JP2006146737A - Collation method, computer, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collation method, a computer and a program for quickly performing collation processing even when the number of registration images is large. <P>SOLUTION: A collating device 1 generates a first correlation value between a reference image and an image to be collated, and specifies a portion of registration images to be used for their collation with the image to be collated among a plurality of registration images based on a plurality of second correlation values between the reference image and the plurality of registration images, that is, the second correlation values generated prior to the first correlation value and the first correlation value, or decides a sequence to be used for the collation of the registration images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a collation method, a computer, and a program for collating images, for example.

In the field of image processing, a collation device that performs biometric authentication using an image obtained by imaging a biometric feature unique to a user is known.
For example, in the apparatus described above, a plurality of registered images are stored in a database, and at the time of collation, image collation processing is performed by sequentially comparing the input image and the plurality of registered images stored in the database.

  However, since the above-described apparatus sequentially compares a plurality of registered images and input images, the matching time increases remarkably as the number of registered images stored in the database increases. For this reason, an apparatus capable of performing image collation at high speed is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a collation method, a computer, and a program capable of performing collation processing at high speed even when the number of registered images is large. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, a collation method according to a first aspect of the present invention is a computer collation method that performs image collation, and generates a first correlation value between a reference image and a collated image. A plurality of second correlation values between the first step and the reference image and each of the plurality of registered images, the second correlation values generated before the first step; and Based on the first correlation value generated in the first step, a part of the registered images to be used for collation with the image to be collated among the plurality of registered images is specified, or the registration And a second step of determining an order used for the image collation.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a collation method, a computer, and a program that can perform collation processing at high speed even when the number of registered images is large.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a collation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The collation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first step of generating a first correlation value between a reference image and a collated image (also simply referred to as a collation image), a reference image, and a plurality of registered images. Based on the second correlation value generated before the first step and the first correlation value generated by the first step. Among the registered images, a part of registered images used for collation with the image to be collated is specified or an order used for collation of the registered images is determined, and the registered image used for the collation and the image to be collated RIM are collated.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the collation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image input unit 10, a database 11, a registration processing unit 12, a Hough conversion processing unit 13, a mask processing unit 14, a Mahalanobis distance (correlation). A value) calculation unit 15, a search order determination unit 16, a memory 17, a control circuit (CPU: Central processing unit) 18, and an operation processing unit 19.
Each component is connected by a data line BS1.

  The collation device 1 corresponds to an example of a computer according to the present invention. The alignment processing unit 12, the Hough transform processing unit 13, the mask processing unit 14, the Mahalanobis distance (correlation value) calculation unit 15, the search order determination unit 16, and the control circuit 18 correspond to an example of a control unit according to the present invention. .

  The image input unit 10 is an input unit for inputting an image from the outside, for example, under the control of the control circuit 18. For example, the registered image AIM is input to the image input unit 10 at the time of registration, the verification image RIM is input at the time of verification, and the image is output to the control circuit 18.

  For example, the image input unit 10 includes an imaging element such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), an interface for inputting an image signal from an external device, or the like.

  The database 11 includes a plurality of images, for example, a plurality of registered images AIM, a reference image BI1, a reference image BI2, a correlation value (Mahalanobis distance) associated with a registered image AIM described later, a reference image DI1, a table T, and the like. It is remembered. For example, the database 11 includes storage devices such as a hard disk device, a magneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor storage device.

  The alignment processing unit 12 performs alignment on, for example, an image input from the image input unit 10 and an image read from the database 11 under the control of the control circuit 18.

Under the control of the control circuit 18, the Hough conversion processing unit 13 performs an image conversion process, for example, a Hough conversion process, which will be described later, on an image input from the image input unit 10 or an image read from the database 11, for example. The processing result is output to the control circuit 18.
The Hough conversion processing unit 13 preferably uses a dedicated circuit configured by hardware in order to perform image conversion processing at high speed, for example.

  Under the control of the control circuit 18, the mask processing unit 14 performs a process (also referred to as a mask process) for extracting a portion larger than a preset value, for example, on the image processed by the Hough transform processing unit 13. The result is output to the control circuit 18. For example, in order to perform extraction processing at high speed, the mask processing unit 14 preferably uses a dedicated circuit configured by hardware.

