WO2023162822A1 - Information provision device, information provision system, information provision method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

An information provision device (100) comprises: an acquisition unit (120) for acquiring (ii) an image, and (i) category information which includes a plurality of food menus and group names of each of a plurality of food groups which can be associated with any of the plurality of food menus respectively; an extraction unit (130) for extracting a food that may be included in the image; an identification unit (140) for using the category information to identify a food group to which a food menu belongs, the food menu indicating the food; and an output unit (150) for outputting the group name of the food group identified by the identification unit (140). The food group to which the plurality of food menus belong is set on the basis of a similarity of an item to be managed which indicates at least one of one or more nutrients and the energy set in accordance with an attribute of the user.

Description

Information providing device, information providing system, information providing method, and program

The present disclosure relates to an information providing device, an information providing system, an information providing method, and a program.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-100001 discloses that a dish name is specified by analyzing the characteristics of an image, the specified dish name is recorded as history information, and when a request from the user is input, based on the history information, a user Disclosed is an apparatus for recommending dishes to

JP 2012-181797 A

The present disclosure provides an information providing device and the like that can provide information necessary for user's dietary guidance in an easy-to-understand manner.

An information providing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes (i) classification information including a plurality of cooking menus and group names of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated; (ii) an acquisition unit that acquires an image, an extraction unit that extracts a dish included in the image, and an identification unit that specifies, using the classification information, a dish group to which a dish menu representing the dish belongs; an output unit that outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit, wherein the plurality of cooking menus include at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes. A cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong is set based on the similarity of the managed objects indicating the .

Further, an information providing system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the information providing device described above and a terminal, wherein the terminal includes an imaging unit configured to generate the image by capturing an image of the food; to the information providing device.

Further, an information providing method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: (i) a classification including a plurality of cooking menus and group names of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated; (ii) acquires an image, extracts a dish included in the image, identifies a dish group to which a dish menu representing the dish belongs using the classification information, and identifies a group name of the identified dish group; and outputting the plurality of cooking menus based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes. The cooking group to which it belongs is set.

A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method.

In addition, these general or specific aspects may be realized by non-transitory recording media such as systems, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, or computer-readable CD-ROMs. It may be realized by any combination of circuits, computer programs and recording media.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an information providing device or the like that can provide information necessary for user's dietary guidance in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an information providing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining processing of an extraction unit according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of classification information according to the embodiment. FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a first example of classes included in classification information and cooking groups included in the classes according to the embodiment. FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a second example of classes included in classification information and cooking groups included in the classes according to the embodiment. FIG. 5C is a diagram showing the contents of energy and three major nutrients per 100 g of pork. FIG. 5D is a diagram showing the contents of energy and three major nutrients per 100 g of beef. FIG. 5E is a diagram showing the content of energy and three major nutrients per 100 g of chicken. FIG. 5F is a diagram showing the contents of energy and three major nutrients per 100 g of processed meat. FIG. 5G is a diagram showing a modification of the second example of classes included in classification information and cooking groups included in the classes according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of cooking information according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of notification information according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of the information providing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram of the processing procedure of the information providing system according to the embodiment.

(Circumstances leading to this disclosure)
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an apparatus that analyzes the characteristics of an image, that is, analyzes the image to specify the food included in (taken in) the image. For example, when an administrator such as a registered dietitian gives advice on a certain user's diet remotely from the user, the user sends an image generated by photographing the user's own meal to a device used by the registered dietitian or the like. do. Therefore, by using a device that identifies the dish included in the image as a device used by the administrator, the device displays, for example, the name of the identified dish on a display device such as a display, so that the administrator can It is easy to grasp what the user ate. For example, the administrator considers the user's attributes such as the user's gender and health condition, judges whether the user is eating a healthy meal, and notifies the user of the evaluation of the meal. provide dietary guidance to

