Abstract: An autonomous traveler 1 includes an information acquisition part 11, a map storage part 12 and a travel control part 7. The information acquisition part 11 acquires information on a traveling area. The map storage part 12 creates and stores a base map, by determining the traveling area on the basis of the information acquired by the information acquisition part 11 at a predetermined timing. The travel control part 7 controls traveling on the basis of a map stored in the map storage part 12. The travel control part 7 controls the traveling on the basis of the base map, even when a traveling obstacle stored in the base map is removed.

Abstract: Provided herein a vacuum cleaner capable of effectively escaping from a situation where driving wheels are in an idling state. The vacuum cleaner includes a main casing, driving wheels, a control unit and an idling detection part. The driving wheels enable the main casing to travel. The control unit controls the driving of the driving wheels to make the main casing autonomously travel. The idling detection part detects that the driving wheels are in an idling state. In the case where the idling detection part detects that the driving wheels are in an idling state, the control unit controls the operation of the driving wheels so as to, after the operation to make the main casing retreat by a certain distance, repeat consecutively for a plurality of times the operation to make the main casing turn in a specified one direction and advance by a specified distance.

Abstract: An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner capable of cleaning an area closely adjacent to an obstacle of a floor surface, and the control method therefor. A main body includes a front face part formed in a linear shape. A detector detects an obstacle in a traveling direction of the main body. A traveling part makes the front face part of the main body face the obstacle and makes the main body travel to the obstacle, on the basis of the result detected by the detector. A cleaning unit, which is disposed on a front portion of the main body, cleans a cleaning-object surface in the state where the traveling part has made the main body travel to the obstacle.

Abstract: An autonomous traveler 1 includes an information acquisition part 11, a map storage part 12 and a travel control part 7. The information acquisition part 11 acquires information on a traveling area. The map storage part 12 creates and stores a base map, by determining the traveling area on the basis of the information acquired by the information acquisition part 11 at a predetermined timing. The travel control part 7 controls traveling on the basis of a map stored in the map storage part 12. The travel control part 7 controls the traveling on the basis of the base map, even when a traveling obstacle stored in the base map is removed.

Abstract: Provided herein a vacuum cleaner capable of effectively escaping from a situation where driving wheels are in an idling state. The vacuum cleaner includes a main casing, driving wheels, a control unit and an idling detection part. The driving wheels enable the main casing to travel. The control unit controls the driving of the driving wheels to make the main casing autonomously travel. The idling detection part detects that the driving wheels are in an idling state. In the case where the idling detection part detects that the driving wheels are in an idling state, the control unit controls the operation of the driving wheels so as to, after the operation to make the main casing retreat by a certain distance, repeat consecutively for a plurality of times the operation to make the main casing turn in a specified one direction and advance by a specified distance.

Abstract: To provide a neighbor searching apparatus that can select an index suitable for each search target. A neighbor searching apparatus has: a storage part that stores a meta table containing index-dependent meta data associated with a data structure of each index; a database managing part that searches for an index associated with an instruction when receiving the instruction from a user and makes an indexing part perform a processing associated with the instruction using the index-dependent meta data associated with the index; and the indexing part that performs the processing associated with the instruction using the index-dependent meta data based on the instruction from the managing database part.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of extracting a user related to a field corresponding to an inquiry content based on shared documents of a plurality of users and profile information including at least specialized fields of the plurality of users. A degree of communication of the extracted respective users with the user who has made the inquiry is calculated based on a history of communication using a network. The user who can answer the inquiry is selected from the extracted users based on the degree of communication.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method of extracting a user related to a field corresponding to an inquiry content based on shared documents of a plurality of users and profile information including at least specialized fields of the plurality of users. A degree of communication of the extracted respective users with the user who has made the inquiry is calculated based on a history of communication using a network. The user who can answer the inquiry is selected from the extracted users based on the degree of communication.