The correlation value calculation unit 15 generates a correlation value between, for example, an input image or registered image and the reference image BI <b> 1 under the control of the control circuit 18, and outputs the result to the control circuit 18.
Moreover, the correlation value calculating part 15 produces | generates the Mahalanobis distance mentioned later by a calculation.

  The search order determination unit 16 controls the control circuit 18 to control, for example, a correlation value between the input collation image RIM and the reference image BI1, and a plurality of correlations between the reference image BI1 and each of the plurality of registered images AIM. Based on the value, a part of the registered images AIM to be used for matching among the plurality of registered images AIM is specified, or the order of the registered images AIM to be used for matching is determined.

  The memory 17 is used as a work space for the control circuit 18, for example. The memory 17 stores, for example, a program PRG including functions according to the present invention as shown in FIG. The program PRG is executed by, for example, the control circuit 18 and includes a procedure for realizing the function according to the present invention.

A control circuit (CPU) 18 controls the entire apparatus. The control circuit 18 implements the function according to the present invention by executing the program PRG, for example.
The control circuit 18 performs collation processing based on the processing results of the above-described components.

  The operation processing unit 19 performs a predetermined process such as releasing the electronic key when the registered image AIM matches the collation image RIM, for example, based on the result of the process of the control circuit 18 described later.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the Hough conversion processing unit 13 of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the Hough transform process shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, Hough conversion processing is performed as image processing. This will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The Hough conversion processing unit 13 performs image conversion processing based on, for example, the distance from the reference position in the image and the angle between the straight line passing through the reference position and the reference axis including the reference position, and is defined by the distance and the angle 2 A conversion registration image and a conversion collation image of a dimensional space are generated.

  Specifically, for each of the registered image AIM and the collation image RIM, the Hough transform processing unit 13 distances ρ0 from the reference position to the shortest point P0 to the straight line L0 passing through the point in the image, and the reference position O and the shortest Based on the angle θ0 between the straight line n0 passing through the point P0 and the reference axis including the reference position O, the points in the image are converted into a curved pattern, and the linear components in the image are converted into a plurality of overlapping curved patterns. Image processing to be converted is performed, and a conversion registration image and a conversion collation image are generated.

For simple explanation, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, on the xy plane, the straight line L0, the point P1 (x1, y1), the point P2 (x2, y2), the point P3 (x3, y3) on the straight line L0 ).
Assuming that the straight line passing through the origin (reference position) O and perpendicular to the straight line L0 is n0, for example, the straight line n0 and the x-axis as the reference axis have a relationship of angle θ0, and the relationship of the distance | ρ0 | from the origin O to the straight line L0 Suppose there is. Here, | ρ0 | indicates the absolute value of ρ0. The straight line L0 can be expressed by a parameter (ρ0, θ0).
The image conversion processing according to the present invention for the coordinates (x, y) on the xy plane is defined by, for example, Expression (1).

For example, when the conversion process shown in Equation (1) is performed for each of the points P1, P2, and P3, the points are converted into curves in the ρ-θ space as shown in FIG. Specifically, in the conversion process, the point P1 (x1, y1) is on the curve PL1 (x1 · cos θ + y1 · sin θ), the point P2 (x2, y2) is on the curve PL2 (x2 · cos θ + y2 · sin θ), and the point P3 (x3, x3) y3) is converted into a curve PL3 (x3 · cos θ + y3 · sin θ).
The patterns of the curves PL1, PL2, and PL3 intersect at an intersection CP (ρ0, θ0) in the ρ-θ space. The intersection CP (ρ0, θ0) on the ρ-θ space corresponds to the linear component L0 on the xy plane.
Conversely, as shown in FIG. 3, the linear component L0 on the xy plane corresponds to the intersection CP of the patterns PL1, PL2, and PL3 in the ρ-θ space.