Here, the administrator provides such dietary guidance, for example, based on the energy and nutrients of the food contained in the user's diet. Food usually contains many nutrients. However, in practice, when such dietary guidance is given, it is sufficient to know the approximate amount of nutrients and/or the amount of energy for each dish, and details are often not necessary. Therefore, for example, using a database containing information on the amount of nutrients and/or the amount of energy for each dish, the amount of nutrients and/or the amount of energy of the specified dish is extracted from the image. When displayed on a display device, there is a possibility that the amount of information is excessive when the dietary guidance described above is performed. In this way, if an excessive amount of information is displayed on the display device, when the administrator checks the display device, he/she cannot find out where the information necessary for the dietary guidance is displayed. There is a problem of difficulty.

In view of such problems, the inventors of the present application have created an information providing device according to the present disclosure.

Below, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below is a specific example of the present disclosure. Therefore, the numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement and connection of components, steps and order of steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, among constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements not described in independent claims of the present disclosure will be described as optional constituent elements.

In addition, each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily strictly illustrated. Moreover, in each figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about the same component.

(Embodiment)
[composition]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an information providing system 300 according to an embodiment.

The information providing system 300 is a system for an administrator who manages a user to evaluate the food eaten by the user.

The information providing system 300 includes an information providing device 100 and a terminal 200.

The information providing device 100 includes a communication interface for communicating with the terminal 200, a connector to which the notification device 320 and the input device 330 are connected, a processor for controlling various processes of the information providing device 100, and and a memory in which a control program is stored. In this embodiment, the information providing apparatus 100 is a personal computer, and is operated by an administrator via an input device 330 realized by any user interface such as a mouse and/or keyboard.

The terminal 200 includes a communication interface for communicating with the information providing device 100, the notification device 320, and the input device 330, a processor that controls various processes of the terminal 200, and a memory that stores a control program executed by the processor. and a computer comprising: In the present embodiment, terminal 200 is a smart phone, and is operated by a user by operating a touch panel display included in terminal 200, for example.

For example, the user uses the terminal 200 to photograph the food. The terminal 200 transmits an image (image information) generated by photographing the food to the information providing apparatus 100 via the network 310 .

The information providing device 100 acquires an image including the user's meal from the terminal 200, identifies the dish included in the acquired image, and notifies the administrator of cooking information, which is information about the identified dish. Specifically, the information providing device 100 causes the notification device 320 to notify the cooking information by outputting the cooking information to the notification device 320 .

The notification device 320 is, for example, a display that displays cooking information as an image. The notification device 320 may be realized by, for example, an amplifier, a speaker, or the like that emits cooking information by voice.

The information providing device 100 and the terminal 200 may each be realized by a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smart phone, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information providing system 300 according to the embodiment.

The information providing device 100 includes a communication unit 110, an acquisition unit 120, an extraction unit 130, an identification unit 140, an output unit 150, and a storage unit 160.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for communicating with the terminal 200. The communication unit 110 may be implemented by a connector or the like to which a communication line for wired communication is connected, or may be implemented by an antenna, a wireless communication circuit, or the like for wireless communication.

The acquisition unit 120 is a processing unit that acquires classification information and images. For example, the acquisition unit 120 acquires images from the terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 .

The classification information is information that includes a plurality of food menus and group names of each of a plurality of food groups to which each of the plurality of food menus is associated. The classification information is stored in advance in the storage unit 160, for example. Acquisition unit 120 acquires classification information from storage unit 160 .

The extraction unit 130 is a processing unit that extracts dishes included in images. For example, the extracting unit 130 extracts a dish (a dish image) appearing in the image by image-analyzing the image using a technique such as pattern matching.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the extraction unit 130 according to the embodiment.

For example, assume that the acquisition unit 120 acquires the image 340 . The extraction unit 130 performs image analysis on the image 340 to extract the food image included in the image. In the example shown in FIG. 3, extraction unit 130 extracts food image M1, food image M2, food image M3, food image M4, food image M5, food image M6, and food image M7 from image 340. , to extract Extraction unit 130 performs image analysis on each of the extracted food images M1 to M7, thereby estimating the food included in each of the food images M1 to M7. Thereby, the extraction unit 130 extracts the dish included in the image 340 .

