This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-109654 filed May 24, 2013.
The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a computer-readable medium.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing device including an acquiring unit that acquires position information, being information indicating a position of a participant, an extracting unit that processes sticky information being displayed on a shared screen, and extracts sticky information created by a participant near the shared screen, on the basis of position information acquired by the acquiring unit, and a transmitting unit that transmits sticky information extracted by the extracting unit to a participant device as sticky information to display in order to associate sticky information created by a participant on the participant device.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:
Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments related to realizing the present invention will be described by way of example on the basis of the drawings.
Note that the term module refers to components such as software (computer programs) and hardware which are typically capable of being logically separated. Consequently, the term module in the exemplary embodiment not only refers to modules in a computer program, but also to modules in a hardware configuration. Thus, the exemplary embodiment also serves as a description of a computer program (a program that causes a computer to execute respective operations, a program that causes a computer to function as respective units, or a program that causes a computer to realize respective functions), a system, and a method for inducing functionality as such modules. Note that although terms like “store” and “record” and their equivalents may be used in the description for the sake of convenience, these terms mean that a storage apparatus is made to store information or that control is applied to cause a storage apparatus to store information in the case where the exemplary embodiment is a computer program. Also, while modules may be made to correspond with function on a one-to-one basis, some implementations may be configured such that one program constitutes one module, such that one program constitutes multiple modules, or conversely, such that multiple programs constitute one module. Moreover, multiple modules may be executed by one computer, but one module may also be executed by multiple computers in a distributed or parallel computing environment. Note that a single module may also contain other modules. Also, the term “connection” may be used hereinafter to denote logical connections (such as the transfer of data and referential relationships between instructions and data) in addition to physical connections. The term “predefined” refers to something being determined prior to the processing in question, and obviously denotes something that is determined before a process according to the exemplary embodiment starts, but may also denote something that is determined after a process according to the exemplary embodiment has started but before the processing in question, according to conditions or states at that time, or according to conditions or states up to that time. In the case of multiple “predefined values”, the predefined values may be respectively different values, or two or more values (this obviously also includes the case of all values) which are the same. Additionally, statements to the effect of “B is conducted in the case of A” are used to denote that a determination is made regarding whether or not A holds true, and B is conducted in the case where it is determined that A holds true. However, this excludes cases where the determination of whether or not A holds true may be omitted.
Also, the terms “system” and “apparatus” not only encompass configurations in which multiple computers, hardware, or apparatus are connected by a communication medium such as a network (including connections that support 1-to-1 communication), but also encompass configurations realized by a single computer, hardware, or apparatus. The terms “apparatus” and “system” are used interchangeably. Obviously, the term “system” does not include merely artificially arranged social constructs (social systems).
Also, every time a process is conducted by each module or every time multiple processes are conducted within a module, information to be processed is retrieved from a storage apparatus, and the processing results are written back to the storage apparatus after the processing. Consequently, description of the retrieval from a storage apparatus before processing and the writing back to a storage apparatus after processing may be reduced or omitted in some cases. Note that the storage apparatus herein may include hard disks, random access memory (RAM), an auxiliary or external storage medium, storage apparatus accessed via a communication link, and registers, etc. inside a central processing unit (CPU).
