Abstract: An information providing system that provides information to a traveling user, includes a visit history record unit which detects that the user visits a place which is away from a user's living area in order to generate a travel history, and records, as a visit history, the travel history together with a visit area which represents the visited place. Moreover, the information providing system includes a visit history database, a facility information database which provides the user with the information regarding the visit area recorded in the visit history database, and a facility information search unit.

Abstract: To provide a content searching device which can efficiently present to the user a topical related keyword.

Abstract: A contents retrieval device (100) presenting an appropriate related keyword to a user even when an object user wishes to retrieve dynamically changes. The contents retrieval device (100) includes a contents estimation unit (107) retrieving contents according to a search keyword, a document space database (103) storing document spaces according to an occurrence frequency of the keyword, a document space selection unit (104) selecting a the narrowing-down document space and an expansion document space from the document space database (103) according to the search keyword and the occurrence frequency of the document space indicating a degree of relevance with the contents according to the search keyword, a related keyword estimation unit (108) selecting keywords corresponding to the narrowing-down document space and the expansion document space as a narrowing-down keyword and an expansion keyword, respectively, and an output unit displaying the selected narrowing-down and expansion keywords.

Abstract: An information search support device includes: a cluster selection history information accumulation unit which accumulates content information of each cluster and cluster selection history information indicating a cluster selected by a user; a degree of certainty calculation unit which calculates a degree of certainty indicating a degree to which a vague search target of the user has been identified, based the cluster selection history information accumulated; a search target estimation unit which obtains a condition for estimating the search target; a search-omitted information extraction unit which extracts search-omitted information that is included in the cluster that is not selected and is estimated from the obtained condition; and a search-omitted information addition unit which adds, to the cluster selected by the user, the extracted search-omitted information, in the case where the degree of certainty is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold.

Abstract: An image search device is provided which relatively easily outputs images that a user wishes to use for interpolation from among a large volume of stored image content data.

Abstract: Provided are an operation assisting apparatus and a method thereof which accurately estimate an intention of a user and present a desired function more preferentially. The operation assisting apparatus estimates a function desired by a user based on a history of user operations for selecting options displayed on a menu screen having a hierarchical structure, and provides an operational assistance based on a result of the estimation.

Abstract: A current position determination unit determines a current position of a user; a facility candidate search unit specifies, as a candidate for a visited place, a facility that is located within a predetermined area including the current position determined by the current position determination unit; an electronic money unit and a payment amount calculation unit detect a payment amount of the user; and a most-likely visited facility identification unit identifies a most-likely visited place by selecting from a plurality of facilities a facility corresponding to the payment amount detected by the electronic money unit and the payment amount calculation unit, when the plurality of facilities are specified by the facility candidate search unit.

Abstract: A named entity extracting apparatus that extracts a named entity suitable for a user by enabling an order to be set in which the named entity is extracted from texts includes: an extraction order reading unit 103 that acquires a named entity pattern name stored in association with an extraction order in an extraction order storage unit 102; a named entity extracting unit 105 that extracts the named entity from input texts using a named entity pattern corresponding to the named entity pattern name acquired by the extraction order reading unit 103; and an extraction end judging unit 106 which outputs, in the case where extraction has not ended, a text on which the extraction is in progress to the extraction order reading unit 103, and continues the named entity extraction processing.

Abstract: In an interactive program search apparatus (100) which presents search condition candidates for expanding or narrowing down search results, reason words indicating the reason why the search condition candidates are presented are adaptively determined based on user's preference, search actions, and watching actions. An association-source word extracting unit (109) extracts an association-source word from the program search results, and an associated word extracting unit (110) extracts associated words associated with the association-source word, from an association dictionary storage unit (103). A reason word extracting unit (111) extracts reason words illustrating the relationships between the association-source word and the associated words, using the association-source word, the associated words, and the obtainment history information composed of words included in the program information of the programs selected by the user in the past and selected words among the words.

Abstract: An information retrieval apparatus, which can present to a user only a related word matching a user search intent, includes: an associative dictionary storage unit (102A) for storing words included in plural pieces of text to be searched and relevance degrees between the words; an appearance frequency storage unit (102B) for storing an appearance frequency that is the number of pieces of text in which the words stored in the associative dictionary storage unit (102A) appear, among the plural pieces of text to be searched; and a related word obtaining unit (104) that obtains a related word to be presented to the user, from the relevance degree between the search word entered by the user and another word among the words, the appearance frequency, and the user search intent.

Abstract: A circuit simulation model generation apparatus includes: a power supply wiring model generation section that generates a power supply wiring model which is a model of the power supply wiring; a logic circuit model generation section that generates a logic circuit model which is a model of the logic circuit; and a link section that adds, to the logic circuit model and the power supply wiring model, a voltage controller that acquires a potential value of a logic circuit connecting terminal and gives the acquired potential value to a power supply wiring connecting terminal and a current controller that acquires a current value of the power supply wiring connecting terminal and gives the acquired current value to the logic circuit connecting terminal in the simulation, and links the logic circuit model and the power supply wiring model to generate a simulation model.

