JP2005274956A - Certificate picture photographing apparatus and method for photographing certificate picture - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily photograph a certificate picture in which a user's face is turned to a direction different from the front without imposing a burden on the user. <P>SOLUTION: The certificate picture photographing apparatus is provided with: an imaging part 40 for imaging a face image of a user 100; a direction instruction part for instructing the user to turn to a direction different by a predetermined angle from the direction from the user 100 to the imaging part 40; and an issue part 70 for printing and issuing the face image imaged by the imaging part 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ID photo shooting apparatus and ID photo shooting method. In particular, the present invention relates to an ID photo shooting apparatus and ID photo shooting method for capturing a face image of a user, printing the face image, and issuing the ID photo as an ID photo.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, devices for taking ID photographs used for passports, licenses, employee ID cards, etc. have been developed and sold.

  On the other hand, in recent years, research and development of personal authentication technology using biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints has been conducted. In personal authentication using a face image, for example, individual differences in the positions of feature points such as eyes, nose and mouth extracted from the face image are used. Here, in order to perform personal authentication with high accuracy, it is preferable that these feature points include three-dimensional position information, that is, depth information. In this case, the face image used for authentication should be taken from a direction different from the front of the subject.

Therefore, the orientation of the face of the subject that can most easily identify the person and the other person when performing personal authentication using facial images using depth information of feature points by Satoshi Takahashi, Shigeo Morishima et al. There has been research on.
Since the existence of the prior art document is not recognized at the present time, the description regarding the prior art document is omitted.

  However, the conventional ID photograph photographing device is for taking the ID photo in which the subject faces the front, and it is difficult to take the photo in the direction different from the front with an appropriate composition. . Therefore, when performing personal authentication using an ID photo taken by a conventional ID photo camera, sufficient information for identifying the individual cannot be extracted from the ID photo, and the accuracy is high. It could not be used for applications that require personal authentication.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ID photo shooting apparatus and ID photo shooting method that can solve the above-described problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ID photo photographing apparatus, which includes an imaging unit that captures a face image of a user, and a direction from the user to the imaging unit A direction instructing unit for instructing the user to turn in different directions by a predetermined angle, and an issuing unit for printing and issuing the face image captured by the imaging unit. The direction instructing unit may instruct the user to turn in a direction that differs by about 15 degrees or about 30 degrees in the horizontal direction with respect to the direction from the user to the imaging unit. The direction instructing unit may instruct the user that the direction should be directed in a different direction upward by an angle between approximately 10 degrees and approximately 20 degrees with respect to the direction from the user to the imaging unit. The direction instructing unit may be a mirror provided toward the user in a direction different from the direction from the user to the imaging unit. The direction instructing unit may be a chair provided in a direction different from the direction from the user to the imaging unit.

  The internal space of the ID photograph apparatus has a back surface that is not parallel to the front surface in the direction that the user should face, instructed to the user by the direction indicating unit, and the imaging unit is in a direction perpendicular to the back surface. It may be provided toward the position of the user. The inner space has a trapezoidal cross section in at least a part of the horizontal direction, the wall surface of the inner space corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides of the trapezoid includes an inlet, and the wall surface of the inner space corresponding to at least one of the side edges of the trapezoid is It is provided at an acute angle with respect to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides, and the imaging unit may be provided in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the side sides. The inner space has a trapezoidal cross section in at least a part of the horizontal direction, the wall surface of the inner space corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides of the trapezoid includes an inlet, and the wall surface of the inner space corresponding to at least one of the side edges of the trapezoid is It may be provided at an acute angle with respect to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides, and the direction indicating unit may instruct the user to face a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the side sides.

  Further, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the method is an ID photo shooting method, in which the user is instructed to turn in a direction different from the direction from the user to the imaging unit by a predetermined angle. A direction instruction step, an image pickup step of picking up a face image of the user using the image pickup unit, and an issue step of printing and issuing the face image picked up in the image pickup step.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily take an ID photo in which the user's face is facing a different direction from the front without imposing a burden on the user.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the orientation of a face that can identify a person most easily when personal authentication is performed using a face image will be described. In the following description, when a two-dimensional face image captured from various directions is compared with a three-dimensional template indicating the three-dimensional position of a feature point on the face, the three-dimensional template of the person who is the subject of the face image is used. A face image in which the largest difference is recognized between the comparison result and the comparison result of another person using the three-dimensional template is detected. Then, the direction in which the face of the subject faces in the detected face image is obtained as the face direction that can be most easily authenticated in performing personal authentication.