A display/placement device 150, which is an information processing device according to the exemplary embodiments, pastes and displays sticky information (also called electronic sticky notes or electronic cards) transmitted from a client device 100 on a board, and as illustrated by example in
The display/placement device 150 is utilized during a meeting (such as a conference, brainstorming session, or review session) conducted by a facilitator (generally one person) and multiple participants using sticky information. A participant uses a client device (such as the client device 100) as a participant device to create sticky information stating an idea or the like. Typically, as illustrated by example in
The communication module 160 is connected to the association decision module 170 and the communication module 120 of the client device 100. The communication module 160 transmits active sticky information (including identification information and content information) extracted by the association decision module 170 to a client device 100. The communication module 160 may also transmit screen information of a board created by the display control module 190 (such as the content displayed by the display control module 190) and the like. The communication module 160 receives identification information that identifies sticky information transmitted from a client device 100 (sticky information that a participant created using a client device 100 (first sticky information)) and active sticky information associated with that sticky information (second sticky information). In other words, there are at least two types of information received at this point, these two being (1) sticky information (first sticky information) itself, and (2) identification information of associated active sticky information. Obviously, the identification of active sticky information that is received is included in the identification information of active sticky information extracted by the association decision module 170 (in other words, the identification information of active sticky information transmitted to a client device 100). Note that active sticky information is sticky information that is highly likely to be discussed at the meeting. Consequently, newly created sticky information has a high likelihood of being associated with that active sticky information. In addition, the communication module 160 may also receive (1) sticky information (first sticky information) itself. In this case, the association decision module 170 associates the received sticky information (first sticky information) with any of the active sticky information. Note that, as a specific example, the sticky information itself refers to the sticky information table 700 discussed later using
The association decision module 170 is connected to the communication module 160, the sticky information list storage module 174, the participant position information acquisition module 180, and the display control module 190. The association decision module 170 processes sticky information being displayed on a shared screen, and extracts sticky information that a participant created near that shared screen, on the basis of position information acquired by the participant position information acquisition module 180. Subsequently, the association decision module 170 transmits, to a client device 100 via the communication module 160, sticky information extracted by the association decision module 170 as sticky information (active sticky information) to display in order to associate sticky information created by a participant on that client device 100 (that is, a participant device). Note that the process of extracting sticky information created by a participant may be conducted specifically by extracting a sticky information ID from a participant ID using the sticky information table 700.
In addition, in the case in which a participant near a shared screen moves away from that shared screen, the association decision module 170 may also extract sticky information created by that participant. Subsequently, the association decision module 170 may transmit, to a client device 100 via the communication module 160, the extracted sticky information so as to indicate sticky information to be removed from the client device 100 from among the sticky information already transmitted.
In addition, the association decision module 170 may extract sticky information being displayed on a shared screen and selected by a participant as active sticky information. Selecting refers to a state in which a participant touching sticky information, and that touch is sensed, for example.
In addition, the association decision module 170 may also process sticky information being displayed on a shared screen, and extract sticky information on the basis of attribute information for that sticky information. Attribute information for sticky information is a transmission time in the transmission time field 760 and a color in the color field 796 within the sticky information table 700 discussed later using
In addition, in the case of transmitting sticky information to a client device 100 for display, the association decision module 170 may add a period during which to display sticky information on that client device 100. After the display period elapses, the client device 100 removes that sticky information from the display screen of that client device 100. Herein, the display period may be specified with a time (years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, fractions of a second, or some combination thereof; this applies similarly hereinafter) indicating a range such as the number of seconds elapsing since starting the display, or with a time at which to end the display. Also, the length of the period may be set to a length based on an attribute of the sticky information (active sticky information) to transmit. For example, the length of the period may be set to a length according the number of sets of sticky information associated with the sticky information to transmit. More specifically, the length of the period may be calculated in proportion to the number of sets of associated sticky information. Also, the length of the period may be set to a length according to the transmission time of the sticky information to transmit. More specifically, the length of the period may be set longer to the extent that the transmission time is close to the current time. Note that the attributes of sticky information A to transmit may include, besides the attributes of the sticky information A, the attributes of sticky information B associated with the sticky information A. Furthermore, the attributes of the sticky information A may also include the attributes of additional associated sticky information, such as the attributes of sticky information C associated with the sticky information B. Consequently, a length according to the transmission time of the sticky information B associated with the sticky information A to transmit (or in the case of multiple sticky information B, a statistical value thereof (such as the average, the mode, or the median)) is also included in “a length based on an attribute of the sticky information to transmit”.
In addition, in correspondence with the above transmission, the association decision module 170 may receive, from a client device 100, first sticky information and identification information that identifies second sticky information associated with the first sticky information. Subsequently, the association decision module 170 may associate (group) the first sticky information with the second sticky information of the received identification information.
