Abstract: A sleepiness estimating device includes a biometric information acquirer that acquires biometric information of a person, an auxiliary information acquirer that acquires auxiliary information including at least one of five-sense information perceived by the person or emotion information indicating an emotion of the person, and a sleepiness estimator that estimates a sleepiness of the person based on the biometric information and the auxiliary information.

Abstract: A lens allows infrared light to pass therethrough. An infrared sensor includes infrared detection elements arranged in two or more columns. The infrared sensor is rotated around a scan rotation axis that passes through part of the lens to scan a detection range, and outputs an output signal indicating a thermal image of the detection range. At least two infrared detection elements in the infrared sensor are located at positions displaced from each other with respect to the scan rotation axis. Among the infrared detection elements, the number of first infrared detection elements having a smaller half-width of a point spread function in a scan direction than that in the direction of the scan rotation axis is larger than the number of second infrared detection elements having a larger half-width of a point spread function in the scan direction than that in the direction of the scan rotation axis.

Abstract: In a method for controlling an information display apparatus that displays information on a display seen by a plurality of users, a feeling of a first user among the plurality of users is estimated on the basis of a physical value obtained from a sensor, it is determined, using the obtained physical value or the estimated feeling, whether to display the estimated feeling, and the display is controlled in accordance with a result of the determination.

Abstract: A method of controlling a device includes: obtaining information related to a body surface temperature of a person by detecting the body surface temperature of the person by a thermal camera, estimating a deep body temperature of the person on the basis of the information related to the body surface temperature of the person, detecting the person's condition on the basis of the deep body temperature of the person, and controlling an operation of the device according to the detected person's condition.

Abstract: A human-state estimating method includes: obtaining a thermal sensation index obtained by indexing, in a specified range, an estimated thermal sensation of a person; determining whether or not the obtained thermal sensation index is in a predetermined range in the specified range; and estimating a human state, which is a state of the person, based on a physiological amount in which an activity of an autonomic nervous system of the person is reflected, the physiological amount being obtained when it is determined that the obtained thermal sensation index is in the predetermined range.

Abstract: A method for estimating a physical condition used by a computer includes simultaneously measuring blood flow volumes of at least two body parts of a person and estimating the person's physical condition on the basis of the blood flow volumes of the at least two body parts measured in the simultaneously measuring.

Abstract: A method for predicting an arousal level used by a computer of an arousal level prediction apparatus that predicts an arousal level of a user is provided. The method includes obtaining current biological information regarding the user detected by a sensor, and calculating a current arousal level of the user based on the current biological information. The method further includes obtaining current environment information indicating a current environment around the user, and predicting a future arousal level, which is an arousal level a certain period of time later, based on the current arousal level and the current environment information. Based on the predicted future arousal level, the method further issues a notification to the user, or controls an operation of a device.

Abstract: A wakefulness induction control device includes a sleepiness detector that detects a sleepiness level indicating a degree of sleepiness of a user; a controller that actuates a wakefulness inducer that induces wakefulness in the user when the sleepiness level detected by the sleepiness detector meets a predetermined reference, and stops the wakefulness inducer when a predetermined duration has passed after actuation of the wakefulness inducer, and an output that outputs actuating information of the wakefulness inducer. The actuating information includes time information indicating the duration left until the controller stops the wakefulness inducer.

Abstract: A method for predicting an arousal level used by a computer of an arousal level prediction apparatus that predicts an arousal level of a user is provided. The method includes obtaining current biological information regarding the user detected by a sensor, and calculating a current arousal level of the user based on the current biological information. The method further includes obtaining current environment information indicating a current environment around the user, and predicting a future arousal level, which is an arousal level a certain period of time later, based on the current arousal level and the current environment information. Based on the predicted future arousal level, the method further issues a notification to the user, or controls an operation of a device.

Abstract: A radiation receiving sensor includes an infrared receiver including a plurality of infrared receiving devices that receive infrared radiation, a lens that allows infrared radiation to enter the infrared receiver, a rotator that rotates the infrared receiver and the lens about a part of the lens, and a cover member that faces the infrared receiver through the lens and that has translucency.

Abstract: A sleepiness estimating device includes an environmental information detector that detects a plurality of conditions of an environment surrounding a user and outputs environmental information indicating the detected conditions of the environment, a calculator that calculates an environmental level indicating a degree of how likely the user becomes sleepy in the environment in accordance with the environmental information output by the environmental information detector, and an output that outputs the environmental level calculated by the calculator.

