JP2000194855A - Individual identification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the burdens of photographing the image of an eye at the collation, thereby performing the collation in a short time. SOLUTION: The size of the pupil of the eye is changed by gently changing the intensity of illumination with time by visible light illumination 12 and the plural images of the eye for which the size of the pupil is different are successively photographed by an infrared ray video camera 13. The feature is extracted by a feature extraction part 15 from the photographed plural images of the eye 1 and extracted plural feature data are registered for respective individuals. Then, in photographing the image of the eye to be collated, one image of the eye is acquired and the feature data and the registered plural images of the eye for the respective individuals are collated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an individual identification system for analyzing characteristics of an image of an eye including a pupil and an iris, and comparing the analyzed characteristic data for individual identification.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an individual identification technique for analyzing an iris of an eye image including a pupil and an iris and collating the analyzed iris data to identify an individual. As an individual identification technique of this type, for example, an iris recognition system disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-84166 is reported. In this iris recognition system, the light source of the illumination means 70 is adjusted, and images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil dimensions are taken by the camera 84. At the time of eye collation, each of the input images of the plurality of eyes 10 having different pupil sizes is compared with the stored image of the eye 10 having the same pupil size by the comparing unit 90.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems to be solved. It takes a certain amount of time to change the pupil to a desired size by illuminating the eyes with the illuminating means. In addition, when capturing an image of an eye of a non-human animal such as a horse, it is difficult to keep the animal still, so it is difficult to obtain a good image in which the animal is in focus and the eyes are facing the front. In some cases, it was necessary to re-take a picture from the beginning for frame out. Therefore, it takes more time to photograph the eyes. By the way, photographing the eye image is performed when registering the iris data of the eye and when comparing the iris data of the eye. Generally, there are few opportunities for registration, but many opportunities for verification. Therefore, it has been desired to realize an individual identification system that can shorten the time for matching as much as possible even if the time for registration is somewhat long.

[0004]

The present invention employs the following structure to solve the above-mentioned problems. <Claim 1> The invention according to claim 1 is an illumination unit for changing the size of the pupil of the eye by changing the intensity of illumination in proportion to time, and the size of the pupil illuminated by the illumination unit. An imaging unit that captures a plurality of eye images having different eye sizes, a feature extraction unit that extracts features of the plurality of eye images captured by the imaging unit, and a plurality of eye images extracted by the feature extraction unit A registration unit having a registration unit for registering the feature data of the plurality of eyes, and a matching device for matching the feature data of the image of the eye to be compared using the feature data of the plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit. It is characterized by having.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the registration device, the size of the pupil of the eye is changed by changing the illumination intensity of the illumination unit in proportion to time. Images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes illuminated by the illumination unit are captured by the imaging unit. The features of the captured plurality of eye images are extracted by the feature extraction unit, and the extracted feature data of the plurality of eye images is registered in the registration unit. In the verification device,
The feature data of the eye image to be matched is matched using the feature data of the plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit.

[0006] For this reason, it is possible to photograph the eyes having different pupil sizes by gradually changing the pupil size without controlling the pupil to a desired size one by one. Shooting can be easily performed. The pupil is
In some cases, the magnitude of the illumination changes abruptly in the vicinity of a certain illumination intensity, and there is an individual difference in the illumination intensity at which this rapid change occurs. For this reason, if the intensity of the illumination is rapidly changed, the size of the pupil also changes rapidly, and there is a possibility that images of the pupil of various sizes cannot be obtained. For this reason, the size of the pupil can be gradually changed by changing the intensity of the illumination in proportion to the time, so that pupils of various sizes can be reliably acquired. Furthermore, when taking an image of the eye to be compared,
What is necessary is just to acquire an image of one eye, and match the characteristic data with a plurality of eye images of each registered individual. Therefore, the burden of photographing the eye image at the time of collation can be reduced, and an individual identification system that can perform collation in a short time can be provided.

[0007] (Claim 2) The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the illumination unit increases the intensity of the illumination in proportion to the elapsed time.

