JP2007310676A - Authentication method, authentication device, authentication program, and recording medium having the program recorded therein - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely authenticate a person by using information relating to pores of his or her skin. <P>SOLUTION: An authentication method for authenticating the person by using information relating to pores of his or her skin includes: an authentication area setting step in which a user sets an area of pores to be authenticated; a pore photographing step of photographing a picture including the authentication area set by the authentication area setting step; a pore extraction step of extracting information relating to pores from the pore picture photographed in the pore photographing step; and an authentication step of authenticating the person on the basis of arrangement information and/or feature information of pores extracted in the pore extraction step and arrangement information and/or feature information of pores of a plurality of preliminarily registered persons. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an authentication method, an authentication device, an authentication program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and in particular, an authentication method, an authentication device, an authentication program for performing highly accurate person authentication using information about pores, And a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  Conventionally, there is a technology that identifies a person based on the physical characteristics of a person's face image, fingerprints, palms, veins, voices, and irises for purposes such as entering and leaving security-oriented facilities and logging into information systems. Exists (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

Here, in Patent Document 1, an image is taken, a human face is detected from the taken image information and the like, a feature amount is extracted from the position of the point of gaze of the detected face, and the image is taken based on the feature amount. It has been shown to estimate the race of a person. In Patent Document 2, sweat gland / pore data is used to distinguish whether a fingerprint is a person or not.
JP 2005-266981 A JP 2003-126067 A

  By the way, as for the conventional person authentication, there is authentication using a face image, an iris, a fingerprint or the like as described above, but the part used for the authentication is often specified in advance such as a face, eyes or fingers.

  In addition, it is a condition that the conventional authentication site does not change over time. In other words, since the conventional authentication site does not change, it cannot be changed periodically unlike character information such as passwords, and if the fingerprint is stolen, the authentication system itself must be changed Will occur. In the case of face and iris authentication, etc., when wearing glasses, authentication processing is performed with the glasses removed every time authentication is performed, which is bothersome.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, it is preferable to realize authentication with improved safety by applying a part with a certain amount of change to authentication. As a part with a change in the human body, for example, There are pores. Here, in Patent Document 2, sweat gland / pore data is used, but the pore data used here is only used for discriminating whether a fingerprint is a person, that is, for preventing spoofing, It is not used to identify a person, nor is it specifically disclosed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is an authentication method, an authentication device, an authentication program, and a record in which the program is recorded for performing highly accurate person authentication using information about pores. The purpose is to provide a medium.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs means for solving the problems having the following characteristics.

  The invention described in claim 1 is an authentication method for performing person authentication using information on pores, and is set by an authentication region setting step for setting a pore region to be authenticated by a user, and the authentication position setting step. A pore photographing step for photographing an image including the authentication region, a pore extracting step for extracting information on pores from the pore image photographed by the pore photographing step, an array information of pores extracted by the pore extracting step, and And / or an authentication step for performing authentication based on feature information and pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance.

  According to invention of Claim 1, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using the information regarding a pore. Further, by selecting a part used for authentication by the user (person who performs authentication) himself / herself, authentication can be performed without knowing the part used for authentication, unlike other authentication techniques.

  The invention described in claim 2 was photographed by a pore photographing step of photographing an image of a part having a pore of the user and the pore photographing step in an authentication method for performing person authentication using information related to pores. An area specifying step for specifying an area used for authentication from an image, a pore extracting step for extracting information on pores included in the area specified by the area specifying step, and pore arrangement information extracted by the pore extracting step And / or feature information, and an authentication step of performing authentication based on pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance.

  According to invention of Claim 2, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using the information regarding a pore. Also, authentication can be performed without the user knowing which part is performing authentication.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the pore extraction step, a distance between pores and a direction to other pores are extracted as the array information with a predetermined pore as a reference.

  According to invention of Claim 3, highly accurate authentication can be performed by using the arrangement information of pores.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the pore extracting step extracts representative position information consisting of at least one of a center, a center of gravity, and a hair root position of the nascent hair growing from the pore as the feature information. It is characterized by.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, highly accurate authentication can be performed by using the representative position information.