Abstract: A living body information measurement device includes an illuminator that irradiates a living body with illumination light; an imaging unit that images the living body; and a computation unit that computes living body information on the basis of a difference between pixel data in an irradiation area being an area of the living body irradiated with the illumination light and pixel data in a non-irradiation area being an area of the living body not irradiated with the illumination light, included in pixel data associated with each position in an image generated by the imaging of the imaging unit.

Abstract: A cloud server (104) receives environmental information of respective installation sites of a plurality of appliances (101a, 101b, 101c, 102a, 102b) via a network (1000), and determines one or more appliances that are installed in a same room among the plurality of appliances (101a, 101b, 101c, 102a, 102b), based on the received environmental information.

Abstract: An emotion estimating method includes: acquiring first data and second data from the subject, the first data corresponding to physiology data, and the second data corresponding to one of physiology data different from the first data and non-physiology data; calculating a first value and a second value based on the acquired first data and second data, the first value indicating a degree of arousal of the subject and the second value indicating a degree of valence of the subject; estimating the emotion of the subject, by using the calculated first value and second value and based on a predetermined association of people's emotions with a degree of arousal and a degree of valence of the people, the predetermined association being pre-stored in a memory; and outputting information indicating the estimated emotion.

Abstract: An autonomic nerve control device includes an obtainer that obtains a physiological quantity of a user before the user occupies a moving body, and a controller that controls the autonomic nerves of the user occupying the moving body based on the physiological quantity of the user obtained by the obtainer.

Abstract: A vehicle including an air conditioner and a thermal sensation estimation apparatus is disclosed. The thermal sensation estimation apparatus includes a processor and a memory that stores a program, which causes the processor to perform a set of operations. The operations include obtaining thermal environment information at least regarding a thermal environment of or around a person, and estimating first and second thermal sensations using first and second methods, respectively, on the basis of the thermal environment information. The operations further include selecting at least one of the first thermal sensation estimated using the first method and the second thermal sensation estimated using the second method, and outputting, to the air conditioner, instruction information using the selected at least one of the first thermal sensation and the second thermal sensation.

Abstract: A sleepiness estimating device includes a biometric information acquirer that acquires biometric information of a person, an auxiliary information acquirer that acquires auxiliary information including at least one of five-sense information perceived by the person or emotion information indicating an emotion of the person, and a sleepiness estimator that estimates a sleepiness of the person based on the biometric information and the auxiliary information.

Abstract: A processing method for a processing apparatus is disclosed. The processing method causes a computer of the processing apparatus to perform a process. The process includes detecting a position and a sleep state of a passenger inside a vehicle on a basis of information indicating a state of space including seats of the vehicle. The information is obtained from a sensor provided inside the vehicle. The process also includes notifying an operator of the vehicle of the detected position and the detected sleep state of the passenger. Further, the process also includes transmitting, upon detecting an operation, the operation being performed by the operator of the vehicle in response to the notifying, for controlling a device near the detected position of the passenger, a control command corresponding to the operation to the device.

Abstract: A management method manages a plurality of devices provided in a structure, a server includes storage storing operation information related to a plurality of devices and time information of a time at which it is expected that no one is present. The method specifies, for each device, operation times at which an operation is performed, operation information, specifying in-structure-absence times when it is expected that no one is present, both in accordance with the time information. For each device, time differences for the specified operation times are calculated. For each device, a performed certain operation is a behavior pattern correlated to a behavior when the person continues being present when a ratio of a frequency of the calculated time differences regarding the corresponding device, which is lower than a particular value, is equal to or lower than an other value.

Abstract: A sensor control method that is executed by an air-conditioning apparatus includes: acquiring a first thermal image by scanning an air-conditioned space using the infrared sensor in accordance with a first scanning scheme, the air-conditioning apparatus being placed in the air-conditioned space; extracting a subject thermal image from the first thermal image, based on a difference between a background thermal image of the air-conditioned space when no subject is present therein and the first thermal image; determining a second scanning scheme different from the first scanning scheme, when the subject thermal image has a size smaller than a threshold size; and acquiring a second thermal image by scanning an area corresponding to the subject thermal image of the air-conditioned space using the infrared sensor in accordance with the determined second scanning scheme.