[0008] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the illumination unit is configured to increase the intensity of the illumination in proportion to the elapsed time. Thus, the size of the pupil can be reduced in proportion to the intensity of the illumination, so that the size of the pupil can be gradually changed. Further, when the intensity of the illumination is further increased, the pupil becomes a saturated state which does not decrease any more. Also, once the pupil is saturated,
Even if the illumination intensity is reduced, it takes time to return to the original size. Therefore, by gradually increasing the intensity of the illumination from the state in which the illumination is turned off, it is possible to efficiently capture images of eyes having different pupil sizes.

<Claim 3> The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein a characteristic portion of an eye image photographed by the imaging section is detected, and the characteristic portion is detected based on the detection result. An image determination unit that determines the quality of the eye image;
The illumination unit increases the intensity of illumination in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter when the image determination unit determines that the eye image is good, and determines that the eye image is defective by the image determination unit. Sometimes, the illumination intensity is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a characteristic portion of the image of the eye photographed by the imaging unit is detected, and based on the detection result, the quality of the image of the eye is determined by the image determination unit. In the illumination unit, when the eye image is determined to be good by the image determination unit, the intensity of illumination is increased in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, and the eye image is determined to be defective by the image determination unit At this time, the illumination intensity is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter.

[0011] When taking an image of an eye of an animal other than a human, such as a horse, it is difficult to keep the animal still.
In some cases, the characteristic portions of the eyes such as the iris and the iris granules may protrude from the imaging region or the image may be blurred. For this reason, by detecting the characteristic portion of the eye image, frame out, blurring of the image, and the like are detected, and the quality of the eye image is determined. When it is determined that the image of the eye is good, the intensity of the illumination is increased in proportion to the elapsed time, and the image of the eye in which the pupil is gradually reduced is sequentially photographed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the eye image is defective, the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time, the pupil is enlarged again, and the eye is photographed again. For this reason, even if the image is determined to be defective due to a frame out or the like, the photographing can be continuously performed without re- photographing from the beginning, and the photographing time of the eyes can be reduced.

Further, the illumination intensity can be reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, and the pupil can be gradually increased. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the pupil from becoming unnecessarily large, and to reduce the number of portions where images of the eyes having the same pupil size are repeatedly taken. Therefore, images of the eyes of animals having different pupil sizes can be efficiently captured.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an invisible light illuminating section for irradiating an invisible light to the eye, and an invisible light illuminating section which changes the intensity of the visible light in proportion to time. A visible light illuminator that irradiates and changes the size of the illuminated pupil of the eye; A non-visible light image capturing unit, a feature extracting unit that extracts features of a plurality of eye images captured by the invisible light image capturing unit, and a plurality of eye image features extracted by the feature extracting unit. A registration device having a registration unit for registering data; and a matching device for matching feature data of an eye image to be matched using feature data of a plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit. It is characterized by.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the registration device, the non-visible light illuminating section irradiates the invisible light with the non-visible light illuminating section and the visible light illuminating section irradiates the visible light with the visible light. At this time, the visible light of the visible light illumination unit changes its intensity in proportion to time,
The size of the pupil of the eye changes. Images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes are captured in the invisible light band by the invisible light imaging unit. The features of the captured plurality of eye images are extracted by the feature extraction unit, and the extracted feature data of the plurality of eye images is registered in the registration unit. In the matching device, the feature data of the eye image to be matched is matched using the feature data of the plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit.

Therefore, the size of the pupil of the eye is changed by changing the illumination intensity of the visible light illuminating unit which does not affect the image captured by the invisible light imaging unit, and a better image is obtained by the invisible light imaging unit. Can be illuminated by the invisible light of the invisible light illuminating unit so that a good image can be taken stably by the invisible light imaging unit.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. << Example 1 >><Configuration> FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an individual identification system according to Example 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the individual identification system includes an infrared light 11, a visible light light 12, an infrared video camera 13, an imaging control unit 14, a feature extraction unit 15,
A registration unit 16 and a collation unit 17 are provided.

This individual identification system captures an eye of an animal including a pupil and an iris, and registers a function (registration mode) of a registration device for registering features of the captured eye image, and a feature of the input eye image. A function (collation mode) of a collation device for performing individual identification by collating data with feature data registered by the registration device. The individual identification system of the present invention is characterized by the function of the registration device. In addition, as animals, in addition to humans, for example, animals such as horses, cows, goats, sheep, dogs, and cats are targets for individual identification.