In addition, in correspondence with the above transmission, the association decision module 170 may receive identification information of first sticky information from a client device 100. Subsequently, on the basis of the attributes of the first sticky information of the received identification information, the association decision module 170 may associate the first sticky information with any of the second sticky information from among the transmitted sticky information discussed earlier (active sticky information). Herein, the decision method for second sticky information may involve comparing the attributes of the first sticky information to the attributes of the second sticky information, and setting sticky information with close attribute values to the second sticky information. More specifically, the second sticky information may be: (1) sticky information sent immediately before the time at which the first sticky information started to be created. For such sticky information, it is sufficient to compare the value of the creation time field 740 in the sticky information table 700 for the first sticky information to the time at which the active sticky information was transmitted. (2) Among the active sticky information, sticky information with the same color as the first sticky information. For such sticky information, it is sufficient to compare the values of the color field 796 in the sticky information table 700 for the first sticky information and the active sticky information.
The sticky information list storage module 174 is connected to the association decision module 170. The sticky information list storage module 174 stores a sticky information table 700, a board information table 800, and an active sticky table 900, for example.
The receiving module 110 creates the sticky information table 700, the created sticky information table 700 is transmitted to the display/placement device 150, and information is stored in fields such as the comment field 790 and the coordinates field 795 by the display/placement device 150 (particularly the display control module 190 or the like).
The display/placement device 150 (particularly, the association decision module 170, the display control module 190, and the like) creates a board information table 800. Information related to sticky information associated by the association decision module 170, and groups or the like that are the result of the associating, are stored in the group ID field 840 and subsequent fields.
The association decision module 170 creates an active sticky table 900. Subsequently, the active sticky table 900 is transmitted to the display/placement device 150, and used when the active sticky display module 130 presents a display on the display device of a client device 100. Also, the receiving module 110 stores information in the sticky ID field 920.
The participant position information acquisition module 180 is connected to the association decision module 170. The participant position information acquisition module 180 acquires position information, which is information indicating the position of a participant. Note that the positions of all participants may not be ascertained. It is sufficient to at least specify participants near the shared screen. “Near” refers being within a predetermined distance from the shared screen. For example, an IC card reader capable of short-range communication (in other words, contactless reading) installed in the shared screen or near the shared screen may read an identification code enabling participant specification from an IC card being carried by that participant near the shared screen, and compute that participant as being positioned near the shared screen. Several such IC card readers may be installed inside a conference room, and position information for a participant may be acquired according to which IC card reader sensed that participant. Note that the configuration is not limited to an IC card, and a mobile device or the like (such as the client device 100) is also acceptable insofar as a participant ID is stored therein. In addition, position information for each participant may also be acquired by communicating with a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor built into a mobile device or the like.
In addition, in the case in which a participant who was near the shared screen moves away from that shared screen (the case of moving farther away than the above predetermined distance), the participant position information acquisition module 180 ceases to sense that participant, and thus extracts the participant ID that had been sensed up to that point, but ceased to be sensed. The participant ID that ceased to be sensed is passed to the association decision module 170. After that, the association decision module 170 conducts a process to extract sticky information created by the participant with that participant ID, and remove that sticky information from the active sticky information.
The display control module 190 is connected to the association decision module 170. The display control module 190 displays a board (such as a blank white space, XY axes for indicating a coordinate system, or some other pattern that acts as a background) and sticky information pasted onto the board, and displays first sticky information associated by the association decision module 170 near second sticky information. Herein, “near” refers to the first sticky information being within a predetermined distance from the second sticky information, or the first sticky information being within a group to which the second sticky information belongs.
Note that the display/placement device 150 may be, from among the modules discussed earlier, a combination of the participant position information acquisition module 180, the association decision module 170, and the communication module 160, or a combination of the participant position information acquisition module 180, the association decision module 170, the communication module 160, and the display control module 190.