  First, for each of a plurality of persons, a wire frame model indicating the three-dimensional shape of the person's face is acquired using a range finder or the like, and the face image of the person captured separately is used as a wire frame model. By mapping, a three-dimensional model for each person is generated. Subsequently, in the generated three-dimensional model, a plurality of feature points that significantly show differences among persons are extracted. Subsequently, a three-dimensional template is generated by extracting only feature points from the respective three-dimensional models. Subsequently, an image obtained by projecting the three-dimensional model of the person from a plurality of directions is generated as a two-dimensional image of the person to be authenticated. By doing so, it is possible to acquire a face image in which the imaging direction is more strictly controlled than in the case of separately capturing a face image from a plurality of imaging directions. Subsequently, a plurality of feature points in the two-dimensional image are extracted.

  Subsequently, when a 3D template of each person is projected onto a plane, the distance between the set of feature point positions on the projection plane and the set of feature point positions on the 2D image is detected as an error in recognition. . Then, the error is detected while sequentially changing the projection direction of the three-dimensional template, and the minimum error for each person is detected. Usually, the error when using a 3D template of another person is different from the error when using a 3D template of a person corresponding to a 2D image. It is detected as a larger value depending on the size of. However, depending on the projection direction of the two-dimensional image, for example, when projected from the front, the difference in the three-dimensional position of the feature points for each person may not be sufficiently reflected in the two-dimensional image. No significant difference is detected in the error no matter which person's 3D template is used. Here, the ratio between the minimum value of the error when using a 3D template of a person different from the person corresponding to the 2D image and the error when using the 3D template of the person corresponding to the 2D image is Calculated as an index indicating the ease of recognition. Usually, the calculated ratio is larger than 1, and the larger the ratio is, the easier the recognition is.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a change in ease of authentication when the projection direction of a two-dimensional image is sequentially changed in the horizontal direction. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the orientation of the face when the front is 0 degree, that is, the projection direction when generating a two-dimensional image. The vertical axis represents the error ratio calculated for each face orientation. As is clear from this figure, the ratio shows the maximum value when the face orientation is 15 degrees and when it is 30 degrees. That is, personal authentication can be most easily performed when a face image in which the user's face is oriented in a direction inclined by 15 degrees or 30 degrees in the horizontal direction with respect to the front is used. In addition, a relatively high ratio is shown in the range of the face orientation from 12 degrees to over 35 degrees. That is, personal authentication can be performed more easily by using a face image in which the user's face is inclined in the range of 12 to 35 degrees horizontally with respect to the front.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a change in the ease of authentication when the projection direction of the two-dimensional image is sequentially changed in the vertical direction. In this figure, the horizontal axis indicates the orientation of the face when the front is 0 degree, that is, the projection direction when generating a two-dimensional image. Here, when the direction of the face is a positive number, it indicates that the projection is performed from below on the three-dimensional model. As is clear from this figure, a high ratio is shown when the face direction is in the range of 10 degrees to 20 degrees. That is, it is possible to easily perform personal authentication by using a face image in which the user's face is directed in a direction tilted upward by 10 to 20 degrees with respect to the front.

According to the above, when performing personal authentication based on the position of the feature point indicating the feature of the three-dimensional shape of the face, the face image in which the user's face is facing the direction described above or the direction of the range described above. By using it, personal authentication can be easily performed. This is none other than that it is possible to perform identity authentication that distinguishes a person from others with higher accuracy by using a face image in which the user's face is facing those directions.
In the above description, the ease of authentication when comparing a two-dimensional image with a three-dimensional template is shown, but the positions of feature points in two two-dimensional images captured from substantially the same direction are compared. Even in this case, it goes without saying that personal authentication can be performed with high accuracy by using a face image in which the user's face is facing the same direction.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the ID photograph apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The ID photo shooting apparatus 10 takes ID photos that can be used for passports, licenses, employee ID cards, and the like. The ID photograph photographing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment may be a so-called speed photograph photographing apparatus, for example.

