BR102020010521A2 - METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVING VISITORS ACCESS MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL USING FACIAL BIOMETRY RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AS A MEANS OF RELEASE - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiments of the present invention comprise methods and systems that improve the control of visitor access by using facial biometric identification and recognition systems as a means of authorizing and releasing access. One aspect of an embodiment of the present invention comprises the absence of the need for human intervention, at the time of release of access by a visitor, who is already authorized to access a particular location. Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention encompasses capturing the photo of the visitor's face, using visit management software / visitors in the cloud, through any device that has a camera and internet access, and the inclusion of the photo in the database. data / access permission list of hardware with facial biometry recognition technology, so that the visitor can have access only by recognizing the image of his face.

Description

Field of Invention

[001] The invention refers, in general, to the control of visitor access. More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems for improving access clearance using facial biometric recognition.

Background and Fundamentals of the Invention

[002] Conventional visitor access control solutions mostly use some kind of physical means so that the equipment that controls a ratchet, for example, can send the opening command.

[003] In general, the most used equipment makes use of: barcode readers / QR Codes, biometric fingerprint readers, password decoders and card readers, bracelets or access tags that use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology ).

[004] In the last two years, the use of facial biometrics as a means of releasing access has been increasing. The facial images normally used to verify access permission belong to a pre-registered base, which limits facial recognition as a means of releasing visits, since it is not always possible to obtain the visitor's photo in advance.

[005] Therefore, or in places where facial biometrics recognition is implemented, it is common for the visitor to use a different means of access release, such as a card. Even the solutions that have a denomination of "virtual ordinance", need the use of a monitoring center, not in person, where the entrance of the visitor is released by people who operate the system remotely. Therefore, it is not a totally virtual solution.

[006] In an attempt to alleviate the need for a local or remote ordinance upon the visitor's arrival at the site of the visit, some solutions aim to release access via software with text command, where the applicant himself releases access through a smartphone, or send a release QR Code to the visitor's cell phone. Another procedure that has become usual is the provision of service totems at the site of the visit, which without the need for pre-scheduling, allows the visitor to fill in their registration data and request access to a person at the establishment. These procedures, although efficient, can present flaws in the certification of the use of the means of release by the authorized visitor, since a QR Code, for example, if copied or photographed, can be used by anyone and, as in the last case, giving the governance of filling out the registration to the visitor, without validating the data can be a security breach for people with malicious intent.

[007] It is desirable to improve the access release process in order to exclude the need for in-person or remote assistance to visitors, which reduces costs, generates agility and increases security. In addition, secure means of release are essential to ensure that the guest is the person who will access the site, as is the case with facial biometrics recognition.

Brief Description of Drawings

[008] Other aspects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention are easier to understand when, together with the detailed description that will be presented below, are the attached drawings. These are: Figure 1 illustrates the flowchart that describes a visitor's macroprocess of entry to the site of the visit. Figure 2 illustrates the flowchart for the macroprocess of a visitor leaving the visited place. Figure 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention with a local server in part of the system architecture. Figure 4 illustrates a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention with a fully cloud software architecture.

Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

[009] The present invention comprises methods and systems to improve the control of visitor access by the use of facial biometric identification and recognition systems as a means of authorizing and releasing access. Reference will now be made, in detail, to the exemplary embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the attached text and drawings. The reference numbers will be kept in all drawings and in the following description, for reference to the same or similar parts.

[010] Applies to any establishment, public or private, residential or business, industrial or rural, that needs the management and access control of visitors / visitors, with or without deliveries, on foot or using any means of transport .

[011] In the implementation phase of the solution, the administrators of the place to be accessed define the access rules for a visitor and what will be the registration data used as the access key at the time of check-in, to which the facial biometrics will be linked. of the visitor. CPF (Individual Taxpayer Registry) is normally used for Brazilians and Passport for foreigners. Additional information to the visitor's registration (license plate, people with special needs, that there is a delivery related to the visit, permission levels for internal access such as the floor you will access) are customizable during this same phase.