The identification unit 140 is a processing unit that uses classification information to identify the cuisine group to which the cuisine menu (dish name) indicating the cuisine extracted by the extraction unit 130 belongs.

A plurality of cooking menus are classified into a cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong, based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients (inoculated nutrients) and energy (intake energy) set according to attributes. It is set (determined). In other words, the plurality of food groups are divided based on the similarity of at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set as management targets according to user attributes. Classification information including information in which a plurality of cooking menus are grouped in this way is created by, for example, an administrator and stored in the storage unit 160 .

Attributes are characteristics that can be set for users. For example, the attributes are age, sex, physique such as height and weight, lifestyle habits such as the amount of exercise in a day, health condition such as presence or absence of illness, area where the user lives, and the like. For example, the acquisition unit 120 acquires attribute information indicating attributes of the user from the terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 and stores it in the storage unit 160 .

In addition, the similarity of the management target indicates the degree of similarity of at least one of the nutrients and energy set as the management target among the nutrients and energy contained in each dish.

For example, when energy is set as an object to be managed, a cooking menu showing the food with less than 100 kcal of energy is set in the first food group, and the food showing the food with less than 200 kcal of energy is set in the first food group. The amount of energy is set in the third food group, for example, the menu is set in the second food group different from the first food group, and the food menu showing the food with energy of 200 kcal or more and less than 300 kcal is set in the third food group. A plurality of food groups are set according to the

Alternatively, for example, when carbohydrates, which are nutrients, are set as objects to be managed, a cooking menu showing dishes containing less than the first predetermined amount of carbohydrates is set in the first cuisine group, and the carbohydrates are greater than or equal to the first predetermined amount. A food menu showing dishes containing less than a second predetermined amount of sugar is set in the second food group, and a food menu showing dishes containing a second predetermined amount or more and less than a third predetermined amount of sugar is set in the third food group. .

Alternatively, for example, nutrients such as various vitamins and minerals are set as objects to be managed, and the classification information is set so that cooking menus showing dishes containing the same nutrients are included in the same cooking group. good.

Alternatively, the nutrients and energy contained in the dishes are generally the same, for example, Chinese rice bowl and mapo rice bowl are set in the same food group, and soy sauce ramen, miso ramen, salt ramen, etc. are set in the same food group. Classification information may be set so that food menus showing the same type of food are classified into the same food group. Of course, when the nutrients and energy contained in each dish are significantly different, such as katsudon and oyakodon, the classification information may be set so that the dishes belong to different dish groups.

Also, for example, the classification information may further include nutrient amount information indicating the amount of at least one of one or more nutrients and energy determined for each of the plurality of cooking groups.

Also, for example, the classification information may further include class information indicating a plurality of classes classified for each attribute (more specifically, it can be set by the user).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of classification information according to the embodiment.

The classification information is class information indicating a plurality of classes classified for each attribute, such as "class A: hypertensive patient", "class B: dieting", and "class C: diabetic patient". is included. Each class is associated with two or more food groups. For example, in class A, group No. 1 whose group name is "Fruit". 1 cooking group and group No. 1 whose group name is "ramen". 2 cooking group and group No. 2 whose group name is "sandwich, hamburger". 3 cooking groups are included.

Thus, for example, the classification information includes a plurality of classes classified for each attribute that can be set by the user, a plurality of cooking menus associated with any of the plurality of classes, and a plurality of cooking menus. and the group name of each of a plurality of food groups associated with any one of them.

In addition, group No. is an identifier that uniquely indicates each cooking group.

For example, when the dish extracted by the extraction unit 130 is apples, the identification unit 140 assigns the dish group of the dish to the group No. Specify 1. Alternatively, for example, when the food extracted by the extraction unit 130 is a sandwich, the specifying unit 140 assigns the food group of the food to the group No. 1. Identify 3.