  The purpose of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is to easily take an ID photo in which the user's face is facing a different direction from the front without imposing a burden on the user.

  As described with reference to FIG. 1, the face image that can be authenticated with the highest accuracy is a face image in which the subject is oriented in a direction inclined approximately 15 degrees or approximately 30 degrees horizontally with respect to the front. . Therefore, in this example, the ID photo is taken when the ID photo taking apparatus 10 takes an ID photo in which the user's face is oriented approximately 15 degrees or 30 degrees in the horizontal direction with respect to the front. The configuration of the imaging device 10 will be described.

  This figure is an overhead view of the inside of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 from above, and the area having ABCD as the apex represents the internal space 20 of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10. The ID photograph apparatus 10 includes an entrance 30, an imaging unit 40, a chair 50, a mirror 60, and an issuing unit 70. The internal space 20 has a back surface that is not parallel to the front surface in the direction that the user should face when taking a desired ID photo. Specifically, the internal space 20 has a trapezoidal cross section in at least a part of the horizontal direction. Here, the cross section of the internal space 20 does not have to be strictly a trapezoidal shape, and may be a generally trapezoidal shape.

  A wall surface corresponding to the trapezoidal base BC of the internal space 20 includes an inlet 30. The entrance 30 may be shielded from light by, for example, a door or a curtain. The user 100 enters the internal space 20 from the entrance 30 and takes a face image. The imaging unit 40 is, for example, a digital still camera, and captures a user's face image. Here, the face image is an image including the user's face, and is not limited to an image including only the face, and is an image including other parts such as a bust-up image. There may be.

  The ID photograph photographing apparatus 10 causes the user 100 to make the image capturing unit 40 image a face image in which the user's face is inclined in the horizontal direction with respect to the front, with respect to the direction from the user 100 to the image capturing unit 40. It is instructed to turn in a different direction by a predetermined angle θ in the horizontal direction. Here, the predetermined angle θ is, for example, approximately 15 degrees or approximately 30 degrees.

  Specifically, the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 instructs the user in the direction to face with the chair 50 provided in a direction different from the direction from the user 100 to the imaging unit 40. Here, the chair 50 instructs the user 100 in the direction to face, for example, by providing the backrest in a direction different from the direction toward the imaging unit 40. Moreover, the chair 50 may instruct | indicate the direction which should turn, for example by instruct | indicating the position which the user 100 should put a leg | foot, or the direction of a leg | foot to the user 100. Specifically, the chair 50 should be placed in a position different from the position where the foot is placed when the user 100 is seated in the direction of the imaging unit 40, for example, by adding a depression to the pedestal. Instruct the user in the direction to face. The chair 50 is an example of a direction instruction unit in the present invention.

Further, specifically, the ID photograph photographing device 10 uses a mirror 60 provided toward the user 100 in a direction different from the direction from the user 100 to the imaging unit 40 to indicate the direction to be directed to the user 100. To instruct. That is, the user 100 faces in a direction different from the direction from the user 100 to the imaging unit 40 by facing the mirror 60 so that the image of the user 100 is reflected on the mirror 60. The mirror 60 is an example of a direction indicating unit in the present invention. In addition, the ID photo photographing apparatus 10 may include a display device such as a CRT display or an LCD panel instead of the mirror 60. Also in this case, the user 100 faces a direction different from the direction from the user 100 to the imaging unit 40 by facing the display device.
As described above, the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 causes the user 100 to face the direction parallel to the trapezoidal bases AD and BC which are cross sections of the internal space 20.

  On the other hand, the wall surface corresponding to the trapezoid side CD in the internal space 20 is provided at an acute angle with respect to the wall surface corresponding to the base BC. The imaging unit 40 is provided toward the user 100 in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface of the internal space 20 corresponding to the side CD. Here, the imaging unit 40 may be provided at substantially the same height as the user's face. As a result, the imaging unit 40 can capture a face image in which the user's face is inclined in the horizontal direction from the front by an angle θ. In addition, since the imaging unit 40 is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to the side CD, the user's back surface can be configured by a single wall surface in the range captured by the imaging unit 40. Even when the user 100 is imaged from an oblique direction, it is possible to prevent the portion where the wall surfaces intersect from appearing in the ID photo. In addition, since the entrance 30 is provided on the wall surface corresponding to the trapezoidal base BC, external light incident from the entrance 30 is directly incident on the imaging unit 40 in imaging by the imaging unit 40 even if light shielding at the entrance 30 is not complete. Can reduce the problem of doing so, and can take higher quality ID photos.

