This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-249077 filed Dec. 2, 2013.
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer-readable medium.
The gist of the present invention resides in the following aspect of the invention.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus including a detection unit, an analysis unit, and a display unit. The detection unit detects pieces of information used in a meeting and operator's operations performed in the meeting or device operations performed in the meeting. The analysis unit analyzes a co-occurrence relationship between the pieces of information and the operator's operations or the device operations which are detected by the detection unit. The display unit displays the relationship between the pieces of information and the operator's operations or the device operations which are detected by the detection unit, on the basis of a result of the analysis performed by the analysis unit.
Exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
An exemplary embodiment suitable to embody the present invention will be described below on the basis of the drawings.
In general, a module refers to a component, such as software that is logically separable (a computer program) or hardware. Thus, a module in the exemplary embodiment refers to not only a module in terms of a computer program but also a module in terms of a hardware configuration. Consequently, the description of the exemplary embodiment serves as the description of a system, a method, and a computer program which cause the hardware configuration to function as a module (a program that causes a computer to execute procedures, a program that causes a computer to function as units, or a program that causes a computer to implement functions). For convenience of explanation, the terms “to store something” and “to cause something to store something”, and equivalent terms are used. These terms mean that a storage apparatus stores something or that a storage apparatus is controlled so as to store something, when computer programs are used in the exemplary embodiment. One module may correspond to one function. However, in the implementation, one module may constitute one program, or multiple modules may constitute one program. Alternatively, multiple programs may constitute one module. Additionally, multiple modules may be executed by one computer, or one module may be executed by multiple computers in a distributed or parallel processing environment. One module may include another module. Hereinafter, the term “connect” refers to logical connection, such as transmission/reception of data, an instruction, or reference relationship between pieces of data, as well as physical connection. The term “predetermined” refers to a state in which determination has been made before a target process. This term also includes a meaning in which determination has been made in accordance with the situation or the state at that time or before that time, not only before processes according to the exemplary embodiment start, but also before the target process starts even after the processes according to the exemplary embodiment have started. When multiple “predetermined values” are present, these may be different from each other, or two or more of the values (including all values, of course) may be the same. A description having a meaning of “when A is satisfied, B is performed” is used as a meaning in which whether or not A is satisfied is determined and, when it is determined that A is satisfied, B is performed. However, this term does not include a case where the determination of whether or not A is satisfied is unnecessary.
A system or an apparatus refers to one in which multiple computers, pieces of hardware, devices, and the like are connected to each other by using a communication unit such as a network which includes one-to-one communication connection, and also refers to one which is implemented by using a computer, a piece of hardware, a device, or the like. The terms “apparatus” and “system” are used as terms that are equivalent to each other. As a matter of course, the term “system” does not include what is nothing more than a social “mechanism” (social system) which is constituted by man-made agreements.
In each of the processes corresponding to modules, or in each of the processes included in a module, target information is read out from a storage apparatus. After the process is performed, the processing result is written in a storage apparatus. Accordingly, no description about the reading of data from the storage apparatus before the process and the writing into the storage apparatus after the process may be made. Examples of the storage apparatus may include a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), an external storage medium, a storage apparatus via a communication line, and a register in a central processing unit (CPU).
Remarks which trigger an animated discussion, or messages or ideas which exert an influence on the overall discussion rather than particulars may be presented in a meeting.
Operators' operations and device operations which promote a flow of discussion or a creative situation that produces such remarks, messages, ideas, and the like and that is produced by participants are referred to as “key contexts”.
Typically, a meeting may be recorded in rich media such as a video and a sound. In the related art, in order to find out a key context from the recorded information, for example, the video needs to be analyzed in detail to analyze the context. Therefore, although a key context plays a major role, it is difficult to objectively and explicitly present a key context, and the key context fails to be reused as knowledge or experience.
An information processing apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment displays the relationship between information used in a meeting and operators' operations or device operations. As illustrated in
The detection module 110 is connected to the storage module 120. The detection module 110 detects information used in a meeting, and operators' operations or device operations in the meeting. The detection module 110 captures the information, the operators' operations, and the device operations in the meeting.
In a meeting, people conduct a study, a discussion, and the like, and operations (such as selection, moving, deletion, creation, editing, and viewing) are performed on information. In addition, operators perform operations on the information, or devices are operated to handle the information. Examples of a meeting include what are called a meeting for reviewing an idea, a discussion, a workshop, a conference, a meeting for producing ideas, and a review meeting.