The infrared light 11 and the visible light 12 are
Each illuminates the eye 1 for shooting. The infrared illumination 11 is used to obtain a high-contrast image. The infrared light 11 is suitable as a light source having a wavelength that is hardly perceived by the animal, in order to avoid the animal from reacting excessively.
The visible light illumination 12 changes the intensity of the visible light illumination,
Is used to change the size of the pupil 2.

The infrared video camera 13 has a visible light illumination 1.
2. The images of the plurality of eyes 1 having different pupil sizes illuminated by 2 are continuously photographed. The infrared video camera 13
Since the reflected light in the infrared region is photographed, even if the intensity of the visible light illumination is changed by the visible light illumination 12, the image to be photographed is not affected. The imaging control unit 14 controls the infrared illumination 11, the visible light illumination 12, and the infrared video camera 13.
The imaging control unit 14 has a timer (not shown) inside,
In the registration mode, this timer is used to increase the intensity of the visible light illumination 12 in proportion to the shooting time. The reason for making the intensity proportional to the photographing time is to prevent the intensity of the illumination from changing abruptly. For example, a case where the intensity of illumination is changed stepwise is included in “proportional” if it is macroscopically proportional. What includes a rapidly changing portion, such as an exponential function or a quadratic function, is not included in the meaning of “proportional”.

The feature extracting unit 15 is used for the infrared video camera 1
Eyes 1 with different pupil sizes 2 taken by 3
The features of each image are extracted. The features of the eye 1 can be obtained, for example, from the pupil 2 and the iris 3. Also horses,
In the case of cows, goats, sheep and the like, in addition to the pupil 2 and the iris 3, it can be obtained from iris granules (not shown). The registration unit 16 registers a plurality of feature data extracted by the feature extraction unit 15. These plurality of feature data are registered for each individual.

The collation unit 17 collates the feature data (input feature data) of the input image of the eye to be collated using a plurality of feature data (registered feature data) for each individual registered in the registration unit 16. For example, when the input feature data matches the registered feature data within a preset deviation, the matching unit 17 determines that the individual of the input feature data matches the individual corresponding to the registered feature data.

<Operation> FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the operation of visible light illumination in the registration mode. The illumination of the eye 1 is started by the infrared illumination 11 and the visible light illumination 12, and at the same time, the imaging of the eye 1 by the infrared video camera 13 is started. Infrared lighting 1
1 has a constant intensity, while the visible light illumination 12
The intensity of the visible light illumination increases in proportion to the imaging time of the eye 1.

At the time of photographing time 0, the visible light illumination 12 is off and its intensity is 0. At this time, eye 1
Has the maximum pupil 2. When the intensity of the visible light illumination of the visible light illumination 12 increases in proportion to the imaging time, the pupil 2 of the eye 1
Becomes proportionally smaller. At time T0, the pupil 2 reaches a saturated state where the pupil 2 does not become smaller any more. The photographing ends at time T1 when the photographer confirms this saturation state. During this time, a plurality of images of the eyes 1 having different pupil sizes are continuously photographed by the infrared video camera 13. The feature extracting unit 15 extracts features from a plurality of images of the eyes 1 captured by the infrared video camera 13 and stores the extracted plurality of feature data for each individual in the registration unit 16.
Registered in.

<Effects> As described above, according to the individual identification system of the first embodiment, the size of the pupil of the eye is gradually changed by gradually changing the intensity of the illumination with the visible light illumination 12 over time. , Images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes are continuously photographed by the infrared video camera 13. Then, the feature is extracted by the feature extracting unit 15 from the plurality of captured images of the eyes 1, and the extracted plurality of feature data is registered for each individual.

For this reason, it is possible to continuously capture images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes without controlling each pupil to a desired size. The pupil may suddenly change in size near a certain illumination intensity, and there is an individual difference in the illumination intensity at which this sudden change occurs. For this reason, if the intensity of the illumination is suddenly changed, the size of the pupil also changes rapidly, and there is a possibility that images of the eyes of the pupil of various sizes cannot be acquired by one photographing. Therefore, it is possible to easily capture images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes.

As the illumination intensity of the visible light illumination 12 is increased, the pupil becomes smaller and becomes saturated. Once the pupil is saturated, it takes time to increase even if the illumination intensity is reduced. Therefore, in order to efficiently capture images of eyes having different pupil sizes, it is desirable to gradually increase the intensity of the illumination from the state in which the illumination is turned off.