As described above, binarized image conversion processing is performed, and what kind of linear component dominates on the xy plane before conversion depending on the degree of overlapping of the pattern of the curve in the ρ-θ space of the processing result. Can be determined.
The rotation and translation of the image in the xy plane correspond to translation in the θ direction and the ρ direction, respectively, in the ρ-θ space after the image conversion process.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the image conversion process of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
For example, the mask processing unit 14 performs image conversion processing on the collation image RIM illustrated in FIG. 4A to generate an image S1311 illustrated in FIG. 4C, and the image is displayed on the registered image AIM illustrated in FIG. Conversion processing is performed to generate an image S1312 shown in FIG.
A value corresponding to the degree of overlap of the curve patterns is set for each pixel in the images S1311, S1312. In the present embodiment, the image is displayed so as to become whiter as the degree of overlapping of the curved pattern pattern increases in the image indicated by the predetermined gradation.

The mask processing unit 14 extracts an area where the degree of overlapping of the curve patterns in one image is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value for each of the conversion registration image and the conversion collation image.
Specifically, based on the image S1311 shown in FIG. 4C, the mask processing unit 14 extracts a region where the degree of overlapping of the pattern of curves in one image is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value, An image S1321 shown in FIG. 4E is generated and output to the control circuit 18.

  In addition, the mask processing unit 14 extracts an area where the degree of curve overlap in one image is equal to or greater than a preset threshold based on the image S1312 illustrated in FIG. Image S1322 is generated and output to the control circuit 18.

  In this embodiment, the image S1321 and the image S1322 are generated from the collation image RIM and the registered image AIM by the Hough transform processing unit 13 and the mask processing unit 14, but the processing of the mask processing unit 14 is performed as necessary.

  When this extraction process (mask process) is performed, for example, noise components different from the linear components in the xy space of the registered image AIM and the collation image RIM, such as point components, are removed, and correlation values are generated in units of pixels. Less susceptible to noise than

The correlation value calculation unit 15 generates a correlation value between images.
Specifically, the correlation value calculation unit 15 generates a similarity between images, for example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the operation of the correlation value calculation unit 15 shown in FIG.
Specifically, the correlation value calculation unit 15 calculates, for example, the similarity Sim according to Equation (2) and controls the calculation results, assuming that each of the two images is f1 (m, n) and f2 (m, n). Output to the circuit 18.

  For example, when the correlation value calculation unit 15 generates the correlation (similarity) of two images including the line components (also referred to as line shapes) illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, FIG. ), The degree of similarity corresponding to the number of intersection points CP of the two images is generated. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the line component is indicated by a black pixel having a bit value “1”, and the other is indicated by a white pixel having a bit value “0”.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the Mahalanobis distance according to the present invention. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a frequency distribution pattern when, for example, the correlation between the base image BI1 and a plurality of reference images DI1 is generated. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a frequency distribution pattern in a case where the degree of correlation between the base image BI2 and a plurality of reference images DI1, for example, is generated.

For example, in the case of personal authentication using an image pattern obtained by imaging a blood vessel, the correlation value calculation unit 15 generates a correlation degree using a certain blood vessel pattern data as a reference image and a plurality of different blood vessel pattern data as reference images. A correlation distribution pattern is generated.
The correlation value calculation unit 15 generates a similarity SIM as shown in Equation (2), for example.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the result of calculating the similarity between the reference image BI1 and BI2 and certain image data exceeds the threshold values th1 and th2, respectively, the same image data and Can be determined.

However, since the threshold value varies depending on the reference image, a unified value cannot be used as the threshold value.
The collation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment uses a Mahalanobis distance considering the average value and variance of each frequency distribution.

  The correlation value calculation unit 15 generates the Mahalanobis distance D by calculation using, for example, the average value μ of the similarity (SIM) and the standard deviation value σ of the frequency distribution of the similarity, as shown in Equation (3).

[Equation 3]
D = (r−μ) / σ (3)

  As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), for example, when the value of the similarity r generated by the calculation is 0.55, the Mahalanobis distance is determined by the average value μ and the variance value σ of each frequency distribution. When D is generated by calculation, for example, the Mahalanobis distance D is 4.44 and 1.43.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the Mahalanobis distance and the standard normal distribution.
As shown in FIG. 7, by normalizing the frequency distribution generated based on the reference image and the standard image to the standard normal distribution, the obtained Mahalanobis distance can be evaluated as a unified index.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a specific example of the operation of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. 8, a specific example of the operation of the verification device 1 will be described focusing on the operation of the control circuit 18.
In step ST1, the control circuit 18 generates a plurality of second correlation values between the reference image BI1 and each of the plurality of registered images AIM and stores them in the database 11.