Examples of information (hereinafter, also referred to as content) include an electronic document (hereinafter, also referred to as a document), an electronic sticky note (hereinafter, also referred to as a sticky note), an electronic pasteboard on which electronic sticky notes are attached, an electronic video (including a still image and a movie), an electronic sound, and a combination of these. The detection module 110 detects information which is a target in the meeting, i.e., an information identification (ID) with which the information may be identified in the present exemplary embodiment.
An operator (a participant or a facilitator in a meeting) may be specified, for example, by specifying the owner (the operator ID with which an operator may be identified in the present exemplary embodiment) of a device, such as a personal computer (PC) or a cellular phone (including a smart phone), with which an operation is performed, or by reading an integrated circuit (IC) card or the like carried by the operator to obtain the operator ID. An operation performed by an operator may be detected by using the detection module 110 which detects an operation performed on a device, or by using the detection module 110 which uses a sensor, a camera, or the like to detect an operation performed by the operator. Examples of an operation include writing onto a whiteboard, a stocky note, or the like, editing (specifically, switching of sticky notes, modification or addition of a handwritten annotation written with an electronic pen, and the like), a speech detected by a sensor, raising of a hand, and moving.
A target device may be any device as long as it is used in the meeting. A device operation may be detected in such a manner that the device notifies the detection module 110 of the operation, or that the detection module 110 uses a sensor, a camera, or the like to detect the device operation. Examples of a device include a keyboard, an infrared camera, a digital pen, a whiteboard, a projector, and a printer. Examples of a device operation include power-on and power-off, as well as the functions provided by the device. For example, a function provided by a device may be one of making transition of a screen when a projector is used, and may be one of making transition of a screen (scrolling) when a whiteboard is used.
For example, the operators' operations and the device operations which are to be detected are defined in a context-information extraction definition table 400. The detection module 110 stores the context-information extraction definition table 400. The operators' operations and the device operations which are to be detected may be changed by rewriting the data in the context-information extraction definition table 400.
Hereinafter, a context encompasses an operator's operation or a device operation in a meeting.
The storage module 120 is connected to the detection module 110 and the information analysis module 130. The storage module 120 stores “information used in a meeting”, and “operators' operations in the meeting” or “device operations in the meeting” which are detected by the detection module 110 as a log (history). For example, the storage module 120 stores a context-information table 500.
The information analysis module 130 is connected to the storage module 120, the information search module 140, and the information display module 150. The information analysis module 130 analyzes the co-occurrence relationship between information and operators' operations or device operations which were detected by the detection module 110. Examples will be described below with reference to
The information search module 140 is connected to the information analysis module 130 and the information display module 150. The information search module 140 searches the storage module 120 for the information and the operators' operations or the device operations which have been subjected to the analysis by the information analysis module 130, and transmits them to the information display module 150 to display them.
The information display module 150 is connected to the information analysis module 130 and the information search module 140. The information display module 150 displays the relationship between the information and the operators' operations or the device operations which were detected by the detection module 110, on the basis of the analysis result from the information analysis module 130.
The information display module 150 may display the relationship by using a first axis and a second axis having a time unit larger than that of the first axis. Along the first axis, the information and the operators' operations or the device operations which were detected by the detection module 110 are arranged in time series. Along the second axis, groups constituted by the pieces of information and groups constituted by the operators' operations or groups constituted by the device operations which were detected by the detection module 110 are arranged in time series. An example will be described below with reference to
The information display module 150 may dispose a piece of information detected by the detection module 110, at the center, and may dispose the other pieces of information and the operators' operations or the device operations which were detected by the detection module 110, around the piece of information on the basis of the result of the analysis performed by the information analysis module 130 on the piece of information so that the closer the distance obtained from the analysis result from the information analysis module 130 is, the closer the distance from the center is. Examples will be described below with reference to
The information display module 150 displays the relationship between the information and the operators' operations or the device operations in a tree format. The information display module 150 may dispose reference information at the base of a tree, and may dispose the other information and the operators' operations or the device operations on the trunk or branches on the basis of the analysis result from the information analysis module 130 so that the longer the time period from the creation of the reference information is, the longer the distance from the position of the reference information is. Examples will be described below with reference to
In step S202, the detection module 110 detects operators' operations or device operations in a meeting.
In step S204, the storage module 120 stores the detected information.