In addition, each cooking group includes nutritional amount information indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy according to the class, that is, according to the attribute corresponding to the class (attribute that can be set by the user). .

<Classification information corresponding to hypertensive users>
FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a first example of classes included in classification information and cooking groups included in the classes according to the embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 5A is a diagram showing classification information of classes whose attributes correspond to hypertensive patients.

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the class (class A) whose attributes correspond to hypertensive patients, management targets are set such as salt content and energy, and the classification information corresponds to each cooking group as nutrient amount information. Information indicating the amount of salinity and the amount of energy is included. Controlling salt intake is also important from the viewpoint of preventing the onset and aggravation of lifestyle-related diseases. The amount of energy is the sum of the respective amounts of energy obtained from the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins). By utilizing the class A classification information shown in FIG. 5A, administrators such as registered dietitians can prevent hypertensive diseases while optimizing the amount of salt and energy for users with hypertension. and prevention of deterioration can be effectively performed.

According to such classification information, since information unnecessary for nutritional management is masked, administrators such as registered dietitians can easily obtain information necessary for nutritional management of users.

<Classification information for dieting users>
FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a second example of classes included in classification information and cooking groups included in the classes according to the embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 5B is a diagram showing classification information of a class whose attribute corresponds to dieting.

As shown in FIG. 5B, in the class (class B) whose attribute corresponds to dieting, management targets are set as energy, protein, and lipid, and the classification information corresponds to each cooking group as nutrient amount information. Information indicating amount of energy, amount of protein and amount of lipid is included. The amount of energy is the sum of the respective amounts of energy obtained from the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins). Class B, shown in FIG. 5B, represents an example where efforts were made to reduce the ratio of carbohydrates to fats per 100 g by increasing the amount of protein. Carbohydrates and proteins each have 4 kcal per gram, whereas lipids have 9 kcal per gram, which is a lot of energy even in small amounts. Therefore, even if you eat the same amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, you will ingest more than twice as much energy from fats as from proteins. In addition, protein is an important nutrient for maintaining muscle mass when dieting, and can suppress rebound. By utilizing the class B classification information shown in FIG. 5B, an administrator such as a registered dietitian can provide a user on a diet with a diet that balances the amount of energy, the amount of protein, and the amount of lipid. can give advice.

For example, the food groups are divided according to the nutrients of interest, like the class B classification information shown in FIG. 5B. For example, in the class A classification information shown in FIG. 5A, sauté and steak are group No. It is grouped into 4. On the other hand, in the classification information of class B shown in FIG. The beef and pork sauté, which is a cooking menu classified into Group No. 4, 4 is sautéed beef/pork (lean meat), Group No. 5 is sautéed beef/pork (with fat), Group No. 6 was sautéed chicken (with skin); 7 was sautéed chicken (without skin) and no. Divide 8 into groups like sautéed meats and group them together.

　Figures 5C to 5F show the energy and three major nutrient contents per 100g for pork, beef, chicken and processed meat.

　As shown in Figures 5C and 5D, pork and beef have significantly different lipids between lean meat and fat meat. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5E, the lipid content of chicken with skin and without skin is significantly different regardless of whether it is chicken breast meat or chicken thigh meat. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5F, processed meat often has a high fat content because fat is added during processing or a portion with a large amount of fat is processed.

Considering the above, in FIG. 5B, focusing on the similarity between energy and nutrients (protein and lipid), group No. 4 is sautéed beef/pork (lean meat), Group No. 5 is sautéed beef/pork (with fat), Group No. 6 was sautéed chicken (with skin); 7 was sautéed chicken (without skin) and no. 8 are grouped together in the group of sautéed meats.

In this way, by dividing cooking groups according to the attributes of each class and according to the amount of energy and nutrients of interest, administrators such as registered dietitians can provide dietary advice that matches the attributes of the user.