Furthermore, when an image of an eye to be compared is photographed, it is possible to acquire one image of the eye and to compare the characteristic data with the characteristic data of a plurality of eye images for each registered individual. it can. Therefore, the burden of photographing the eye image at the time of collation can be reduced, and an individual identification system that can perform collation in a short time can be provided.

Further, the intensity of the visible light illumination is changed by the visible light illumination 12 to change the size of the pupil 2 of the eye 1, and the eyes are illuminated by the infrared light illumination of the infrared illumination 11 to obtain an infrared video camera. At step 13, an image of eye 1 in the infrared band is taken. Therefore, the eye 1 can be illuminated by the infrared illumination 11 so that a good image can be obtained by changing the intensity of the visible light illumination that does not affect the image captured by the infrared video camera 13 so that the infrared video camera 13 can obtain a good image. In addition, a good image can be stably taken by the infrared video camera 13.

<< Specific Example 2 >><Configuration> In the individual identification system of Specific Example 1, the illumination intensity of the visible light illumination 12 is increased in proportion to the photographing time, and images of a plurality of eyes having different pupil sizes are formed. I was shooting. However, when photographing an eye of an animal other than a human such as a horse, it is difficult to keep the animal still, so frame out or blurring of the image may occur, and it may be necessary to photograph again from the beginning. . In addition, frame out is
This means that the object to be photographed protrudes from the photographing area of the camera.
Therefore, in the individual identification system of the specific example 2, an image determination unit 18 that determines the quality of an eye image captured by the infrared video camera 13 is provided, and the visible light illumination 12 is determined based on the determination result of the image determination unit 18. We decided to change the intensity of the lighting slowly.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an individual identification system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
In the individual identification system of the first embodiment, the image determination unit 18 is provided in the imaging control unit 14 of the individual identification system of the first embodiment.

The image judging section 18 is a part of the infrared video camera 1
3, the characteristic portion of the image of the eye 1 captured is detected, and the quality of the image of the eye 1 is determined based on the detection result. The image determination unit 18 detects, for example, the pupil 2 and the iris 3 of the eye 1 from a density change in the image, and when any of these is not detectable, determines that the image of the eye is defective. Further, the image determination unit 18 detects, for example, blur of the image from the dullness of the edge portion of the image, and when blur of the image is detected,
The eye image is determined to be defective. Note that the characteristic portion of the image of the eye 1 is not limited to the pupil 2 and the iris 3. For example, in the case of a horse, the iris granules can also be the characteristic portion.

When the image determination unit 18 determines that the image of the eye 1 is good, the imaging control unit 14 increases the illumination intensity of the visible light illumination 12 in proportion to the subsequent photographing time. When the image of the eye 1 is determined to be defective, the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the subsequent shooting time. The other units have the same configuration as those of the individual identification system of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

<Operation> FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of visible light illumination in the registration mode. The illumination of the eye 1 is started by the infrared illumination 11 and the visible light illumination 12, and at the same time, the imaging of the eye 1 by the infrared video camera 13 is started. Infrared lighting 1
1 has a constant intensity, while the visible light illumination 12
The intensity of the visible light illumination increases in proportion to the imaging time of the eye 1. At the same time, the image determination unit 18 detects a characteristic portion of the image of the eye 1 captured by the infrared video camera 13 and determines the quality of the image.

At the time of photographing time 0, the visible light illumination 12 is off and its intensity is 0. At this time, eye 1
Has the maximum pupil 2. When the intensity of the visible light illumination of the visible light illumination 12 increases in proportion to the imaging time, the pupil 2 of the eye 1
Becomes proportionally smaller.

From the time Ta to the
When the image captured by the infrared video camera 13 at time Tb is determined to be defective by the image determination unit 18 at time Tc, the intensity of the visible light illumination 12 is proportional to the elapsed time by the imaging control unit 14. To be smaller. one time,
The reduced pupil 2 becomes larger again.