  In the invention described in claim 5, the pore extraction step includes the representative position information, and the length of hair, the color of the hair, the color of the pore, the size of the pore, and the shape of the pore with respect to the representative position information. The additional information consisting of at least one of them is extracted as the feature information.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, multi-faceted authentication can be performed with high accuracy using a plurality of pieces of information related to pores. Thereby, safety can be improved.

  In the invention described in claim 6, the region specifying step translates at least one feature line passing through at least one feature point obtained from the image photographed by the pore photographing step, or the feature line. A region is specified based on a feature line obtained in this manner.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, since a region can be specified using feature lines extracted based on a plurality of feature points, and information on pores can be acquired from the region, more accurate authentication can be performed. It can be performed. In addition, the authentication range can be set quickly and efficiently. Further, it is possible to realize highly accurate authentication by eliminating an error in the authentication range for each authentication.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the authentication apparatus that performs person authentication using information related to pores, pore extraction means that extracts information related to pores from an image including pore regions to be authenticated set by a user; And authentication means for performing authentication based on pore arrangement information and / or feature information extracted by the pore extraction means and pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance. Features.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using information on pores. Further, by selecting a part used for authentication by the user (person who performs authentication) himself / herself, authentication can be performed without knowing the part used for authentication, unlike other authentication techniques.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in an authentication apparatus that performs person authentication using information related to pores, an authentication unit that captures an image of a part having a pore of a user and an image captured by the imaging unit are used for authentication. Area specifying means for specifying the area to be used, pore extracting means for extracting information on pores included in the area specified by the area specifying means, and arrangement information and / or features of the pores extracted by the pore extracting means It is characterized by having authentication means for performing authentication based on information and pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance.

  According to invention of Claim 8, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using the information regarding a pore. Also, authentication can be performed without the user knowing which part is performing authentication.

  The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that the pore extraction means extracts the inter-pore distance and direction to other pores as the array information with a predetermined pore as a reference.

  According to invention of Claim 9, highly accurate authentication can be performed by using the arrangement information of pores.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the pore extracting means extracts, as the feature information, representative position information including at least one of a center, a center of gravity of the pore, and a hair root position of the born hair that grows from the pore. It is characterized by.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, highly accurate authentication can be performed by using the representative position information.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the pore extraction means includes the representative position information, and the length of the hair, the color of the hair, the color of the pore, the size of the pore, and the shape of the pore with respect to the representative position information. The additional information consisting of at least one of them is extracted as the feature information.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, multi-faceted authentication can be performed with high accuracy using a plurality of pieces of information related to pores. Thereby, safety can be improved.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the region specifying unit translates one or a plurality of feature lines passing through at least one feature point obtained from an image photographed by the photographing unit, or the feature line. A region is specified based on the obtained feature line.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to specify a region using feature lines extracted based on a plurality of feature points, and to acquire information on pores from the region. It can be performed. In addition, the authentication range can be set quickly and efficiently. Further, it is possible to realize highly accurate authentication by eliminating an error in the authentication range for each authentication.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a computer is operated so as to execute the authentication method according to any one of the first to sixth aspects.

  According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using information on pores. Further, by installing the program, authentication in the present invention can be easily realized by a general-purpose personal computer or the like.

  The invention described in claim 14 is a computer-readable recording medium in which the authentication program according to claim 13 is recorded.

  According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the authentication program can be easily installed on a plurality of other computers using a recording medium. Further, by installing the program, authentication using information related to pores in the present invention can be easily realized by a general-purpose personal computer or the like.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, highly accurate person authentication can be performed using the information regarding a pore.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of an authentication method, an authentication apparatus, an authentication program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an authentication system according to the present invention. The authentication system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to include a pore measurement device 11 and an authentication device 12. The pore measurement device 11 and the authentication device 12 are represented by the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or the like. The communication network 13 is connected so that data can be transmitted and received.