The client device 100 includes a touch panel-style display device and input device, for example, and receives operations using a participant's finger, a pen, or the like so as to create sticky information, select active sticky information as an association target for the created sticky information, and the like. Also, besides a touch panel, input using a keyboard and mouse, speech input using a microphone, image input using a camera, and the like are also acceptable. The sticky information may have a data structure in which card-style information may be managed. The content of the sticky information may be text information, handwritten characters, vector data expressing a graphic or the like, still image information such as a photo, video information or the like, or a combination thereof.
The receiving module 110 is connected to the communication module 120 and the active sticky display module 130. The receiving module 110 passes participant actions with respect to active sticky information displayed on a display device of a client device 100 by the active sticky display module 130 (operations to associate and transmit sticky information created by a participant and active sticky information, operations to transmit sticky information created by a participant) and information related to sticky information created by a participant to the communication module 120 and the display/placement device 150 via a communication link.
The communication module 120 is connected to the receiving module 110, the active sticky display module 130, and the communication module 160 of the display/placement device 150. The communication module 120 communicates with the display/placement device 150, and transmits information passed from the receiving module 110 to the display/placement device 150. In addition, the communication module 120 receives information transmitted from the display/placement device 150, which is passed to the active sticky display module 130 or a relevant module inside the client device 100. For example, the communication module 120 may receive board screen information from the display/placement device 150 (such as the content displayed by the display control module 190), and pass the received board screen information to a display module that presents a display on a display device of the client device 100.
The active sticky display module 130 is connected to the receiving module 110 and the communication module 120. The active sticky display module 130 displays active sticky information extracted by the display/placement device 150 on a display device of the client device 100. For example, the active sticky display module 130 presents a display like the active sticky (1) 442 in the active sticky display area 1010 on a client screen 1000 illustrated by example in
As illustrated in the example in
The display/placement device 150a is a projector, and displays a board. The display/placement device 150a may also be a device equipped with a large screen (a size such as 80 inches, for example). In addition, the display/placement device 150b is an electronic whiteboard that senses the motion of a finger, pen, or the like of a facilitator 321, and receives operations such as the associating (grouping) of sticky information. For example, the display/placement device 150b may be equipped with a pen, and receives an operation with respect to the board and sticky information by sensing that the pen has left a predetermined pen holder (that is, the facilitator 321 has picked up the pen in order to perform an operation), and by sensing the position of the pen tip (such as the pen tip touching the display/placement device 150b). For example, a sensor may be provided in the pen holder (such as a sensor in which a switch turns on/off by the weight of a pen), and may sense which pen from among multiple pens (such as a black pen, a red pen, and a blue pen) is being used. Also, the entire display screen of the display/placement device 150b may be a touch sensor, and may sense touched positions on the display screen. Also, in the present exemplary embodiment, participants near the display/placement device 150b (including the facilitator) are sensed.
The shared screen 400 includes a board area 410. Inside the board area 410, besides general sticky information (the small rectangles in
Also, sticky information whose association has been specified by the participant of a client device is positioned near active sticky information inside the board area 410. For example, in the case in which the facilitator 321 (a participant) is near the shared screen 400, the active sticky (2) 422, the active sticky (1) 442, the active sticky (5) 452, and the active sticky (6) 472 created by the facilitator 321 are extracted as the active sticky information. Subsequently, in the case in which sticky information transmitted from a client device 100 is associated with any of the active sticky information, the sticky information transmitted from the client device 100 is displayed near the associated active sticky information. Also, multiple sets of sticky information may be grouped (like the group area C 440 and the group area D 450, for example) by an operation of the facilitator 321.
Also, participants are able to “Like” sticky information pasted onto the board. For example, in the case in which a participant approves of the content stated in sticky information, the participant specifies that sticky information and presses a “Like” button displayed on the client device 100 (or presses a “Like” button attached to each set of sticky information). The number of presses is then counted and stored in the number of likes field 885 of the board information table 800. Sticky information for which the number of presses is greater than a predetermined number may be displayed larger than other sticky information.
The display/placement device 150 of the present exemplary embodiment is introduced into such a conference support system.