Abstract: For cooking data provided via a communication network, use track records of the cooking data corresponding with their actual use status are accurately managed. When receiving a request for transmission of cooking data from a terminal (S11), a server transmits the cooking data to the terminal (S12, S13), and at this time receives use history data with a microwave oven for previously transmitted cooking data (S14). The server manages use track records of the cooking data based on use history data received from terminals.

Abstract: A target estimation device that appropriately estimates a function targeted by a user from among functions of an operated apparatus includes: an item inputting unit (102) that obtains an item; a function representation storing unit (107) that stores function names of the operated apparatus; an identical word detecting unit (116) that detects a category of a word identical between each of the function names and the item; an operation intention calculating unit (117) that changes a method for calculating similarities between the item and the respective function names, for each of the function names, depending on the detected category, and that calculates the similarities as degrees of intentions of the user who has selected the item, using the changed calculation method; and a target estimation unit (112) that estimates a function so that the function having a higher degree of an intention is the function targeted by the user.

Abstract: A related word presentation device (100) for appropriately performing omission prevention search includes: a program information storage unit (101) which stores program information (101a) of each program; an information dividing unit (103a) which generates, for each of the attributes of the words included in the program information (101a), at least one group which includes, as a unit, a reference word which is a word belonging to the attribute and a set of words which co-occur with the reference word in a program; a degree-of-relevance calculating unit (103b) which stores, in an association dictionary storage unit (102), attribute-based association dictionaries (102a, 102b, 102c) each of which indicates, for the corresponding attribute of words, (i) the words and (ii) the degrees of relevance between the words calculated based on the frequency of co-occurrence in each of groups; a search condition obtaining unit (104) which obtains the search word and the attribute; a substitute word obtaining unit (105) whic

Abstract: The users are allowed to easily retrieve contents data such as recipe data. A personal computer (103) receives recipe data from a server (101) via a communication network (102), and stores the received recipe data in a memory card (104). The personal computer updates recipe hierarchical information (142) in the memory card (104), i.e., information which indicates classified levels of recipe data based on retrieval keys, with reference to overall hierarchical information (133), i.e., information which indicates the hierarchical relation of retrieval keys in the whole recipes, so that the newly stored recipe data is included in the recipe hierarchical information.

Abstract: The contents retrieval device (100) which can present an appropriate related keyword to a user even when the object user wishes to retrieve dynamically changes includes a contents estimation unit (107) which retrieves the contents according to the search keyword, the document space database (103) where the plurality of document spaces according to the occurrence frequency of the keyword is stored, the document space selection unit (104) which selects the narrowing-down document space and the expansion document space from the document space database (103) according to the search keyword and the occurrence frequency of the document space indicating a degree of relevance with the contents according to the search keyword, the related keyword estimation unit (108) which selects the keywords corresponding to the narrowing-down document space and the expansion document space as the narrowing-down keyword and the expansion keyword respectively, and the output unit which displays the selected narrowing-down keyword an

Abstract: A mobile terminal that appropriately predicts an application that a user is likely to use that includes: an input device that selects and executes any of two or more applications; a GPS reception unit; a behavior pattern extraction unit that creates a usage prediction rule of the application executed on the input device , in association with a usage location detected by the GPS reception unit; and an information display control unit that specifies, based on the usage prediction rule, an application corresponding to the current location detected by the GPS reception unit , and causes a display to display the specified application as a prediction result.

Abstract: An operation history utilization system including a terminal electric device, a server electric device (user server), and an application server that are connected to one another via network. On the terminal electric device, there is implemented a device agent for storing the device operated by a user, the operation details and the operation time as an operation history set. On the server electric device, there is implemented a user agent for receiving the operation history transmitted from the device agent at a predetermined timing and managing the history in a centralized manner. On the application server, there is implemented a service concierge for providing service, considering the user's taste by inquiring the user agent about the operation history.

Abstract: A named entity extracting apparatus that extracts a named entity suitable for a user by enabling an order to be set in which the named entity is extracted from texts includes: an extraction order reading unit 103 that acquires a named entity pattern name stored in association with an extraction order in an extraction order storage unit 102; a named entity extracting unit 105 that extracts the named entity from input texts using a named entity pattern corresponding to the named entity pattern name acquired by the extraction order reading unit 103; and an extraction end judging unit 106 which outputs, in the case where extraction has not ended, a text on which the extraction is in progress to the extraction order reading unit 103, and continues the named entity extraction processing.

Abstract: A forming method wherein a billet (31, 66, 77, 87, 107, 128, 136, 144, 153, 77B, 77C) comprising a metal-based composite material (27) prepared by mixing an aluminum alloy (22) and a ceramic (15) is subjected to pressure forming to manufacture a formed article, which comprises carrying out the pressure forming by the use of different compression ratios for different portions of the formed article, wherein a compression ratio means the ratio of the height of a billet before the pressure forming to height of the billet after the pressure forming. The above forming method allows the manufacture of a formed article having different volume contents 8Vf) of the ceramic for different portions thereof.