In the above example, the cooking groups of sauté and steak are divided into groups according to the nutrients of interest. It is possible to advise the user of a diet that balances the amount of energy, the amount of protein, and the amount of lipid.

In addition, according to such classification information, since information unnecessary for nutritional management is masked, administrators such as registered dietitians can easily acquire information necessary for nutritional management of users.

<Modified example of classification information corresponding to a dieting user>
FIG. 5G is a diagram showing a modification of the second example described above. Specifically, this is a modified example of the class (class B) whose attribute corresponds to dieting.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5G, the management targets are set as energy, protein, and fat, and the classification information indicates the amount of energy, the amount of protein, and the amount of fat corresponding to each cooking group as nutritional amount information. It is the same as the second example shown in FIG. 5B in that information is included. In the modification shown in FIG. 5G, group No. 4 is sautéed with beef and pork, group No. No. 5 was sautéed with chicken, and no. 6 are grouped together in the sautéed meat group.

In addition, the modification shown in FIG. 5G is the energy amount, protein amount, and fat amount per 100 g of pork and beef shown in FIGS. , the amount of protein, and the amount of lipid, and the similarity of the amount of energy, the amount of protein, and the amount of lipid per 100 g of processed meat shown in FIG. 4 is sautéed with beef and pork, group No. 5 is sautéed chicken; 6 into the group of sautéed meats. At this time, the amount of energy A1kcal, . value).

As in the modified example described above, by dividing cooking groups according to the amount of energy and nutrients to be focused on in accordance with the attributes of each class, a manager such as a registered dietitian can provide dietary advice that matches the attributes of the user. be able to.

Also, in the modified example, sautéed beef and pork are grouped together, and the dishes are not divided into lean or fatty meat groups. In addition, in the modified example, the sautéed chicken meat is included as a whole, and the cooking groups are not divided according to whether the chicken is skin-on or skin-free. Therefore, it is possible to facilitate the process of determining the group by image analysis from the food image.

In addition, according to such classification information, since information unnecessary for nutritional management is masked, administrators such as registered dietitians can easily acquire information necessary for nutritional management of users.

Next, the process of identifying the cooking group will be explained.

For example, the identifying unit 140 selects one class from among a plurality of classes, and selects a cooking menu showing dishes from two or more cooking groups associated with the one class among the plurality of cooking groups. Identify the cuisine group to which For example, the acquisition unit 120 acquires user information such as user name information indicating a user name and attribute information indicating user attributes from the terminal 200 via the communication unit 110 . The specifying unit 140 selects one class from among a plurality of classes classified for each attribute that can be set for the user, based on attribute information indicating attributes of the user.

　In addition, the management target according to the attribute may be arbitrarily determined in advance, and is not particularly limited.

Also, each class may be associated with the same cooking group. Also, when a cooking group with the same group name is associated with two or more classes, the cooking menu associated with the cooking group may be the same or different for each class.

Also, when the attribute information is not acquired, the specifying unit 140 may select an arbitrary class, or may be provided with a class for when the attribute information is not acquired.

The output unit 150 is a processing unit that outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit 140 . The output unit 150 notifies the administrator of the cooking information by outputting the cooking information to the notification device 320, for example.

It should be noted that the cooking information may include nutritional amount information determined for the cooking group identified by the identifying unit 140. Also, the cooking information may include user information such as user name information and attribute information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of cooking information according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the notification device 320 provides user name information, attribute information, managed object information indicating managed objects, and group name information indicating the group name of the dishes included in the image as cooking information. , and nutrient amount information indicating the amount of the object to be managed contained in the dish.

Each processing unit of the acquisition unit 120, the extraction unit 130, the identification unit 140, and the output unit 150 includes a memory, a control program stored in the memory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes the control program, etc. A processor. Also, these processing units may be implemented by one memory and one processor, or may be implemented by multiple memories and multiple processors in different or arbitrary combinations. Also, these processing units may be realized by, for example, a dedicated electronic circuit or the like.