In step S502, the receiving module 110 receives sticky information created by a participant operation.
In step S504, the communication module 120 transmits sticky information to the display/placement device 150.
In step S506, the communication module 160 receives the sticky information transmitted from the receiving module 110.
In step S508, the association decision module 170 stores the sticky information together with attributes in the sticky information list storage module 174.
In step S510, the display control module 190 displays the sticky information on a shared display device.
In step S602, the participant position information acquisition module 180 acquires the user ID (participant ID) of a user near the shared display device. In the example of
In step S604, the participant position information acquisition module 180 extracts sticky information created by the user with the acquired user ID from the sticky information list storage module 174. In the example of
Also, a period during which to display sticky information as active sticky information on a client device 100 may also be specified. Obviously, if that period elapses, the client device 100 removes that sticky information from the display device. Note that, as discussed earlier, the length of this period may be determined according to factors such as the number of sets of sticky information associated with the active sticky information.
In step S606, the communication module 160 transmits the extracted sticky information (active sticky information) to a client device 100.
In step S608, the communication module 120 receives the sticky information transmitted from the display/placement device 150.
In step S610, the active sticky display module 130 displays the received sticky information on a display device of the client device 100 as active sticky information. For example, the active sticky (2) 422, the active sticky (1) 442, the active sticky (5) 452, and the active sticky (6) 472 are displayed within the active sticky display area 1010 illustrated in
In step S612, the receiving module 110 receives, via a user operation, the sticky ID of an active sticky with which to associate selected sticky information. For example, in
In step S614, the communication module 120 transmits sticky information and the sticky ID of an active sticky to the display/placement device 150. In the above example, the information of the moving sticky 1052 and the sticky ID of the active sticky (6) 472 are transmitted. Note that, in the case in which the color of the sticky information is set to the same color as the desired active sticky information to associate in step S612, that sticky information itself (obviously including the content and attributes) is transmitted.
In step S616, the communication module 160 receives the sticky information and the sticky ID of the active sticky transmitted from the client device 100. In the above example, the information of the moving sticky 1052 and the sticky ID of the active sticky (6) 472 are received. Note that, in the case in which the color of the sticky information is set to the same color as the desired active sticky information to associate in step S612, that sticky information itself is received.
In step S618, the association decision module 170 stores the sticky information together with attributes in the sticky information list storage module 174. The sticky information itself, and information related to the sticky information (attributes) are reflected in and stored in the sticky information table 700, the board information table 800, and the active sticky table 900. Note that, in the case in which the color of the sticky information is set to the same color as the desired active sticky information to associate in step S612, active sticky information having the same attribute as an attribute (color, for example) of the received sticky information is extracted from among the active sticky information transmitted in step S606, and that sticky information and active sticky information are associated together.
In step S620, the participant position information acquisition module 180 displays the sticky information near the associated active sticky. In the above example, the moving sticky 1052 is displayed near the active sticky (6) 472, as illustrated by the example of
Also, as a subsequent process, in the case in which the facilitator 321 moves away from the shared display device (the case in which the participant position information acquisition module 180 ceases to detect a participant ID that had been detected up to that point), the association decision module 170 extracts a sticky ID created by the participant with the participant ID that ceased to be detected (that which had been extracted as active sticky information up to that point), and transmits that sticky ID to a client device 100 as the sticky ID of sticky information to remove. The client device 100 removes that which had been displayed as active sticky information up to that point.
The display/placement device 150 includes a communication module 160, an association decision module 170, an arrangement information list storage module 1272, a sticky information list storage module 174, a participant position information acquisition module 180, a display control module 190, an interpretation module 1280, an arrange command receiving module 1282, and a place command receiving module 1284.