  In step ST2, the control circuit 18 generates a first correlation value between the reference image BI1 and the image to be collated (collation image RIM).

In step ST3, the control circuit 18 determines a matching image (matching image RIM) among the plurality of registered images AIM based on the second correlation value generated before step ST2 and the first correlation value. A part of registered images AIM to be used for collation is identified.
At this time, the control circuit 18 uses a part of the plurality of registered images AIM corresponding to the second correlation value for the collation among the set number of images in ascending order of the difference between the first correlation value and the second correlation value. The registered image AIM is specified.

  In step ST4, the control circuit 18 compares the specified registered image AIM with the image to be verified and performs a verification process.

  As described above, the control circuit 18 generates a plurality of correlation values between the reference image BI1 and each of the plurality of registered images AIM in advance at the time of registration and stores them in the database 11. Since the comparison processing is performed by comparing the image AIM and the image to be verified, even when the number of registered images AIM stored in the database 11 is large, a case where sequential verification is performed with a plurality of registered images AIM and Compared with this, the collation process can be performed at high speed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining another specific example of the operation of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. A major difference from the operation of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 8 is that the order used for collation of the registered image AIM is determined in step ST3a.

  In step ST1, the control circuit 18 generates a plurality of second correlation values between the reference image BI1 and each of the plurality of registered images AIM and stores them in the database 11.

  In step ST2, the control circuit 18 generates a first correlation value between the reference image BI1 and the image to be collated (collation image RIM).

In step ST3a, the control circuit 18 determines the order used for collation of the plurality of registered images AIM based on the second correlation value generated before step ST2 and the first correlation value.
At this time, the control circuit 18 determines the order of the registered images AIM used for collation in ascending order of difference between the first correlation value and the second correlation value.

  In step ST4, the control circuit 18 compares the registered image AIM with the image to be verified (verification image RIM) in the determined order, and performs a verification process.

In step ST5, the control circuit 18 determines whether or not the prescribed condition is satisfied while performing the collating process in order in step ST4. If the control circuit 18 determines that the condition is not satisfied, Returning to step STST4a, the registration image AIM and the verification image RIM in the next order are verified.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the condition is satisfied, the control circuit 18 does not collate the registered images AIM in the order after the registered image AIM that satisfies the condition.
For example, the above-described predetermined condition is when the collation result is confirmed when collation is sequentially performed, or when collation is performed for all registered images.

As described above, based on the first and second correlation values, the order used for collation of the registered image AIM used for collation with the image to be collated (collation image RIM) is determined based on the first and second correlation values. However, since collation is performed in the determined order, collation may be OK at an earlier stage than when sequential collation is performed, and collation time is reduced.
If it is determined that the prescribed condition is satisfied, the control circuit 18 does not collate the registered images AIM in the order after the registered image AIM that satisfies the condition. Compared with the case where collation is performed between the collation image RIM and the collation image RIM, the processing time is reduced.

Next, a more specific operation of the collation apparatus 1 will be described.
〔At the time of registration〕
FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of registration of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
Hereinafter, the operation at the time of image registration will be described focusing on the operation of the control circuit 18 with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the reference order BI1 and BI2 are used in advance to determine the search order hierarchically during the matching process.

  In step ST101, the control circuit 18 takes in image data (hereinafter referred to as a registered image AIM) for registration from the image input unit 10.

  In step ST102, the control circuit 18 obtains, for example, a frequency distribution as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B for the registered image AIM, for example, a plurality of reference images DI1 stored in the database 11 in advance. The reference image DI1 is read from the inside.

  In step ST103, the control circuit 18 uses the registration processing unit 12 to perform registration between the input registered image AIM and the read reference image.

  In step ST104, the control circuit 18 causes the Hough conversion processing unit 13 to perform a Hough conversion process on each of the registered image AIM and the reference image DI1 subjected to the alignment.

  In step ST105, the control circuit 18 performs a mask process so that only a parameter larger than a prescribed threshold value is extracted in the mask processing unit 14 for each of the registered image AIM and the reference image DI1 subjected to the Hough transform process. Make it.

  In step ST106, the control circuit 18 causes the correlation value calculation unit 15 to calculate a correlation value between the registered image AIM and the reference image DI1 subjected to the mask process.

