Abstract: Provided is a server device (101) including: a transmitting/receiving section (201) for receiving, from a household electric appliance (102), an identifier for identifying the household electric appliance (102) and an operation status of the household electric appliance (102); an updating section (207) for estimating a consumption status of a consumer good using the received operation status so as to update the consumption status of the consumer good stored in a utilization information accumulating section (205) based on the estimated consumption status of the consumer good; and a determination section (206) for deciding whether or not to transmit a confirmation message for confirming the consumer good being used with the household electric appliance, based on the updated consumption status of the consumer good.

Abstract: A management method manages devices in a home includes, receiving operation information on one of the devices when an operation is performed for the one of the devices, specifying times at which the operation was performed, in accordance with the information, and receiving, whenever a state is entered when no one is expected to be home, time information when the state has been entered. Specifying in-home-absence times at which a state has been entered when no one is expected to be home, according to the time information, for each of the devices, calculating time differences for the specified operation times, and for each of the devices, specifying the performed operation as a first behavior of the person correlated to a behavior before the person leaves home, when variation of the calculated time differences of the corresponding one of the devices is equal to or lower than a threshold.

Abstract: Specification of a time is received from a device that uses an in-home-presence probability calculation system, a probability that a person is at home at the specified time is calculated on the basis of a specified operation time and a specified correlation when the specified operation time is a time within a period of a certain time ending at the time at which the specification has been received, and information as to whether or not a person is at home is output to the device on the basis of the calculated probability.

Abstract: An evaluation apparatus that is connected to a bus used by a plurality of electronic control units that constitute an electronic control system for communication and that evaluates security of the electronic control system. The evaluation apparatus includes a transmitter that sends, to the bus, at least one attack frame including an invalidation frame for invalidating a frame on the bus, a monitor that monitors at least one of the plurality of electronic control units, and an evaluator that evaluates the electronic control system in terms of security on the basis of the result of monitoring performed by the monitor when the attack frame is sent from the transmitter to the bus.

Abstract: A method for monitoring power used by a power monitoring system is provided. The method includes receiving preset information that defines periods in which one or more preset electric devices are scheduled to operate, and obtaining a power use rate indicating how much power is used in each period. Further, the method includes generating an alternative instruction to decrease estimated power consumption in a target period in which the power use rate increases. The estimated power consumption is estimated power consumption in the building in the target period in which the power use rate increases, using power consumption information, to which power consumption of the electric devices to be preset is registered in advance, and the preset information. The alternative instruction is displayed on a display of a terminal apparatus.

Abstract: In a method for monitoring power, preset information that defines periods in which one or more preset electric devices are scheduled to operate is received, an amount of power available, which is an estimated amount of power available in the building in each period, is calculated, estimated power consumption, which is estimated power consumption in the building in each period, is calculated using power consumption information, to which power consumption of the electric devices to be preset is registered in advance, and the preset information, an alternative instruction with which the estimated power consumption becomes lower than or equal to the amount of power available is generated, and the alternative instruction is displayed on a terminal apparatus. And at least one of the receiving, the calculating the amount of power available, the calculating the estimated power consumption, the generating and the displaying is performed by a processor.

Abstract: An information presenting device (100) presents image information; an operative device (200) accepts a predetermined input operation during the presentation of the image information; a guide information managing device (300) stores date and time information indicating a date and a time at which the input operation is accepted, image specifying information specifying image information presented when the input operation is accepted, and guide destination information indicating a guide destination to which the user is guided is stored in a database in association with one another, the guide destination information being specified by the date and time information, and the image specifying information; and a guide device (400) presents the guide destination information in response to a request from the user.

Abstract: An information notification method in an information notification system, including: an acquiring step for acquiring today's required time which is required for traveling from a departure point to a destination included in behavior information; a determining step for determining today's departure time using the acquired today's required time and an arrival time included in the behavior information; a judging step for judging whether or not the determined today's departure time is earlier than a typical departure time included in the behavior information; a notifying step for notifying a notifying apparatus owned by the user of notification information for adjusting the behavior of the user, when judgment is made that the determined today's departure time is earlier than the typical departure time; and an output step for causing the notifying apparatus to output the notified notification information.

Abstract: A voice dialogue method performed by a voice dialog system includes: a voice signal generation unit; a voice dialog agent unit; a voice output unit; and a voice input control unit, the method including: a step of, by the voice signal generation unit, receiving a voice input and generating a voice signal based on the received voice input; a step of, by the voice dialog agent unit, performing voice recognition processing on the voice signal and performing processing based on a result of the voice recognition processing to generate a response signal; a step of, by the voice output unit, outputting a voice based on the response signal; and a step of, when the voice output unit outputs the voice, by the voice input control unit, keeping the voice signal generation unit, for predetermined period after output of the voice, a receivable state in which a voice input is receivable.

Abstract: A usual setting state in accordance with a current in-house state and a device state is selected using an acquired in-house state and a device state from a plurality of setting states classified in advance in accordance with in-house states and device states. When the selected usual setting state and the acquired setting state differ from each other, a first notification that notifies a user of the difference is performed and a state of an information terminal is transitioned to a state where an input for remotely controlling a second device can be accepted.