The arrange command receiving module 1282 is connected to the interpretation module 1280. The arrange command receiving module 1282 receives information specifying an area for pasting sticky information onto a board (hereinafter also called arrangement information). The arrangement information at least includes start point information indicating a start point for pasting sticky information within that region, and direction information indicating a direction in which to paste sticky information in order from that start point. Arrangement information is specified by the motion of the facilitator's finger, pen, or the like on the shared screen (hereinafter also called an arrange command), for example. An arrange command refers to an operation indicating a region and order in which to automatically place multiple sets of sticky information. The arrangement information herein includes start point information and direction information. This arrangement information corresponds to the start point 1402a and the direction 1404a in the example in
In addition, the arrange command receiving module 1282 may also receive wrapping point information indicating a wrapping point for the region and second direction information from that wrapping point. The arrangement information in this case becomes start point information, direction information, wrapping point information, and second direction information. For example, this arrangement information corresponds to the start point 1402c, the direction 1404c, the wrapping point 1406c, and the direction 1408c in the example in
The place command receiving module 1284 is connected to the interpretation module 1280. The place command receiving module 1284 receives information related to the movement of sticky information being displayed on the shared screen (hereinafter also called placement information). Placement information is specified by a command that moves sticky information which is performed by the motion of the facilitator's finger, pen, or the like on the shared screen (hereinafter also called a place command), for example.
The interpretation module 1280 is connected to the arrangement information list storage module 1272, the sticky information list storage module 174, the arrange command receiving module 1282, and the place command receiving module 1284. Arrangement information from the arrange command receiving module 1282 is received and stored in the arrangement information list storage module 1272, while placement information is received from the place command receiving module 1284 and reflected in the arrangement information list storage module 1272 and the sticky information list storage module 174.
The interpretation module 1280, in order to decide whether a command is an arrange command or a place command, may make a decision according to whether or not sticky information exists at the position that was first touched. For example, the interpretation module 1280 may decide that a command is a place command in the case in which sticky information does exist at the position that was first touched, and decide that a command is an arrange command in the case in which sticky information does not exist at the position that was first touched (the case in which a background part of the board was touched). Also, either an arrange command mode or a place command mode may be specified, and after the specification, the interpretation module 1280 may decide whether a command is an arrange command or a place command.
The arrangement information list storage module 1272 is connected to the association decision module 170 and the interpretation module 1280. The arrangement information list storage module 1272 stores a list of arrangement information, such as an arrangement information list 1700, for example.
The patterns may be the following, for example.
(1) A pattern specifying an area with a start point and a direction (see
(2) A pattern specifying an area with a start point, a direction from the start point, a wrapping point, and a direction from that wrapping point (see
(3) A pattern specifying an area with a start point and a direction (see
The association decision module 170 is connected to the communication module 160, the arrangement information list storage module 1272, the sticky information list storage module 174, the participant position information acquisition module 180, and the display control module 190. Besides conducting the processes of the association decision module 170 according to the first exemplary embodiment, the association decision module 170 also extracts a group that includes sticky information created by a participant near the shared screen. Subsequently, the association decision module 170 transmits information regarding the extracted group (such as the group name, the group ID, sticky information representative of that group (for example, the sticky information positioned in first place within the group)) to a client device 100 via the communication module 160. Specifically, instead of active sticky information, the association decision module 170 transmits a group that has been extracted by the participant position information acquisition module 180, and to which the active sticky information belongs. Alternatively, active sticky information together with the group to which that active sticky information belongs may be transmitted.
The association decision module 170 associates sticky information pasted onto the board, on the basis of start point information and direction information received by the arrange command receiving module 1282. Herein, “associates sticky information” refers to generating a group whose elements are the multiple sets of sticky information. A sticky information group included within an area formed by start point information and direction information is treated as one group.
In addition, the association decision module 170 may also associate sticky information received by the communication module 160 with any already associated sticky information.
In addition, the association decision module 170 may also associate sticky information received by the communication module 160 with any already associated sticky information, on the basis of action information received together with that sticky information. In this case, the action information may be compared to arrangement information, and the closest arrangement information may be selected.
Also, the association decision module 170 may also associate sticky information within an area determined on the basis of wrapping point information and second direction information.