  For the calculation of the correlation value, for example, a similarity (SIM) r as shown in Equation (3) is used.

  In step ST107, the control circuit 18 determines whether or not the processing of steps ST102 to ST106 has been performed on the registered image AIM, for example, by reading all of the plurality of reference images DI1. As a result of the determination, for example, when the control circuit 18 determines that all of the plurality of reference images DI1 have not been read, the control circuit 18 returns to the process of step ST102, whereas when it determines that all of the plurality of reference images DI1 have been read. The process proceeds to step ST108.

In step ST108, the control circuit 18 generates, for example, an average value μ and a standard deviation value σ of correlation values between the plurality of reference images DI1 and the registered image AIM.
The average value μ and the standard deviation value σ are used when generating a Mahalanobis distance for use as a determination criterion during the matching process.

  In step ST109, the control circuit 18 reads the reference images BI1 and BI2 from the database 11.

  In step ST110, the control circuit 18 causes the correlation value calculation unit 15 to generate correlation values between the reference images BI1 and BI2 and the registered image AIM by calculation.

  In step ST111, the control circuit 18 generates the Mahalanobis distances D1 and D2 corresponding to the reference images BI1 and BI2 with respect to the registered image AIM in the correlation value calculation unit 15, for example, using Equation (3).

  Here, the average value μ and the standard deviation value σ used when calculating the Mahalanobis distance according to the registered image AIM and the reference images BI1 and BI2 are set in advance in the same manner as in the above-described processing of ST102 to ST107. For each, an average value (μc1, μc2) and a standard deviation value (σc1, σc2) of correlation values generated by calculation with a plurality of reference images are used.

  The generated Mahalanobis distances D1 and D2 are used as an index for determining the search order during the matching process.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of the table T stored in the collation device 1 shown in FIG.

  The control circuit 18 generates a table T for associating the reference images BI1 and BI2 and the registered images AIM and Mahalanobis distances D1 and D2 based on the result of the registration process described above, and stores the table T in the database 11.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the table T is based on the average value μ and the standard deviation value σ generated according to the image data of the plurality of reference images DI1 (reference image group), and the standard image BI1. The Mahalanobis distance D1 (using the average value μc1 and the standard deviation value σc1) and the Mahalanobis distance D2 (using the average value μc2 and the standard deviation value σc2) generated based on the reference image BI2 are the reference image BI1, BI2 and registered image AIM (1, 2,..., N) are stored in association with each other.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, when the number of registered images AIM stored in the database is N, each row of the table T is registered for the registered images AIM (1) to AIM (N). Are sequentially (AIM (1), μ1, σ1, d11, d21), (AIM (2), μ2, σ2, d12, d22), (AIM (3), μ3, σ3, d13, d23) from the left column. ,... (AIM (N), μN, σN, d1N, d2N).

[Verification processing]
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation at the time of collation of collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. With reference to FIG. 12, the operation at the time of collation of the collation apparatus 1 will be described focusing on the operation of the control circuit 18.

  In step ST201, the control circuit 18 inputs an image (hereinafter referred to as a collation image RIM) for comparison and collation with the registered image AIM, for example, from the image input unit 10.

  In step ST202, the control circuit 18 reads the reference image BI1 defined in advance from the database 11.

  In step ST203, the control circuit 18 causes the alignment processing unit 12 to perform alignment between the collation image RIM and the reference image BI1.

  In step ST204, the control circuit 18 causes the Hough conversion processing unit 13 to perform the Hough conversion process on the collation image RIM and the reference image BI1 that have been subjected to the alignment process.

  In step ST205, the control circuit 18 causes the mask processing unit 14 to perform mask processing so that only the parameters having a larger threshold value are extracted from the collation image RIM and the reference image BI1 that have been subjected to the Hough transform processing. .

In step ST206, the control circuit 18 causes the correlation value calculation unit 15 to generate a correlation value between the matching image RIM and the reference image BI1 after the mask processing by calculation.
For example, for the generation of the correlation value, for example, a similarity (SIM) r as shown in Equation (2) is used.

  In step ST207, the control circuit 18 generates a Mahalanobis distance D′ 1 between the collation image RIM and the reference image BI1 by calculation based on the correlation value generated in step ST206.