  Then, the imaging unit 40 outputs the captured image data to the issuing unit 70. The issuing unit 70 prints the image data picked up by the image pickup unit 40 and issues the ID photo to the user by, for example, discharging it from a take-out port provided on the wall surface of the ID photo taking apparatus 10.

  In this example, the angle θ is set to approximately 15 degrees or approximately 30 degrees, but instead of this, an error between 12 degrees and 35 degrees is higher in FIG. 1 than other angles. An angle indicating the ratio may be used. Also in this case, the ID photo photographing apparatus 10 can take an ID photo that can be used for personal authentication with high accuracy.

  According to the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to take an ID photo with the user's face tilted horizontally from the front, which can be used for highly accurate personal authentication. Further, in this case, by taking the ID photo as much as possible so that the inclination of the user's face is about 15 degrees or about 30 degrees, the ID photo can be used for more accurate personal authentication. Further, when taking a photograph in which the user's face is oriented in a direction inclined from the front, the user is burdened by using the chair 50 or the mirror 60 to indicate the direction in which the user should face. A desired ID photo can be easily taken without being forced and natural for the user.

  FIG. 4 shows another example of the configuration of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the case has been described in which the line-of-sight direction of the user 100 is parallel to the base AD or BC of the trapezoid that is a cross section of the internal space 20 of the ID photograph photographing apparatus 10. The case where the imaging direction is parallel to the base AD or BC of the trapezoid will be described. In the members shown in this figure, only differences from FIG. 3 will be described, and the other points will be omitted because they are the same as those in FIG.

  In this figure, the trapezoidal side AB which is a cross section in the horizontal direction of the internal space 20 is provided at an acute angle with respect to the base BC. Then, the ID photograph apparatus 10 instructs the user 100 to use the chair 50 and the mirror 60 to face the direction perpendicular to the wall surface of the internal space 20 corresponding to the side AB. On the other hand, the imaging unit 40 is provided to image the user in a direction parallel to the wall surfaces corresponding to the trapezoid bases AD and BC, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to the side CD. As a result, the imaging unit 40 can capture a face image in which the user's face is inclined in the horizontal direction from the front by an angle θ.

  In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 has taken the ID photo in which the user's face is oriented in a horizontal direction with respect to the front. No. 10 may take an ID photo in which the user's face is tilted in the vertical direction.

  FIG. 5 shows still another example of the configuration of the ID photo photographing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the face image that can be authenticated with the highest accuracy is directed in a direction in which the subject is inclined upward by an angle between approximately 10 degrees and approximately 20 degrees with respect to the front. It is a face image. Therefore, in this example, when the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 takes an ID photo in which the user's face is directed upward with respect to the front by an angle between about 10 degrees and about 20 degrees. The configuration of the ID photo photographing apparatus 10 will be described.

  This figure is a view of the inside of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 as viewed from the side, and the area having ABCD as the apex represents the internal space 20 of the ID photo shooting apparatus 10. The ID photo shooting apparatus 10 includes an imaging unit 40, a chair 50, and a mirror 60. Further, the ID photograph apparatus 10 includes an entrance 30 and an issuing unit 70 (not shown). In the members shown in this figure, the inlet 30 and the issuing unit 70 (not shown), only the differences from FIG. 3 are described, and the other points are the same as those in FIG.

  The ID photograph apparatus 10 causes the user 100 to move upward in the direction from the user 100 to the image capturing unit 40 so that the image capturing unit 40 captures a face image in which the user's face is tilted upward with respect to the front. Is instructed to turn in a different direction by a predetermined angle θ. Here, the predetermined angle θ is, for example, an angle between approximately 10 degrees and approximately 20 degrees. Specifically, the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 uses the chair 50 and the mirror 60 to direct the user 100 in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the imaging unit 40 is provided below the position of the user's face and upwards by an angle θ with respect to the horizontal direction. Here, the imaging unit 40 may be further provided so that the imaging direction and the user's line-of-sight direction are on the same plane. Thereby, the imaging unit 40 can capture an image in which the user's face is tilted upward by an angle θ from the front.