Also, the association decision module 170 may associate sticky information that has not yet been associated on the basis of either direction information in an area of already associated sticky information (direction information indicating a direction in which to paste sticky information in order from a start point) or second direction information (direction information indicating a direction in which to paste sticky information in order after starting a new line from a wrapping point). Direction information is adopted in the case in which there is no second direction information, while second direction information is adopted in the case in which there is second direction information. Also, “associating on the basis of direction information” refers to expanding an area in that direction, for example. The distance by which to expand may be a predetermined distance, or a distance that is proportional or inversely proportional to the number of sets of associated sticky information within that area (the number of sets of sticky information included in a group). In the case of setting a distance that is proportional to the number of sets of sticky information, groups having more sticky information tend to become larger, whereas in the case of setting a distance that is inversely proportional to the number of sets of sticky information, groups with less sticky information tend to become larger. The question of which method to use may be predetermined, or set according to a specifying operation by the facilitator.
In addition, in correspondence with the above transmission, the association decision module 170 may receive first sticky information from a client device 100. Subsequently, on the basis of the attributes of the first sticky information of the received identification information, the association decision module 170 may associate the first sticky information with any group from among the transmitted groups discussed earlier. Herein, the decision method for the group to associate may involve comparing the attributes of the first sticky information to the attributes of a group, and setting a group with close attribute values as the group to associate. More specifically, the group to associate may be (1) a group sent immediately before the time at which the first sticky information started to be created. For such a group, it is sufficient to compare the value of the creation time field 740 in the sticky information table 700 for the first sticky information to the time at which a group was transmitted from the display/placement device 150. The group to associate may also be (2) among the active sticky information, a group with the same color as the first sticky information. For such a group, it is sufficient to compare the values of the color field 796 in the sticky information table 700 for the first sticky information and the active sticky information to the value of the color field 852 in the board information table 800.
The sticky information table 700 and the board information table 800 stored in the sticky information list storage module 174 may also be as follows. The above group indicates a sticky information group associated by an area specifying operation by the facilitator, but a default group (such as group Z, for example) may also be provided. The default group refers to one that includes, as elements, sticky information pasted onto the board before association is conducted. Consequently, sticky information that was not associated by an area specifying operation by the facilitator is included in the default group. In the case of setting such a default group, the coordinates field 795 of the sticky information table 700 illustrated by the example in
The display control module 190 is connected to the association decision module 170. The display control module 190 displays a sticky information group associated by the association decision module 170 so as to indicate the association on the board. Herein, “displaying so as to indicate the association” refers to, for example, displaying lines enclosing an associated sticky information group, applying the same color to an associated sticky information group (obviously, other associated sticky information groups have different colors), or the like. Furthermore, a group name or the like may be displayed near that associated sticky information group. Also, in this case, the position of associated sticky information may be modified in accordance with arrangement information.
Also, the display control module 190, on the basis of direction information in a sticky information group associated by the association decision module 170, may display sticky information received by the communication module 160 on the board at the next position after the last sticky information in that sticky information group.
In addition, the display control module 190 may decide on a position on the board for display sticky information received by the communication module 160, and display the sticky information at that position, on the basis of action information received together with that sticky information.
In step S1302, the arrange command receiving module 1282 receives an arrange command from the facilitator.
In step S1304, the interpretation module 1280 interprets the arrange command, and generates arrangement information.
In the example of
In the example of
These sensed results are stored in the arrangement information list 1700.
In step S1306, the interpretation module 1280 stores arrangement information (an arrangement information list 1700) in the arrangement information list storage module 1272.
In step S1308, the association decision module 170 extracts sticky information included inside an area indicated by the generated arrangement information from the sticky information list storage module 174 (the board information table 800). As discussed earlier, sticky information near the coordinates of a track may be extracted.
In step S1310, the association decision module 170 associates the extracted sticky information. Specifically, the same group ID is given to the extracted sticky information.