  Here, in order to generate the Mahalanobis distance D′ 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, an average value μc1 of correlation values obtained from image data of the base image BI1 and a plurality of reference images DI1 (also referred to as a reference image group), and A standard deviation value σc1 is used.

In step ST208, the control circuit 18 specifies M correlation values having the Mahalanobis distance D1 close to the Mahalanobis distance D′ 1 in the search order determination unit 16 based on the generated Mahalanobis distance, and sets the specified correlation value. Correspondingly, some registered images AIM used for collation are specified.
The control circuit 18 reads the specified registered image AIM from the database 11.

  In step ST209, the control circuit 18 performs substantially the same processing as in steps STST202 to ST207 with respect to the reference image BI2, and generates a Mahalanobis distance D′ 2 with the collation image RIM by calculation (ST209 to ST214).

In step ST215, the control circuit 18 specifies N correlation values having the Mahalanobis distance D close to the Mahalanobis distance D′ 2 from the plurality of registered images AIM extracted in step ST208 as the comparison targets.
In order to generate the Mahalanobis distance D′ 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the average value μc2 of the correlation values obtained from the image data of the base image BI2 and the plurality of reference images DI1 (reference image group), and the standard deviation value σc2 Is used.

  Here, the control circuit 18 calculates the Mahalanobis distance D′ 2 using the average value μc2 and the standard deviation value σc2 of the correlation values obtained from the image data of the base image BI2 and the plurality of reference images DI1 (reference image group). Generate by.

  Further, the determination of the collation order uses the feature that the correlation values generated between a plurality of similar image data and the reference image BI1 show close values.

In step ST216, the control circuit 18 performs alignment processing, Hough transform processing, and mask processing on each registered image AIM specified in step ST215 in the same manner as described above, and the correlation value and Mahalanobis distance with the collation image RIM. Is generated by calculation.
For the generation of the Mahalanobis distance here, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, an average value and a standard deviation value generated when registering each registered image specified as a verification target are used.

  For example, when the registered image AIM (1) is specified as a verification target, the Mahalanobis distance from the verification image RIM is generated based on the average value μ1 and the standard deviation value σ1.

  In step ST217, the control circuit 18 determines whether or not the Mahalanobis distance generated in step ST216 is greater than a preset threshold value. When it is determined that the value is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step ST220. On the other hand, if it is determined that the value is equal to or less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step ST218.

In step ST218, when the control circuit 18 determines that the threshold value is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, the control circuit 18 determines whether or not the verification processing has been performed on all the N registered images AIM specified as the verification target in step ST215.
When it is determined that no matching process has been performed on all the specified N registered images AIM, the process returns to the process of step ST216, and the matching process is performed on the next registered image AIM to be collated in the same manner as described above. On the other hand, if the control circuit 18 determines that all the specified N registered images AIM have been collated, the control circuit 18 proceeds to the process of step ST219.

  In step ST219, the control circuit 18 determines that the collation image RIM and the registration image AIM do not match when it is determined that the collation processing has been completed for all the registered images AIM specified as the collation target.

In step ST220, if the threshold value is exceeded, the control circuit 18 determines that the registered image AIM specified as the search target matches the collation image RIM, and causes the operation processing unit 19 to perform predetermined processing, for example.
For example, when the verification device 1 according to the present invention is applied to a vein pattern verification device in the security field, the control circuit 18 causes the operation processing unit 19 to perform processing such as releasing the electronic lock.

  As described above, since the matching process is performed using the Mahalanobis distance that normalizes the correlation value based on the average value μ and the standard deviation value σ of the frequency distribution pattern of the correlation value, the matching process is performed with higher accuracy. It can be carried out.

  In addition, since each correlation value is generated based on the registered image AIM, the collation image RIM, the reference image BI1, etc. that have undergone the Hough transform process, the collation process can be performed with higher accuracy when collating images including line shape patterns. It can be carried out.

  Further, when collating the input image to be collated with a plurality of registered images stored in the database 11, the feature amount extracted from the input image data and the feature extracted from reference image data prepared in advance are used. By calculating the degree of correlation with the quantity, comparing each image data stored in the database with the degree of correlation calculated in the same way with the reference image data, and performing the matching process only on image data with a close degree of correlation The processing time can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where sequential verification processing is performed with all the image data stored in the database.

Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and any suitable modification can be made.
For example, in the present embodiment, the registered images used for collation are identified hierarchically during the collation process using the two reference images BI1 and BI2, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. The registered images to be collated may be narrowed down by using three or more reference images, or a single reference image may be used.

  Further, although the Mahalanobis distance is introduced as an index for determining the collation order, the collation order may be determined at the previous correlation value (similarity) stage for calculating the Mahalanobis distance.

  In the present embodiment, the Mahalanobis generated by normalizing the first and second correlation values based on a plurality of correlation values between a plurality of reference images defined in advance and a standard image as the correlation value. Although the distance is used, it is not limited to this form.

In the present embodiment, the function according to the present invention is realized by the control circuit 18 executing the program PRG. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, it may be realized by hard wired.
Moreover, you may combine embodiment mentioned above.

  The present invention can be applied to a collation system that collates images.

It is a functional block diagram of collation device 1 concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the Hough conversion process part 13 of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the Hough conversion process shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the image conversion process of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating one Embodiment of operation | movement of the correlation value calculating part 15 shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the Mahalanobis distance which concerns on this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the frequency distribution pattern at the time of producing | generating the correlation degree of base image BI1 and several reference image DI1, for example. (B) is a figure which shows the frequency distribution pattern at the time of producing | generating the correlation degree of base image BI2 and several reference image DI1, for example. It is a figure which shows the relationship between Mahalanobis distance and a standard normal distribution. It is a flowchart for demonstrating one specific example of operation | movement of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the other specific example of operation | movement of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of registration of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows one specific example of the table T which the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 memorize | stores. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of collation of the collation apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Verification apparatus, 10 ... Image input part, 11 ... Database, 12 ... Positioning processing part, 13 ... Hough conversion processing part, 14 ... Mask processing part, 15 ... Mahalanobis distance (correlation value) calculating part, 16 ... Search order determination unit, 17 ... Memory, 18 ... Control circuit (CPU), 19 ... Operation processing unit.

Claims (8)

A computer verification method for image verification,
A first step of generating a first correlation value between the reference image and the image to be matched;
A plurality of second correlation values between the reference image and each of the plurality of registered images, the second correlation values generated before the first step, and the first step. Based on the generated first correlation value, a part of the registered images used for collation with the image to be collated among the plurality of registered images is specified, or an order used for the collation of the registered images is determined. A verification method comprising: a second step of determining. The second step is used for the collation among the plurality of registered images corresponding to the second correlation value by a set number in ascending order of difference between the first correlation value and the second correlation value. The collation method according to claim 1, wherein a part of the registered images is specified. The second step determines the order of the registered images used for the collation in ascending order of difference between the first correlation value and the second correlation value generated in the first step,
The collation method according to claim 1, wherein the collation is not performed on the registered images in the order after the registered image satisfying the condition, on condition that a prescribed condition is satisfied at the time of collation. In the first step, a first correlation value between the reference image subjected to the Hough transform process and the image to be verified is generated,
In the second step, a plurality of second correlation values between the reference image subjected to the Hough transform process and a plurality of registered images are generated before the first step. The verification method described. The matching method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second correlation values are normalized based on a plurality of correlation values between a plurality of predefined reference images and the reference image. Generating a plurality of correlation values between the first and second reference images defined in advance and each of the plurality of registered images, and generating the plurality of correlation values and the step generated by the first step The partial image used for collation with the image to be collated among the plurality of registered images is specified based on a first correlation value, or an order used for the collation of the registered images is determined. The collation method according to 1. Based on the first correlation value between the reference image and the image to be collated and the plurality of second correlation values between the reference image and each of the plurality of registered images, the subject image of the plurality of registered images. A computer having control means for identifying a part of the registered images used for collation with a collation image or determining an order used for collation of the registration images. A program executed on a computer that performs image matching,
A first step of generating a first correlation value between the reference image and the collation image;
A plurality of second correlation values between the reference image and each of the plurality of registered images, the second correlation values generated before the first step, and the first step. Based on the generated first correlation value, a part of the plurality of registered images is used to identify a part of the registered images used for the collation or to determine the order of the registered images used for the collation A program having steps.

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