The storage unit 160 is a storage device that stores information used by the information providing device 100, such as classification information including information indicating a plurality of cooking menus and group information to which each of the plurality of cooking menus belongs. The storage unit 160 is implemented by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, or the like.

It should be noted that the classification information may be arbitrarily changed in content, for example, by having the administrator operate the input device 330 or the like.

The terminal 200 includes a communication section 210 , a control section 220 , a storage section 230 , an imaging section 240 , an operation section 250 and a display section 260 .

The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for communicating with the information providing device 100 . In this embodiment, the communication unit 210 is implemented by an antenna, a wireless communication circuit, and the like for wireless communication. If terminal 200 is, for example, a personal computer, communication unit 210 may be realized by a connector or the like to which a communication line for wired communication is connected.

The control unit 220 is a processing unit that performs various processes executed by the terminal 200. The control unit 220 is implemented, for example, by a memory, a control program stored in the memory, and a processor such as a CPU that executes the control program.

The storage unit 230 is a storage device in which information used by the terminal 200 is stored. The storage unit 230 is implemented by, for example, an HDD, flash memory, or the like.

The imaging unit 240 is a camera that generates an image including the food by photographing the food. Control unit 220 transmits the image generated by imaging unit 240 to information providing apparatus 100 via communication unit 210 .

Note that the control unit 220 may cause the storage unit 230 to store the image in association with date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was generated, for example. In addition, the control unit 220 may transmit a plurality of images to the information providing apparatus 100 via the communication unit 210 together with date/time information and user name information associated with each image, for example.

The operation unit 250 is a user interface that accepts user operations. For example, when the operation unit 250 receives an input to operate the imaging unit 240, the control unit 220 causes the imaging unit 240 to photograph food. Further, for example, when the operation unit 250 receives user information, the control unit 220 stores the user information in the storage unit 230 or transmits the user information to the information providing apparatus 100 via the communication unit 210 . In the present embodiment, operation unit 250 is implemented as a touch panel display together with display unit 260 .

The display unit 260 is a display that displays images. The administrator, for example, confirms cooking information and gives dietary guidance to the user. Specifically, for example, the administrator operates the input device 330 to create notification information indicating the quality of the user's meal or points for improvement, and transmits the notification information to the information providing device 100 to the terminal 200. Let When the control unit 220 acquires the notification information via the communication unit 210, the control unit 220 causes the display unit 260 to display the notification information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific example of notification information according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the user is notified of notification information such as "The salt content may be a little high. Be careful not to use too much seasoning." Thereby, the user can grasp the quality of the meal according to his/her attributes.

Note that the operation unit 250 and the display unit 260 may be realized separately like the notification device 320 and the input device 330.

Further, for example, the information providing apparatus 100 may evaluate the food included in the image based on the food information and the attribute information, and transmit the evaluation result to the terminal 200 as notification information.

[Processing procedure]
Next, processing procedures executed by the information providing apparatus 100 and the information providing system 300 will be described.

<Information providing device>
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the information providing device 100 according to the embodiment.

First, the acquisition unit 120 acquires, for example, classification information and images (S110). For example, the information providing apparatus 100 acquires classification information input by the administrator via the input device 330 or the like. The information providing apparatus 100 causes the storage unit 160 to store the acquired classification information. The acquisition unit 120 acquires the classification information stored in the storage unit 160, for example.

The classification information may be acquired by the acquiring unit 120 via the communication unit 110 from an external device such as a computer. The acquisition unit 120 may cause the storage unit 160 to store the acquired classification information.

Also, the acquisition unit 120 acquires an image from the terminal 200 via the communication unit 110, for example.

It should be noted that, for example, when an image is stored in advance in the storage unit 160, the acquisition unit 120 may acquire the image from the storage unit 160.

Next, the extraction unit 130 extracts the dish included in the image (S120).

Next, the identification unit 140 identifies, using the classification information, the cuisine group to which the cuisine menu indicating the cuisine extracted by the extraction unit 130 belongs (S130).