In step S206, the detection module 110 determines whether or not the condition that the meeting ends or that the information display module 150 has received an instruction for display is satisfied. If the determination result is positive, the process proceeds to step S208. Otherwise, the process returns back to step S202. For example, it may be determined that a meeting ends, when power-off for all of the devices used in the meeting is detected.
In step S208, the information analysis module 130 extracts a key context. In step S210, the information search module 140 performs searching in accordance with the specified display form. Examples of the display form include those illustrated in
In step S212, the information display module 150 displays the search result in the specified display form.
The way of extracting a key context, which is performed by the information analysis module 130, will be described with reference to
To determine the co-occurrence relationship between content and context which are recorded at the same time on the time axis, a known algorithm (group similarity) for determining co-occurrence relationship typically between two terms is extended so that the algorithm may be applied to a polynomial.
A co-occurrence coefficient is a scale representing how often a certain pair of events “co-occurs”. Examples of a typical index include the Jaccard coefficient, the Simpson coefficient, and the cosine distance.
For each of the indexes, the way of measuring co-occurrence of a pair of “X” and “Y” will be described.
The number of occurrences of “X” alone is represented by |X|, and the number of occurrences of “Y” alone is represented by |Y|. The number of occurrences of at least one of “X” and “Y” is represented by |X∪Y|. The number of occurrences of both of “X” and “Y” is represented by |X∩Y|. A co-occurrence frequency means the number of co-occurrences, and is calculated by using |X∩Y|.
(1) Jaccard coefficient: The Jaccard coefficient is a ratio of occurrences of both of “X” and “Y” with respect to occurrences of at least one of “X” and “Y”, and is calculated by using |X∩Y|/|X∪Y|.
(2) Simpson coefficient: In the case of the Jaccard coefficient, when co-occurrences are found in a state in which the number of occurrences of one of “X” and “Y” is large, the denominator is large, resulting in a small Jaccard coefficient.
At that time, the Simpson coefficient in which the “min” operation is used in the denominator is efficient. The calculation is made by using Expression (1) described below.
(3) The cosine distance is an index located between the Jaccard coefficient and the Simpson coefficient. The cosine distance is obtained by measuring a distance between vectors, and is calculated by using |X∩Y|/sqrt(|X| |Y|).
Either of the indexes ranges from 0 to 1.
For example, co-occurrence strengths are obtained by using A which represents content and by using B, C, and D, each of which represents a context. The threshold is set to min(|A|, |B|, |C|, |D|). The example in
The example in
(1) Jaccard coefficient: |X∩Y|/|X∪Y|
That is, the Jaccard coefficient indicates a ratio of occurrences of both of “X” and “Y” with respect to occurrences of at least one of “X” and “Y”.
(2) Simpson coefficient: Expression (1) illustrated below is used.
That is, the Simpson coefficient is proportional to the correlation relationship between X and Y. In the case where X>>Y or X<<Y, since keywords having a correlation which is not very strong produce a high Simpson coefficient, a threshold is often used to introduce a restriction.
(3) Simpson coefficient with a threshold: Expression (2) illustrated below is used.
For example, as illustrated in
The difference between the co-occurrence coefficients will be described by using the example in
Expression (1) indicates a coefficient used as an index representing a frequency obtained when a keyword X and a keyword Y appear (co-occur) in the same page or in the same document.
In general, it is presumed that the higher the Simpson coefficient is, the stronger the correlation relationship between the two keywords is. However, the Simpson coefficient has a feature in which, when the number of search results of one of the words to be compared is much smaller than that of the other word, a high value is obtained for the keywords having a correlation which is not very strong (see
In the present exemplary embodiment, the Simpson coefficient with a threshold is used to obtain the co-occurrence relationship for multiple pieces of information, but other coefficients may be used.
In
When an operator performs a scroll operation in which the scale on a specified axis is scrolled in the horizontal or vertical direction, the other scales are scrolled in accordance with the scrolling.
When a time interval and content are specified as a search condition, the information search module 140 searches for a key context satisfying the search condition, and the information display module 150 displays it.
As illustrated in the example in
The example in
In this example, the granularity is changed in accordance with the level of contexts to be grasped, with respect to an outcome obtained at a certain time point, and the contexts are displayed. The degree of the granularity is proportional to the distance from the outcome. Use of a loop causes the displayed items to be viewed at a glance, achieving deeper understanding of the connections among contexts.