[012] Flowcharts that represent a macro view of the entry and exit procedures are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. The visitation process begins by simultaneously filling in the visitor's registration and scheduling the visit by the applicant in the Visitor / Visit Management Software (SGV). As for SGV, only information related to the embodiments of the present invention will be reported, since, as it is a computer program, it is registered with the National Institute for Industrial Protection (INPI) as such.

[013] As it is a cloud software, the information entered by the requester in the SGV can be accessed from any device that has access to the internet (smartphones, tablets, computers) using a browser.

[014] In addition, the architecture with the SGV in the cloud allows data to be shared between branches of the same company, for example. The sharing of the database facilitates the access of employees between branches, since, when in the role of visitors (in case they visit another branch), they do not need to fill in their registration data or capture facial biometrics during check-in. . As they are requesting visits (users) at their branch of origin, the system already has registration and photo information.

[015] It is important to note that when uploading a photo to the SGV, a facial detection check is made on the photo in order to verify if it is a face really, and if it has the necessary conditions to be used by the recognition hardware. facial. This verification is done for both users and visitors registration, ensuring that, regardless of the person's role at that moment, all images in the database are valid for access via facial recognition terminals.

[016] The verification of facial detection is done at SGV through public bibliography, whose specific functions used (Face “camera” and “image”) are available at https://trackingjs.com/.

[017] After scheduling, at the place of the visit, the visitor can access the system using any device already available, such as a service totem, or using a specific device. To do this, simply read the QR Code available on the spot or type in the website address corresponding to the SGV check-in page in your device's internet browser or download an SGV application.

[018] The system will ask the visitor to choose the desired language and check-in will start when the visitor enters the CPF or other registration data chosen by the local system manager as an access key during the implementation phase.

[019] If the visitor has a pre-scheduled visit, the system will check if there is already a photo linked to the visitor (the photo may have been captured in a previous visit or saved by the user when scheduling the visit) if not, it will request the capture of a face photo.

[020] Then, the visitor may be asked to comply with customized authorization requirements such as: acceptance of knowledge of norms and / or terms of responsibility, health alerts, viewing of security and / or institutional videos, viewing of maps for arrival at the place of visit and / or escape routes in case of accidents, welcome messages, etc. Whether or not to include steps after the face capture is at the discretion of the administrator (s) of the location to be accessed.

[021] After the check-in is finished, the captured facial biometrics are sent by the SGV to the Middleware (MD) (only the functional characteristics of the MD used will be cited as it is a computer program and that is why it has to be registered together) to the INPI).

[022] So that there is no error in the relationship between the photo and the visitor's access key, the image file is renamed with the visitor's access key before being sent by the MD to the SGTRF.

[023] This procedure is also important to differentiate if a new photo, linked to a visitor's access key, is uploaded to SGV. Due to the difference in the name of the original file, the MD is able to verify that he needs to update the photo of that visitor.

[024] The MD has the role of integration between the SGV and the Facial Recognition Terminal Management Software (SGTRF). It is important to note that the SGTRF's intellectual property belongs to third parties, whose main function is to control the Facial Recognition Terminals (TRF) (hardware that has artificial intelligence technology for identification and embedded facial recognition), and to manage the access permission list. of a given location, applying the faces authorized in the TRF (s) to be recognized.

[025] Several models of hardware with facial recognition technology are available on the market, some of which have features such as measuring body temperature and detecting the use of masks. The hardware model and / or its functionalities is not a differentiating factor from the invention described here.

[026] Thus, as mentioned in item 008, the aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is in the ability of an MD, linked to a SGV, to command a third-party SGTRF causing the facial biometrics of visitors to be included in the permission list of TRF access. This aspect suggests that several systems can be built according to the present invention given the existence of several SGTRF and the possibility of developing direct commands from the MD to the TRF (s).