Next, the output unit 150 outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit 140 (S140).

<Information provision system>
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the processing procedure of the information providing system 300 according to the embodiment. In addition, in the processing procedure of the information providing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 9, one specific example is added and/or changed with respect to the processing procedure of the information providing apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

First, the terminal 200 acquires attribute information indicating attributes of the user, for example, by receiving user input through the operation unit 250 (S210). For example, the control unit 220 causes the storage unit 230 to store attribute information received via the operation unit 250 .

Next, the terminal 200 is operated by the user to shoot a dish, thereby generating an image including the dish (S220). For example, the control unit 220 causes the storage unit 230 to store the image generated by the imaging unit 240 .

Next, when receiving an image transmission instruction from the user, the terminal 200 transmits the attribute information and the image to the information providing apparatus 100 (S230).

Also, for example, the information providing apparatus 100 acquires classification information input by the administrator via the input device 330 or the like, and stores the acquired classification information in the storage unit 160 .

Here, it is assumed that the terminal 200 has transmitted attribute information and an image to the information providing apparatus 100 . For example, the acquisition unit 120 acquires attribute information and images from the terminal 200 via the communication unit 110, and acquires classification information from the storage unit 160 (S111).

Next, the extraction unit 130 extracts the dish included in the image (S120).

Next, the identifying unit 140 selects one class from among the multiple classes included in the classification information based on the attribute information (S131).

Next, the identifying unit 140 uses the classification information to identify, from among the two or more food groups corresponding to the selected class, the food group to which the food menu representing the food extracted by the extraction unit 130 belongs (S132). .

Next, the output unit 150 outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit 140 (S140).

Next, for example, the information providing device 100 generates notification information by receiving input from the administrator via the input device 330 (S150).

Next, for example, the information providing device 100 transmits the generated notification information to the terminal 200 (S160).

Next, when notification information is received from the information providing apparatus 100 via the communication section 210, the control section 220 causes the display section 260 to display the notification information (S240).

[Effects, etc.]
As described above, the information providing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment (i) includes a plurality of cooking menus and the group names of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated. (ii) an acquisition unit 120 that acquires classification information and (ii) an image; an extraction unit 130 that extracts a dish included in the image; A specifying unit 140 and an output unit 150 that outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit 140 are provided. For the plurality of cooking menus, a cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong is set based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes.

According to this, information necessary for the administrator to provide dietary guidance to the user is briefly notified to the administrator as a group name. Therefore, it is possible to provide information necessary for the user's dietary guidance in an easy-to-understand manner.

Further, for example, the classification information further includes nutrient amount information indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy determined for each of the plurality of cooking groups, and the cooking information is specified by the specifying unit 140. Contains nutritional value information defined for the selected food group.

According to this, the administrator can grasp the amount of items to be managed that are particularly necessary for the user's dietary guidance. Therefore, detailed information necessary for the user's dietary guidance can be provided in an easy-to-understand manner.

Further, for example, the classification information includes class information indicating a plurality of classes classified according to user attributes, and the specifying unit 140 selects one class from among the plurality of classes, and selects one class from among the plurality of cooking groups. , from among two or more food groups associated with one class, the food group to which the food menu representing the food belongs is specified.

According to this, for example, by selecting a class according to the user's attributes, it is possible to provide the administrator with appropriate cooking information for the user.

Further, the information providing system 300 according to the embodiment includes an information providing apparatus 100 and a terminal 200. The terminal 200 includes a photographing unit 240 for generating an image by photographing food and providing information on the image. and a communication unit 210 for transmitting to the device 100 .

Further, the information providing method according to the embodiment includes: (i) classification information including a plurality of cooking menus and group names of each of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated; (ii) An image is acquired (S110), a dish included in the image is extracted (S120), and a dish group to which a dish menu representing the dish belongs is specified using the classification information (S130), and is specified. The cooking information including the group name of the cooking group is output (S140). For the plurality of cooking menus, a cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong is set based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes.

