JP2002306660A - Mobile exercise mount estimation system and game system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience for users in an exercise amount estimation system such as pedometer using position measuring means such as GPS(gloval positioning system). SOLUTION: The present position of a user is acquired on the basis of a GPS signal received by a GPS receiving part 14. It is judged whether the present position of the user is within an exercise area or within a non-exercise area in reference to an action pattern map. When the present position is within the exercise area, the exercise quantity (moving distance, consumed calorie or the like) is calculated on the basis of the moving speed or the like. The calculation result is displayed and outputted by a display part 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exercise amount estimation system, a program, and a game system, and more particularly to a GP.
The present invention relates to a technique for estimating a user's exercise amount using a positioning means such as S.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-241193 discloses a pedometer for calculating a walking distance and a calorie consumption of a wearer using a GPS (Global Positioning System). This pedometer includes a GPS unit that receives a GPS signal and a direction sensor that detects a walking direction. A path connecting a point at which the walking direction has changed is defined as a walking path, and the distance is calculated as a walking distance of the user. In this way, the walking distance and the calorie consumption are calculated with higher accuracy than the conventional pedometer.

[0003]

However, in the above pedometer, the walking distance cannot be calculated unless the start and the end of the measurement of the walking distance are instructed by a button operation. And there is a problem that the usability is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to improve user convenience by estimating a user's behavior and calculating a user's exercise amount according to the behavior. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new exercise amount estimating system, a game system using the same, and a program.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, an exercise amount estimating system according to the present invention comprises: a current position obtaining means for obtaining a current position of a user; and a current position obtaining means for obtaining a current position of the user. It is characterized by including behavior estimation means for estimating the behavior of the user, and exercise quantity calculation means for calculating the exercise quantity of the user according to the estimated behavior of the user. Further, a program according to the present invention causes a computer to function as each of the above means.

According to the present invention, the behavior of the user is estimated based on the current position of the user. For example, if the user is moving on a highway or a railroad, it is estimated that the user is moving by car or train, and if the user is moving anywhere else, the user is walking. Presumed. Then, the amount of exercise is calculated according to the action of the user. For example, the amount of exercise may be calculated only when it is estimated to be walking, or when it is estimated to be moving using transportation such as a car, for example, basal metabolism may be calculated. It is also possible to estimate that there is a certain amount of energy consumption and calculate the amount of exercise corresponding to it. The amount of exercise is calculated in the form of, for example, energy consumption, travel distance, travel time, number of steps (in the case of walking), and the like. Thus, user convenience can be improved.

In one aspect of the present invention, the action estimating means stores an action type map in which a geographical position or a geographical range is associated with an action type in the geographical position or the geographical range. A type map storage unit for estimating the behavior of the user based on the acquired current position of the user and the behavior type map; Behavior type is
For example, it is information for distinguishing between exercise and non-exercise. This makes it possible to relatively easily estimate the behavior of the user.

In one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a moving speed acquiring means for acquiring the moving speed of the user, and the behavior estimating means further comprises a moving speed acquiring means for acquiring the moving speed of the user based on the acquired moving speed of the user. Estimate behavior. That way, if the user ’s movement is, for example, by transportation,
It is possible to estimate whether the movement is due to cycling or walking, and the behavior of the user can be more accurately estimated.

In one aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a moving speed acquiring means for acquiring the moving speed of the user, and the exercise amount calculating means further comprises a moving amount calculating means for acquiring the moving speed of the user based on the acquired moving speed of the user. Calculate the amount of exercise. In this way, it is possible to calculate a more likely amount of exercise.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an altitude difference acquiring unit for acquiring an altitude difference of the movement route of the user, wherein the exercise amount calculating unit further includes an altitude difference of the acquired moving route of the user. The exercise amount of the user is calculated based on In this way, a more probable estimated energy amount can be calculated.