In step S1312, the display control module 190 presents a display demonstrating that the multiple associated sticky information is a single sticky information group. For example, a line enclosing the sticky information belonging to the same group may be drawn as illustrated by example in
The examples in
The configuration according to the second exemplary embodiment may also be construed as follows. Particularly, the participant position information acquisition module 180 and the association decision module 170 may be combined with these configurations.
(A) An information processing device including:
a first receiving unit that receives information specifying an area for pasting sticky information onto a board, the information being at least start point information indicating a start point for pasting sticky information within that area, and direction information indicating a direction in which to paste sticky information in order from that start point;
an associating unit that associates sticky information pasted onto the board, on the basis of start point information and direction information received by the first receiving unit; and
a display that displays a sticky information group associated by the associating unit so as to indicate the association on the board.
(B) The information processing device according to (A), additionally including:
a second receiving unit that receives sticky information transmitted from a client device;
wherein the associating unit associates sticky information received by the second receiving unit with any already associated sticky information, and
the display, on the basis of the direction information in a sticky information group associated by the associating unit, displays sticky information received by the second receiving unit on the board at a next position after last sticky information in that sticky information group.
(C) The information processing device according to (A) or (B), wherein
the first receiving unit receives wrapping point information indicating a wrapping point of the area, and second direction information from that wrapping point, and
the associating unit associates sticky information within an area determined on the basis of the wrapping point information and the second direction information.
(D) The information processing device according to any one of (A) to (C), wherein
the associating unit associates unassociated sticky information on the basis of either the direction information or the second direction information in an area of already associated sticky information.
(E) A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for processing information, the process including:
receiving information specifying an area for pasting sticky information onto a board, the information being at least start point information indicating a start point for pasting sticky information within that area, and direction information indicating a direction in which to paste sticky information in order from that start point;
associating sticky information pasted onto the board, on the basis of the received start point information and direction information; and
displaying an associated sticky information group so as to indicate the association on the board.
Note that a hardware configuration of a computer executing a program that acts as the present exemplary embodiment (such as the client device 100 or the display/placement device 150) is a general computer as illustrated by the example of
Of the foregoing exemplary embodiments, for those made up of a computer program, software in the form of a computer program is made to be read into a system with the above hardware configuration, and the foregoing exemplary embodiments are realized by the cooperative action of the software and hardware resources.
Note that the hardware configuration illustrated in
Note that in the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment, that which is taken to be “equal to or greater than”, “less than or equal to”, “greater than”, or “less than” in a comparison with a predetermined value may also be taken to be “greater than”, “less than”, “equal to or greater than”, or “less than or equal to”, respectively, insofar as the combination does not produce a contradiction.
Note that the described program may be provided stored in a recording medium, but the program may also be provided via a communication medium. In this case, a computer-readable recording medium storing a program, for example, may also be taken to be an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with respect to the described program.
A “computer-readable recording medium storing a program” refers to a computer-readable recording medium upon which a program is recorded, and which is used in order to install, execute, and distribute the program, for example.
Potential examples of a recording medium include a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), encompassing formats such as DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM defined by the DVD Forum and formats such as DVD+R and DVD+RW defined by DVD+RW Alliance, a compact disc (CD), encompassing formats such as read-only memory (CD-ROM), CD Recordable (CD-R), and CD Rewritable (CD-RW), a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), a magneto-optical (MO) disc, a flexible disk (FD), magnetic tape, a hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM (registered trademark)), flash memory, random access memory (RAM), and a Secure Digital (SD) memory card.
In addition, all or part of the above program may also be recorded to the recording medium and saved or distributed, for example. Also, all or part of the above program may be communicated by being transmitted using a transmission medium such as a wired or wireless communication network used in a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), an internet, an intranet, an extranet, or some combination thereof, or alternatively, by being impressed onto a carrier wave and propagated.
Furthermore, the above program may be part of another program, and may also be recorded to a recording medium together with other separate programs. The above program may also be recorded in a split manner across multiple recording media. The above program may also be recorded in a compressed, encrypted, or any other recoverable form.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments 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 embodiments were 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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2013-109654 | May 2013 | JP | national |