  The pore measuring device 11 photographs pores in a predetermined part of a person. Here, the predetermined portion indicates at least one position or region set in advance among skin portions such as the nose and cheek of the face, the back of the finger, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, and the arm.

  Here, the pore measuring device 11 uses at least one angle of the entire face of the user (certifier), the back of the hand, etc. with respect to the camera position based on predetermined illumination conditions using, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or the like. Take a picture from, and get a digital image.

  In addition, as a method for photographing a predetermined part having a pore of a person such as a face or the back of a hand, for example, an image measurement system equipped with a high-resolution digital camera or a video microscope (VMS: Video Micro Scope) is called. A skin observation system for photographing with a microscope or the like can be used. In addition, as an example of the above-described system, for example, a photographing device shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-133275 or Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-324118 filed by the present applicant can be used. It is not limited, For example, the image image | photographed with the high quality camera etc. may be sufficient.

  In addition, the pore measuring device 11 transmits each piece of measurement result information such as a captured image to the authentication device 12 via the communication network 13.

  The authentication device 12 extracts information on the pores included in the predetermined region based on the image data transmitted from the pore measurement device 11, and the information on the pores and the photographed image and the information corresponding to the information in advance. Authentication is performed based on information and images related to pores of a plurality of registered persons. In particular, the authentication device 12 performs authentication based on pore arrangement information and / or feature information, which will be described later. Note that the authentication device 12 can analyze a change with time for each user and the like accumulated in advance at the time of authentication, and perform authentication based on the analysis result.

  Here, as described above, pores exist everywhere on the body surface. Therefore, in the present invention, the pore measurement device 11 sets the region of the pore portion (cheek, back of hand, etc.) that the user himself uses for authentication. Thereby, unlike other authentication techniques, it is possible to authenticate without knowing the part used for authentication. Therefore, safety can be improved and a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  Conversely, the authentication device 12 performs authentication without knowing at which part the authentication is performed by arbitrarily specifying the region of the region used for authentication from the image obtained by the pore measuring device 11. be able to. Therefore, a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  In addition, the setting of the area | region in the pore measuring apparatus 11 mentioned above and the identification of the area | region in the authentication apparatus 12 should just have any apparatus. Moreover, you may have the structure which sets or specifies an area | region in each apparatus. In that case, for example, even when the user sets a face by selecting a part in the pore measuring device 11, the authentication device 12 may divide the face into predetermined regions and specify at least one region from the divided plurality of regions. it can.

  In other words, the present invention is different from the conventional authentication method in which feature data is extracted from the entire face, and by setting the area used for authentication, for example, when the user hides part of the face with glasses or a mask. But you can authenticate.

  The system configuration shown in FIG. 1 is roughly configured to have one pore measuring device 11 and one authentication device 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the pore measuring device 11 and / or Alternatively, a plurality of authentication devices 12 may be configured. In addition, each configuration for capturing a user's pore image in the pore measurement device 11 may be provided in the authentication device 12.

<Pore measuring device 11>
Next, a functional configuration example of the pore measuring device 11 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the pore measuring apparatus. The pore measuring apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 2 includes an input means 21, an output means 22, a user management means 23, an authentication area setting means 24, an imaging means 25, a storage means 26, a transmission / reception means 27, and a control means. 28.

  The input unit 21 receives input of various data when registering a user who uses the authentication system 10 and registering the date and time of measurement. In addition, the input unit 21 receives a shooting (measurement) execution instruction from a user, a data transmission instruction to the authentication device 12, and the like. The input means 21 includes, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a voice interface such as a microphone, and the like.

  Further, the output means 22 outputs the contents input by the input means 21 and the contents executed based on the input contents by display, voice or the like. Note that the output means 22 includes a display, a speaker, and the like.

  In addition, the user management unit 23 manages personal information, the number of times of measurement, and the like of the user who uses the authentication system 10 described above. Specifically, the user management unit 23 can register a user, call a user that has already been registered and stored in the storage unit 26, and perform reference, correction, deletion, and the like.