  According to the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to take an ID photo with the user's face tilted upward from the front, which can be used for highly accurate personal authentication. Also, in this case, by taking the ID photo as much as possible so that the inclination of the user's face is an angle between about 10 degrees and about 20 degrees, the ID photo can be used for more accurate personal authentication. Can do.

  In addition, from FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, ID photographs were taken in which the user's face was tilted horizontally or upward with respect to the front, but a configuration combining these configurations, for example, the configurations of FIG. 3 and FIG. By using the combined configuration, it goes without saying that ID photos can be taken using face images taken from various positions such as diagonally lower right as seen from the user, and also by using these ID photos, It goes without saying that highly accurate personal authentication is possible.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process flow in the ID photograph apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the ID photo shooting apparatus 10 instructs the user that the user 100 should face the imaging unit 40 in a different direction by a predetermined angle (S1000). Subsequently, the imaging unit 40 captures a user's face image (S1010). And the issuing part 70 prints the image imaged by the imaging part 40, and issues it to a user (S1020). Here, instead of printing the face image captured by the image capturing unit 40 and issuing the face image captured by the image capturing unit 40, the ID photograph photographing device 10 can be a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk, a semiconductor recording medium such as a flash memory, It may be recorded on a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO, an optical recording medium such as a CD-R, or transmitted to an external apparatus such as a server apparatus via a network. The ID photograph photographing apparatus 10 further includes a face image database in which a plurality of face images are stored in advance, and each of the face images captured by the imaging unit 40 is stored in the face image database. The personal authentication of the user may be performed by comparing with.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the ease of authentication at the time of changing the projection direction of a two-dimensional image to a horizontal direction sequentially. It is a figure which shows an example of the change of the ease of authentication at the time of changing the projection direction of a two-dimensional image to a perpendicular direction one by one. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the ID photo imaging device 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure of the ID photograph imaging device 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a structure of the ID photograph imaging device 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process in the ID photograph photographing device 10 which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 ID Photography Device, 20 Internal Space, 30 Entrance, 40 Imaging Unit, 50 Chair, 60 Mirror, 70 Issuing Unit, 100 User

Claims (9)

An imaging unit that captures a user's face image;
A direction indicating unit that instructs the user that the user should face a direction different from the direction from the user to the imaging unit by a predetermined angle;
An ID photograph photographing apparatus comprising: an issuing unit that prints and issues the face image captured by the imaging unit.   The said direction instruction | indication part instruct | indicates to the said user that it should face the direction different only by about 15 degree | times or about 30 degree | times to a horizontal direction with respect to the direction from the said user to the said imaging part. ID photography device.   2. The direction instructing unit instructs the user to turn in a direction that differs by an angle between about 10 degrees and about 20 degrees upward with respect to the direction from the user to the imaging unit. ID photography apparatus described in 1.   2. The ID photograph photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction instructing unit is a mirror provided toward the user in a direction different from a direction from the user to the imaging unit.   2. The ID photograph photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction instructing unit is a chair provided in a direction different from a direction from the user to the imaging unit. The interior space of the ID photograph apparatus has a back surface that is not parallel to the front surface in the direction that the user should face, instructed by the user by the direction indicator.
The ID photograph photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is provided toward the position of the user in a direction perpendicular to the back surface. The internal space has a trapezoidal cross section in at least a part of the horizontal direction,
The wall surface of the internal space corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides of the trapezoid includes an inlet,
The wall surface of the internal space corresponding to at least one of the side edges of the trapezoid is provided at an acute angle with respect to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides,
The ID photograph photographing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the imaging unit is provided in a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the side edges. The internal space has a trapezoidal cross section in at least a part of the horizontal direction,
The wall surface of the internal space corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides of the trapezoid includes an inlet,
The wall surface of the internal space corresponding to at least one of the side edges of the trapezoid is provided at an acute angle with respect to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the bottom sides,
The ID photograph photographing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the direction instructing unit instructs the user to face a direction perpendicular to the wall surface corresponding to at least one of the side edges. A direction instruction step for instructing the user that the user should face a direction different from the direction from the user to the imaging unit by a predetermined angle;
An imaging step of imaging a user's face image using the imaging unit;
An issuance photography method comprising: an issuance step of printing and issuing the face image captured in the imaging step.

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