On a level-2 loop 1220, a context 1222, a context 1224, a context 1226, a context 1228, a context 1230, and a context 1232 are disposed. On a level-3 loop 1240, a context 1242, a context 1244, a context 1246, a context 1248, a context 1250, a context 1252, a context 1254, a context 1256, and a context 1258 are disposed. On a level-4 loop 1260, a context 1262, a context 1264, a context 1266, a context 1268, a context 1270, a context 1272, a context 1274, a context 1276, a context 1278, a context 1280, a context 1282, a context 1284, a context 1286, a context 1288, and a context 1290 are disposed.
By specifying multiple positions from the outcome document 1100 which is an outcome, multiple loops (the level-1 loop 1210, the level-2 loop 1220, the level-3 loop 1240, and the level-4 loop 1260) are generated, achieving understanding of a flow of contexts.
After the outmost loop is specified, loops at intermediate positions may be generated. For example, loops may be generated at predetermined intervals, or a predetermined number of loops may be generated. By providing loops at intermediate positions, contexts may be closely viewed.
When items (figures representing content and contexts) to be displayed on a loop fails to be displayed because they are too many, display of some of pieces of context items may be skipped.
On the trunk 1310, figures representing outcomes (including intermediate products) in the activity (meeting) are displayed in time series. On the branches 1320 to 1326, figures representing content or contexts in other meetings or the like whose theme is derived from an intermediate product are displayed. Examples are illustrated in
The vertical axis of this tree corresponds to a trunk 1410 on which intermediate products (pieces of content in A1, B1, C1, D1, and E1 illustrated in the example in
The horizontal axis is represented by a “branch” (such as a branch 1420 or a branch 1425). A group of activities in the entire activity is differentiated, and produces a branch. For example, a branch 1430 is divided into a branch 1431 and a branch 1432. A branch 1435 is divided into a branch 1436 and a branch 1437. A branch 1445 is divided into a branch 1446 and a branch 1447. On the trunk and branches, figures representing content and contexts are disposed in time series. A branch corresponds to the horizontal axis in the example in
Thus, displaying of the entire tree facilitates grasping of the amount of the activity.
The information display module 150 presents different parts in the search result tree (in the case of the search result 1620, a difference 1622 and a difference 1624; and in the case of the search result 1630, a difference 1632 and a difference 1634) The participants in the meeting view the different content and the different contexts in the search result to get some information, and take an action. For example, the search result helps break the dead end of discussion. Especially, a top portion of a trunk, the entire branch, or a tip portion of a branch may be extracted as a different part.
In the case of the example in
As illustrated in
In the case where the above-described exemplary embodiment is achieved by using computer programs, computer programs which are software are read into a system having the hardware configuration, and the software and the hardware resources cooperate with each other to achieve the above-described exemplary embodiment.
The hardware configuration in
The programs described above may be provided through a recording medium which stores the programs, or may be provided through a communication unit. In these cases, for example, the programs described above may be interpreted as an invention of “a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs”.
The term “a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs” refers to a computer-readable recording medium that stores programs and that is used for, for example, the installation and execution of the programs and the distribution of the programs.
Examples of the recording medium include a digital versatile disk (DVD) having a format of “DVD-recordable (DVD-R), DVD-rewritable (DVD-RW), DVD-random access memory (DVD-RAM), or the like” which is a standard developed by the DVD forum or having a format of “DVD+recordable (DVD+R), DVD+rewritable (DVD+RW), or the like” which is a standard developed by the DVD+RW alliance, a compact disk (CD) having a format of CD read only memory (CD-ROM), CD recordable (CD-R), CD rewritable (CD-RW), or the like, a Blu-ray® Disk, a magneto-optical disk (MO), a flexible disk (FD), a magnetic tape, a hard disk, a ROM, an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM®), a flash memory, a RAM, and a secure digital (SD) memory card.
The above-described programs or some of them may be stored and distributed by recording them on the recording medium. In addition, the programs may be transmitted through communication, for example, by using a transmission medium of, for example, a wired network which is used for a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, and the like, a wireless communication network, or a combination of these. Instead, the programs may be carried on carrier waves.
The above-described programs may be included in other programs, or may be recorded on a recording medium along with other programs. Instead, the programs may be recorded on multiple recording media by dividing the programs. The programs may be recorded in any format, such as compression or encryption, as long as it is possible to restore the programs.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2013-249077 | Dec 2013 | JP | national |