[027] Given the necessary agility and constant access of visitors, especially in places with large flows, the request to insert faces of visitors with permission is continuous and periodic. In this context, the MD checks for new entries with the SGV and updates the SGTRF permission list, on average, from minute to minute. The periodicity can be configured according to the need, chosen architecture and capacity of the servers where the systems are allocated.

[028] With his facial biometrics now inserted in the allowance list of the TRF database, the visitor accesses the site of the visit only with the recognition of his face.

[029] Like any access management system, the SGV needs to record visitors' arrival and departure times for possible reports. Therefore, in addition to the update cycles for inserting images, the SGTRF checks with the TRF (s) the times and informs the MD that it communicates with the SGV, periodically. The communication intervals are configurable.

[030] The moment of deletion of the photo from the database of faces allowed for access is configurable according to the protocols defined by the site administrator (s), and may be after the visitor leaves or at the end of each day, in a way that allows the visitor to make multiple entries.

[031] In short, the following minimum steps must be followed to allow access for a visitor:

[032] Schedule a visit and register the visitor via cloud visit / visitor management software;

[033] Authenticate the visitor's key at check-in;

[034] Verify the authorization for visitor access;

[035] Check the existence of the biometrics of the visitor's face in the database;

[036] Request the capture of the face photo in the absence of a photo in the database;

[037] Verify that the captured photo is a face and has the minimum quality necessary to use facial recognition technology;

[038] Send the captured photo to the MD;

[039] MD renames the photo;

[040] The MD commands the SGTRF to insert the photo in the list of permission to access the site;

[041] The TRF frees visitor access;

[042] The TRF records the visitor's arrival and departure times in the SGTRF;

[043] The MD requests the SGTRF for the time information periodically;

[044] The MD requests the SGTRF the name of the hardware (TRF) through which the input and output were registered;

[045] The MD informs the SGV about times and by what hardware the access was made (which may or may not be the same at the entrance (s) and exit (s))

[046] The MD commands the SGTRF to delete the visitor's photo from the permission list;

[047] Regarding the architecture of the systems involved, two versions are presented in the present invention. In Figure 3 we have an architecture where the SGV server and database are in the cloud while the MD and SGTRF are on a local server. It is noteworthy that the database of images used as a permission list is allocated to the TRF (s) itself, although the MD may have a copy of them.

[048] In Figure 4, the SGV server and database are in the cloud together with its integration module (MD) that communicates with the cloud where the SGTRF server is hosted, which via the Internet makes the necessary applications to database of the TRF at the location to be visited.

[049] Although the description above is quite specified, the specifics will not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, especially with regard to the architectures of the related systems, reported here only as examples of the disclosed embodiments.

[050] Many possible variations can be considered by those skilled in the art who are part of the scope of the invention.

Claims (6)

1. The present invention comprises methods and systems of management and access control of visitors, being characterized by the ability to send and load facial biometrics in the permission list / database used by hardware with facial recognition technology embedded for release. accesses, absenting the need for the host to intervene when the visitor's entry is cleared. 2. The management of visitors, according to claim 1, is characterized by a software for managing visits / visitors in the cloud that can be accessed by any device with access to an internet browser or downloaded application where the scheduling of the visitor visit and registration; 3. The access control of visitors, according to claim 1, is characterized by checking the existence of the biometry of the visitor's face in the database of the visitor / visitor management software and request to capture the photo of the visitor's face in case of absence, at the time of check-in at the place of the visit. 4. The access control of visitors, according to claim 1, is characterized by the use of face detection via camera and image to verify that the captured photo refers to even one face and has the quality to be valid as a means of access via facial recognition. 5. The access control of visitors, according to claim 1, is characterized by the integration of the visit / visitor management software with a middleware that communicates and commands the insertion / removal of the visitor's photo in the list of allowed accesses of the hardware that has built-in facial recognition technology and frees access. 6. The access control of visitors, according to claim 1, is characterized by the ability to obtain information on the arrival and departure times of visitors to the scheduled location as well as by which equipment (hardware) the access was released.

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