Also, the program according to the embodiment is a program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method according to the embodiment.

According to these, the same effects as the information providing device 100 described above can be obtained.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the information providing apparatus and the like according to the present disclosure have been described based on the embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, the information providing system 300 may be realized by a plurality of devices or may be realized by one device. Specifically, in the above embodiment, the information providing system 300 includes the information providing device 100 and the terminal 200, but the information providing system according to the present disclosure includes a single device such as an information terminal. may be implemented as one device, or may be implemented by a plurality of devices. For example, the information providing system may be implemented as a client-server system. When the information providing system is realized by a plurality of devices, the components included in the information providing system described in the above embodiments may be distributed to the plurality of devices in any way.

Also, for example, in the above embodiment, the processing executed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. In addition, the order of multiple processes may be changed, and multiple processes may be executed in parallel.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, all or part of the constituent elements of the processing units such as the acquisition unit 120 and the extraction unit 130 included in the information providing apparatus 100 may be configured with dedicated hardware, or It may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or processor reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as an HDD or semiconductor memory.

Also, for example, the constituent elements of the processing unit may be composed of one or more electronic circuits. Each of the one or more electronic circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

One or more electronic circuits may include, for example, a semiconductor device, an IC (Integrated Circuit), or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). An IC or LSI may be integrated on one chip or may be integrated on a plurality of chips. Although they are called ICs or LSIs here, they may be called system LSIs, VLSIs (Very Large Scale Integration), or ULSIs (Ultra Large Scale Integration) depending on the degree of integration. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that is programmed after the LSI is manufactured can also be used for the same purpose.

Also, general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, or computer program. Alternatively, it may be realized by a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium such as an optical disk, HDD, or semiconductor memory storing the computer program. Also, any combination of systems, devices, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs and recording media may be implemented.

In addition, as long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications that a person skilled in the art can think of are applied to the present embodiment, and a form constructed by combining the components of different embodiments is also within the scope of the present disclosure. included.

The present disclosure can be applied to computers and the like that communicate with terminals.

100 information providing device 110, 210 communication unit 120 acquisition unit 130 extraction unit 140 identification unit 150 output unit 160, 230 storage unit 200 terminal 220 control unit 240 imaging unit 250 operation unit 260 display unit 300 information providing system 310 network 320 notification device 330 Input device 340 images M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7 Cooking images

Claims (6)

(i) an acquisition unit that acquires classification information including a plurality of cooking menus and group names of each of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated; and (ii) an image. ,
an extraction unit that extracts the dish included in the image;
a specifying unit that specifies, using the classification information, a food group to which the food menu indicating the food belongs;
an output unit that outputs cooking information including the group name of the cooking group specified by the specifying unit;
For the plurality of cooking menus, a cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong is set based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes. Information provider. The classification information further includes nutritional amount information indicating the amount of at least one of the one or more nutrients and energy determined for each of the plurality of cooking groups,
The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooking information includes the nutritional information defined for the cooking group specified by the specifying unit. The classification information includes class information indicating a plurality of classes classified according to user attributes,
The identification unit
selecting one class from the plurality of classes;
3. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein a cooking group to which a cooking menu representing said cooking belongs is specified from among two or more cooking groups associated with said one class among said plurality of cooking groups. . An information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
a terminal;
The terminal is
a photographing unit that generates the image by photographing the dish;
and a communication unit configured to transmit the image to the information providing device. (i) classification information including a plurality of cooking menus and the group names of each of a plurality of cooking groups to which each of the plurality of cooking menus is associated; and (ii) an image;
Extract the dishes included in the image,
using the classification information to identify a food group to which the food menu indicating the food belongs,
Output cooking information including the group name of the specified cooking group,
For the plurality of cooking menus, a cooking group to which the plurality of cooking menus belong is set based on the similarity of managed objects indicating at least one of one or more nutrients and energy set according to user attributes. How to provide information. A program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method according to claim 5.

Images