Further, the game system according to the present invention comprises:
The exercise amount estimating system is configured to include a game character changing unit that changes a game character in a game space using the calculated amount of exercise of the user as at least one of the change parameters.

According to the present invention, it is possible to relate the amount of exercise of the user to a change in the growth of the game character. Thus, for example, as the amount of exercise of the user increases, a game effect such that the game character grows faster in the game space becomes possible, and the user can use the exercise amount estimating system while enjoying the upbringing of the game character.

Further, another game system of the present invention includes the above-mentioned exercise amount estimating system, and an evaluation means for evaluating the degree of the calculated amount of exercise of the user,
And notifying means for notifying the user of the evaluation result.

According to the present invention, for example, the higher the amount of exercise of the user, the higher the game score. Therefore, the user can use the exercise amount estimation system while enjoying the breeding of the game character.

[0015] In one aspect of the present invention, the evaluation unit evaluates the superiority or inferiority based on the amount of exercise of another user. In this case, for example, the amount of exercise of another user in a predetermined period is compared with the total amount of exercise of the user in the same period, and the comparison result is notified to the user as the superiority or inferiority, thereby competing the amount of exercise between the users. be able to.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a momentum estimation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the exercise amount estimation system 10 includes a GPS antenna 1
The GPS receiver 14 includes a GPS receiving unit 14 including a control unit 2, a control unit 16, a display unit 18, and an operation unit 20. GP
The S receiving unit 14 obtains current position information from a GPS signal received from a GPS satellite, and passes it to the control unit 16. The control unit 16 controls each unit of the apparatus according to control software (program).
(Central processing unit), a known microcomputer system including a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory) and the like. The display unit 18
For example, it is configured to include an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and based on the display data supplied from the control unit 16, displays the exercise amount estimation result or displays a game screen that progresses according to the exercise amount. It is. The operation unit 20
It is configured to include a round button and a cross button, and is used for the user to enjoy the game and to input basic information for calculating the amount of exercise such as weight, gender, presence / absence of luggage, weight of luggage, etc. Things.

The above configuration is accommodated in a housing and carried by a user. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of the exercise amount estimation system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, each component of the exercise amount estimation system 10 is housed in a housing 22, a display unit 18 and an operation unit 20 are disposed on a front surface, and a user's waist belt is disposed on a back surface (not shown). And the like, for example, a clip is provided.

The exercise amount estimation system 1 having the above configuration
0 is different from the conventional general pedometer, and the GPS receiver 14
With the current position of the user acquired by
The amount of exercise such as travel distance, travel time (how many minutes on foot, how many minutes on a jog, how many minutes on a bicycle, etc.), number of steps, energy consumption, etc. are calculated. For this purpose, a behavior type map is stored in a ROM included in the control unit 16. FIG.
Is a diagram showing an example of such a behavior type map. As shown in the figure, the action type map divides the user's action range into an exercise area 26 and a non-exercise area 24. Then, the RO unit included in the control unit 16 determines whether the exercise area 26 or the non-exercise area 24 is associated with the geographical range.
M is stored in advance. When acquiring the current position information from the GPS receiving unit 14, the control unit 16 determines whether the current position is within the exercise area 26 or within the non-exercise area 24.
Then, the exercise amount is calculated according to the determination result. Here, the non-exercise area 24 is, for example, an area where an expressway or a railway line is laid. The exercise area 26 is another area. Here, in the action type map, the user's action range is divided into the exercise area 26 and the non-exercise area 24, but more detailed area divisions (for example, a promenade area, a mountain climbing area,
(A jogging area, a swimming area, etc.).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the exercise amount estimating process using the action type map. The process shown in FIG. 3 is periodically executed by the control unit 16 according to control software stored in a ROM included in the control unit 16. As shown in the figure, in this process, first, the control unit 16 acquires the current position information output from the GPS receiving unit 14 (S101). Then, the moving speed is calculated based on the current position information acquired last time and the current position information acquired this time (S102). S101 and S102
Is stored in the RAM included in the control unit 16 as position and speed history data (S103). Next, the control unit 16 checks the current position on the behavior type map and checks whether the current position is in the exercise area 26 or the non-exercise area 24 (S
104). And when it is in the non-exercise area 24,
The exercise amount estimation processing ends. On the other hand, if the user is within the exercise area 26, the exercise amount of the user is calculated (S10).
5), the exercise amount estimation processing ends.