The reason why the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter is to increase the pupil gradually. The pupil may suddenly change in size near a certain illumination intensity, and there is an individual difference in the illumination intensity at which this sudden change occurs. For this reason, if the intensity of the illumination is rapidly reduced, the pupil may become larger than necessary. Thereby, after the image determination unit 18 determines that the image is good again, it is possible to reduce the number of portions of the image of the same eye having the same pupil size that are repeatedly photographed. Eyes can be taken efficiently.

Thereafter, at time Td, when the image is judged to be good by the image judging section 18, the intensity of the visible light illumination 12 is increased again by the imaging control section 14 in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter. The pupil 2 becomes smaller again. Thereafter, at time T0, pupil 2 reaches a saturated state.
After this state is confirmed by the photographer, the photographing ends at time T1. Meanwhile, infrared video camera 1
3, a plurality of images of the eyes 1 having different pupil sizes 2 are continuously taken. In the feature extracting unit 15, the features are extracted from the plurality of images of the eyes 1 captured by the infrared video camera 13, and the extracted plurality of feature data are registered in the registration unit 16 for each individual.

<Effects> As described above, according to the individual identification system of the second embodiment, the image determining unit 18 is provided to detect the characteristic portion of the image of the eye photographed by the infrared video camera 13, and the detection result is obtained. The quality of the image of the eye is determined based on. When the image determination unit 18 determines that the image of the eye is good, the imaging control unit 14 increases the illumination intensity of the visible light illumination 12 in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, and the eye in which the pupil gradually decreases. Images are taken sequentially. On the other hand, when the image determining unit 18 determines that the eye image is defective, the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, and the pupil is increased again. For this reason, even if the image is determined to be defective due to a frame out or the like, the photographing can be continuously performed without re- photographing from the beginning, and the photographing time of the eyes can be reduced.

Further, the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, and the pupil is gradually increased. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the pupil from becoming unnecessarily large, and to reduce the number of overlapping portions of the eye having the same pupil size. Therefore, images of the eyes of animals having different pupil sizes can be efficiently captured.

As described above, since the individual identification system of the present invention can register the feature data of the images of the eyes having different pupil sizes, for example, the environment such as the outdoor environment where the brightness varies depending on the season or weather can be registered. Can also be suitably used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an individual identification system according to Example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of visible light illumination in a registration mode.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an individual identification system according to Example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of visible light illumination in a registration mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 eye 2 pupil 3 iris 11 infrared illumination 12 visible light illumination 13 infrared video camera 14 imaging control unit 15 feature extraction unit 16 registration unit 17 collation unit 18 image determination unit

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4C038 VA07 VB04 VC05 5B043 AA09 BA04 CA02 CA10 DA05 EA02 EA06 FA03 FA07 FA09 GA02 GA05 5B047 AA23 AB04 BB04 BC16 CA14 CA19 CB09 EB15

Claims (4)

[Claims] An illumination unit for changing the size of a pupil of an eye by changing the intensity of illumination in proportion to time, and a plurality of images of eyes having different pupil sizes illuminated by the illumination unit. An imaging unit that captures an image, a feature extraction unit that extracts features of a plurality of eye images captured by the imaging unit, and a registration unit that registers feature data of the plurality of eye images extracted by the feature extraction unit. An identification system comprising: a registration device having: a matching device; and a matching device for matching feature data of an eye image to be matched using feature data of a plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit. . 2. The individual identification system according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit increases the intensity of the illumination in proportion to an elapsed time. 3. The individual identification system according to claim 1, wherein a characteristic portion of the image of the eye photographed by the imaging unit is detected, and image quality of the image of the eye is determined based on the detection result. The illumination unit, when the eye image is determined to be good by the image determination unit, the illumination intensity is increased in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter, the eye image by the image determination unit An individual identification system characterized in that, when it is determined to be defective, the intensity of the illumination is reduced in proportion to the elapsed time thereafter. 4. An invisible light illuminating unit for irradiating the eye with invisible light, and irradiating the eye with visible light whose intensity is changed in proportion to time, and the size of the pupil of the illuminated eye A visible light illuminating unit that changes the size of the pupil irradiated with visible light by the visible light illuminating unit; A registration device having a feature extraction unit that extracts features of a plurality of eye images captured by a visible light imaging unit, and a registration unit that registers feature data of the plurality of eye images extracted by the feature extraction unit; A matching device for matching feature data of an eye image to be matched using feature data of a plurality of eye images registered in the registration unit.