Abstract: An information providing method includes: identifying a product in which a viewer expressed interest, by using an input notification; counting the number of viewers who expressed interest in each product, by using a result of the identifying; obtaining an offered price for each product of a product provider, the price corresponding to the number of viewers counted in the counting, and registering the price as product provider information; selecting a product provider that offers the identified product to the viewer, by using product provider information of one or more product providers that wish to provide one or more products; and causing the viewer's terminal apparatus to present the product provider information of the selected product provider and product information of the identified product in an associated manner. In the selecting, the product provider is selected based on the offered price of the identified product and the number of viewers.

Abstract: A voice dialogue method performed by a voice dialogue system includes: a voice signal generation unit; a voice dialogue agent unit; a voice output unit; and a voice input control unit, the method including: a step of, by the voice signal generation unit, receiving a voice input and generating a voice signal based on the received voice input; a step of, by the voice dialogue agent unit, performing voice recognition processing on the voice signal and performing processing based on a result of the voice recognition processing to generate a response signal; a step of, by the voice output unit, outputting a voice based on the response signal; and a step of, when the voice output unit outputs the voice, by the voice input control unit, keeping the voice signal generation unit, for predetermined period after output of the voice, a receivable state in which a voice input is receivable.

Abstract: An information presenting device (100) presents image information; an operative device (200) accepts a predetermined input operation during the presentation of the image information; a guide information managing device (300) stores date and time information indicating a date and a time at which the input operation is accepted, image specifying information specifying image information presented when the input operation is accepted, and guide destination information indicating a guide destination to which the user is guided is stored in a database in association with one another, the guide destination information being specified by the date and time information, and the image specifying information; and a guide device (400) presents the guide destination information in response to a request from the user.

Abstract: A gateway (103) determines whether or not voice information collected by a sound collecting device (102) needs to be subjected to voice recognition by a server apparatus (101), and only voice information that is determined to need to be subjected to voice recognition by the server apparatus (101) is transmitted by the gateway (103) to the server apparatus (101). The server apparatus (101) recognizes the received voice information, decides a control instruction, and transmits the control instruction to a household electrical appliance (104) via the gateway (103).

Abstract: A risk information processing method used in a risk information processing system that manages a degree of risk at a spot where a moving object is located includes: storing, as risk information in a storage, a degree of risk for a combination of spot and situation; and estimating first risk information for a first combination for which a degree of risk has not been input by using three or more pieces of risk information including degrees of risk for a second combination whose spot is the same as the first combination and whose situation is different from the first combination, for a third combination whose situation is the same as the first combination and whose spot is different from the first combination, and for a fourth combination whose situation is the same as the second combination and whose spot is the same as the third combination.

Abstract: In a risk determination method: moving body information, in which accompanying information that indicates the current position of a moving body and a current-position image that indicates a situation around the moving body at the current position are included in correspondence to each other, is obtained; and, if risk occurrence information corresponding to the current position indicated in the accompanying information included in the moving body information is not stored in a risk occurrence information manager and risk occurrence information corresponding to a position other than the current position is stored in the risk occurrence information manager, a degree of risk at the current position is determined on the basis of a similarity between the current-position image included in the moving body information and a risky-position image included in at least one piece of risk occurrence information stored in the risk occurrence information manager.

Abstract: A gateway (103) determines whether or not voice information collected by a sound collecting device (102) needs to be subjected to voice recognition by a server apparatus (101), and only voice information that is determined to need to be subjected to voice recognition by the server apparatus (101) is transmitted by the gateway (103) to the server apparatus (101). The server apparatus (101) recognizes the received voice information, decides a control instruction, and transmits the control instruction to a household electrical appliance (104) via the gateway (103).

Abstract: In a method for monitoring power, preset information that defines periods in which one or more preset electric devices are scheduled to operate is received, an amount of power available, which is an estimated amount of power available in the building in each period, is calculated, estimated power consumption, which is estimated power consumption in the building in each period, is calculated using power consumption information, to which power consumption of the electric devices to be preset is registered in advance, and the preset information, an alternative instruction with which the estimated power consumption becomes lower than or equal to the amount of power available is generated, and the alternative instruction is displayed on a terminal apparatus. And at least one of the receiving, the calculating the amount of power available, the calculating the estimated power consumption, the generating and the displaying is performed by a processor.

Abstract: The present disclosure is an information notification method in an information notification system, including: an acquiring step for acquiring today's required time which is required for traveling from a departure point to a destination included in behavior information; a determining step for determining today's departure time using the acquired today's required time and an arrival time included in the behavior information; a judging step for judging whether or not the determined today's departure time is earlier than a typical departure time included in the behavior information; a notifying step for notifying a notifying apparatus owned by the user of notification information for adjusting the behavior of the user, when it is judged that the determined today's departure time is earlier than the typical departure time; and an output step for causing the notifying apparatus to output the notified notification information.

Abstract: A usual setting state in accordance with a current in-house state and a device state is selected using an acquired in-house state and a device state from a plurality of setting states classified in advance in accordance with in-house states and device states. When the selected usual setting state and the acquired setting state differ from each other, a first notification that notifies a user of the difference is performed and a state of an information terminal is transitioned to a state where an input for remotely controlling a second device can be accepted.