The calculation of the amount of exercise in S105 may be performed, for example, as follows. That is, first, based on the position and speed history data stored in the ROM, whether the user is walking, jogging (running), traveling by bicycle, traveling by transportation, that is, moving Judge the means. For example, a general speed range of walking, jogging, and cycling is set in advance, and by checking to which speed range the moving speed of the user belongs, whether the user is walking, jogging, What is necessary is just to judge whether it is moving. If the vehicle is moving at a speed equal to or higher than a predetermined speed (for example, several tens of km / h) continuously for a certain period of time, it may be determined that the vehicle is moving by transportation. Furthermore, if the specific behavior of the user cannot be completely determined based on the position and speed history data, an alarm (in this case, the control unit 16
Is connected to the sound generating means. ) May be output to allow the user to input a specific behavior mode from the operation unit 20. In addition, when the specific behavior mode of the user estimated in the step (S105) changes, the fact is notified by the above-mentioned sounding means or the like, and the user is asked to confirm the estimated behavior mode, and is erroneously performed. In such a case, the actual behavior mode may be input by the operation unit 20.

When the specific behavior mode (exercise mode) of the user is determined, then the exercise amount is calculated according to the behavior. For example, the basic energy consumption for each action (exercise) is read from a table (prepared in advance), and the value is multiplied by a coefficient such as gender, weight, luggage weight, moving speed, moving altitude difference, and the like. The amount may be calculated.
For gender, weight, and luggage weight, values set in advance by the user using the operation unit 20 are used. The moving speed is S102
Is used. Furthermore, the moving altitude difference is S
It is calculated based on the current position information acquired in 101. The energy consumption may be calculated by multiplying by a coefficient depending on temperature, humidity, and the like. In any case, it is more probable that the energy consumption is calculated in consideration of various parameters such as gender, weight, luggage weight, moving speed, moving altitude difference, temperature, humidity, and the like in addition to the behavior of the user. An estimated energy consumption can be calculated.

When the user's energy consumption is calculated as described above, the value is stored in the RA included in the control unit 16.
M, and is used to calculate the accumulated energy consumption for a certain period, for example, the accumulated energy consumption for the day. The exercise amount estimation system 10 can execute a character breeding game, and determines the degree of growth of a game character bred in a game space based on the calculated accumulated energy consumption. For this reason, the user can perform exercises such as walking while having fun watching the growing game character displayed on the display unit 18.

As described above, according to the exercise amount estimating system 10, it is determined whether the current position is within the exercise area 26 or the non-exercise area 24 based on the activity type map, and whether the user exercises or not is determined. Is first estimated, and then the means of movement is determined based on the moving speed of the user, and the specific type of exercise or non-exercise is secondarily estimated. In this way, more likely user behavior is estimated. Then, the amount of exercise is calculated according to the estimated behavior of the user. As a result, the amount of exercise such as energy consumption can be calculated in accordance with the behavior without instructing measurement start and measurement end before and after walking, and user convenience can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above description, the dedicated casing 22
Is used to realize the exercise amount estimation system 10, but the control software and the behavior type map R
OM (information storage medium), GPS antenna 12, and GP
The game cartridge provided with the S receiving unit 14 may be mounted on a known portable game machine to realize an exercise amount estimation system.

