicating the degree of crowd and the BPM value indicating the speed are both defined over a certain range. As is clear from this definition, the condition that the speed of music becomes higher as the degree of crowd becomes higher as referred to in this description does not require a one-to-one relationship between the degree of crowd (number of customers) and the speed of music (BPM value). 
     The store server  3  in this embodiment acquires crowd information representing the crowd level at the time when a piece of music is played in the store, and decides the speed of the next piece of music to be played. Therefore, the speed of music played in the store can be decided in good timing corresponding to the state in the store, and the purchase behavior of customers can be changed swiftly. 
     Also, the store server  3  in this embodiment decides the speed of music in consideration of the change information in addition to the crowd level. Therefore, whether the music played based on the crowd level causes a change in the purchase behavior of customers or not can be checked. If the music is considered not very effective, the speed of music can be changed further to lead to improve effectiveness. Moreover, the store server  3  in this embodiment selects a genre of music according to the attribute information and therefore can play music that is considered to meet the preference of customers. 
     Although the store server  3  in this embodiment outputs a music list to the BGM distribution serve  1  and thus outputs information about pieces of music corresponding to the speed, the store server  3  may output only the BPM value indicating the speed of music. Similarly, while the store server  3  in this embodiment outputs a music list to the BGM distribution server  1  and thus outputs information about the genre of music, the store server  3  may output only the genre. In these cases, the BGM distribution server  1  selects a piece of music according to the received BPM value and genre. If the BGM distribution server  1  receives only the BPM value, the BGM distribution server  1  may change only the speed of the currently played piece of music, instead of changing to a piece of music with a different speed. If the control unit  20  of the store server  3  determines that the degree of crowd is higher in the first area Y than in the second area Z as a result of comparing the crowd levels in the first area Y and the second area Z, the store server  3  may output information about a piece of music having a speed corresponding to the degree of crowd in the first area Y, to the BGM distribution server  1 . Consequently, the speed of music played in each area can be set, based on the area where the degree of crowd is higher. 
     While BGM distribution server  1  has BGM contents in this embodiment, the store server  3  may have BGM contents. Also, while the BGM distribution system is applied to a selling area in this embodiment, the BGM distribution system can be applied to various places in a store including indoor and outdoor sites. Although the relationship between the degree of crowd and the speed of music in this embodiment is set as shown in  FIG. 4 , the setup can be suitably changed, such as raising or lowering the state level or changing the BPM value corresponding to each state level. 
     The embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The embodiment can be carried out in various other forms. Various omission, replacements, and alterations can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The embodiment and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the disclosure and also included in the scope of what is described in the claims and equivalents thereof.