In the above description, all of the exercise amount estimation processing is completed inside the housing 22, but a part thereof may be performed by an external server (for example, on the Internet). For example, a communication unit such as a mobile phone may be connected to the control unit 16, the current position may be transmitted from the control unit 16 to an external server, and the instantaneous or accumulated exercise amount may be inquired. That is, the processes of S102 to S105 may be executed by the external server. At this time, the external server may manage the amount of exercise calculated by the large number of exercise amount estimation systems 10, generate a ranking of the amount of exercise for a certain period of time, for example, one week, and distribute the ranking to each of the exercise amount estimation systems 10. Good. This allows the user to compete for the amount of exercise. Alternatively, specific opponents may be selected and the amount of exercise may be competed between them.

In the above description, the calculation of the moving speed is performed based on the current position information output from the GPS receiving unit 14. However, the moving speed measuring means such as an acceleration sensor is separately provided to the control unit 16. And the moving speed output from the means may be used as basic information for calculating the momentum. Furthermore, the vertical vibration of the user may be detected by the acceleration sensor, the number of steps of the user may be counted, and the count may be used as basic information for calculating the amount of exercise. In a place where a GPS signal cannot be received (underground or the like), the number of steps of the user counted based on the output of the acceleration sensor may be used as main basic information when calculating the amount of exercise of the user.

In the above description, the current position of the user (of the housing 22) is obtained by using the GPS. However, a current position obtaining function such as a PHS may be used.

Further, in the above description, the estimated amount of exercise is calculated for each type of behavior such as walking, jogging, and cycling. However, only when it is estimated that the user is walking, the estimated number of steps, estimated walking distance, Alternatively, an estimated exercise amount (walking amount) such as an estimated energy consumption may be calculated and output.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the behavior of the user is estimated based on the current position of the user, and the amount of exercise of the user is calculated in accordance with the behavior of the user. Convenience can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a momentum estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a housing of the exercise amount estimation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a behavior type map.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a momentum estimation process.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 momentum estimation system, 12 GPS antenna, 1
4 GPS receiving unit, 16 control unit, 18 display unit, 20
Operation unit, 22 housing, 24 non-exercise area, 26 exercise area.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. a current position obtaining unit for obtaining a current position of a user; an activity estimating unit for estimating an action of the user based on the obtained current position of the user; And an exercise amount calculating means for calculating an exercise amount of the user. 2. The activity amount estimating system according to claim 1, wherein the action estimating means associates a geographical position or a geographical range with an activity type in the geographical position or the geographical range. And a behavior type map storage unit for storing the current position of the user and the behavior type map that are acquired, and estimating the behavior of the user. 3. The exercise amount estimating system according to claim 1, further comprising a moving speed acquiring unit for acquiring the moving speed of the user, wherein the behavior estimating unit further acquires the acquired moving speed of the user. And estimating the behavior of the user based on the following. 4. The exercise amount estimation system according to claim 1, further comprising: a movement speed acquisition unit that acquires a movement speed of the user, wherein the exercise amount calculation unit further acquires the movement speed of the user. Calculating the exercise amount of the user based on the following. 5. The exercise amount estimating system according to claim 1, further comprising an altitude difference acquiring unit that acquires an altitude difference of a moving route of the user, wherein the exercise amount calculating unit further comprises: An exercise amount estimating system, wherein the exercise amount of the user is calculated based on the acquired altitude difference of the movement route of the user. 6. A game system including the exercise amount estimating system according to claim 1, wherein the calculated amount of exercise of the user is at least one of the change parameters, and the game character is set in a game space. A game character changing means for changing the game character. 7. A game system including the exercise amount estimating system according to claim 1, wherein an evaluation means for evaluating the degree of the calculated amount of exercise of the user, and an evaluation result for the user. And a notifying means for notifying the game system. 8. The game system according to claim 7, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the superiority or inferiority based on the amount of exercise of another user. 9. A current position obtaining means for obtaining a current position of the user, an action estimating means for estimating the action of the user based on the obtained current position of the user, and according to the estimated action of the user. A program for causing a computer to function as exercise amount calculation means for calculating the amount of exercise of the user.