  The contents registered as user information include, for example, “user ID”, “password”, “name”, “date of birth”, “sex”, “shooting date”, “ There are “imaging region”, “expiration date of photographed image”, “memo (remarks)”, and the like. The registered user information is not particularly limited in the present invention.

  The user management unit 23 uses the imaging unit 25 to capture an image used for authentication at the time of user registration. Note that the image taken at the time of user registration needs to be the same part as the pore part used for authentication. In addition, the size of the image area is larger for the registered data than for the part used for authentication.

  For example, when the part used for authentication is “only the middle finger of the left hand”, “all of the backs of fingers of both hands” is imaged at the time of registration, and the part used for authentication is “part of the right cheek” If it is, images of “both cheeks” and “full face” are acquired. Thereby, even if another part is selected for authentication, it can be easily handled because it is included in the registered image. Note that the user management unit 23 may acquire all images used for authentication at the time of user registration, and may select the type of image at the time of registration.

Further, the authentication area setting means 24 sets a pore area used for authentication. Note that at least one measurement position is set from each part of the body surface where pores exist. Further, when setting, the user management means 23 selects from pore regions included in an image registered in advance by the user. In this case, the authentication unit candidates are displayed by the output unit 22 and can be easily set by selecting the input unit 21.
Thereby, it can authenticate, without knowing the site | part used for authentication by selecting the pore site | part which a user himself uses for authentication. Therefore, safety can be improved and a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  The imaging means 25 can acquire a digital image from a CCD camera or the like, and images the entire face of the user from a plurality of angles (for example, the front, right face, left face, etc.), or the back of the hand. In addition, when photographing the pore part, the photographing unit 25 preferably acquires an image of a predetermined part by flash photographing in order to capture the detailed part of the pore in the image.

  In addition, it is necessary to make sure that there is no difference in the entire face image that is captured so that the result of authentication does not cause an error due to a shift in the position used for authentication. Therefore, the photographing unit 25 displays (previews) the position of the user's face on the imaging device such as a camera on the display or the like of the output unit 22 at the time of photographing, and guides the user through the preview screen to Can be set.

  Further, the storage means 26 stores the user information obtained by the user management means 23 described above, the authentication area information obtained by the authentication area setting means 24, each image data obtained by the photographing means 25, etc. as photographing date / time information and user information. Accumulate in association.

  The transmission / reception means 27 is a communication interface for transmitting / receiving data between the pore measurement device 11 and the authentication device 12 via the communication network 13. Therefore, in the pore measuring apparatus 11, the transmission / reception means 27 receives an acquisition request for various data such as user information and photographing contents from the authentication apparatus 12, or receives an instruction to transmit various data to the authentication apparatus 12 by the input means 21. In such a case, various data are transmitted to the authentication device 12 via the communication network 13. Further, the transmission / reception means 27 receives the authentication result by the authentication device 12 and notifies the user, administrator, etc. of the contents by the output means 22 or the like.

  Further, the control means 28 controls the entire components of the pore measuring device 11. Specifically, for example, the region of the pores used for authentication is set by the authentication region setting unit 24, the pore image is captured by the imaging unit, and the captured image is stored in the storage unit 26 together with the user information. Control is performed such that an image taken for user registration or authentication or authentication area information set by the authentication area setting means 24 is transmitted from the transmission / reception means 27 to the authentication device 12.

<Authentication device 12>
Next, a functional configuration example of the authentication device 12 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the authentication apparatus. The authentication device 12 shown in FIG. 3 includes an input unit 31, an output unit 32, a user management unit 33, a region specifying unit 34, a pore extraction unit 35, an authentication unit 36, an accumulation unit 37, and a transmission / reception unit 38. And a control means 39.

  The input unit 31 receives an input of various data when performing an instruction for performing authentication from various data obtained from the pore measuring device 11 or performing an instruction for displaying the authentication result by the output unit 32. Note that the input unit 31 includes, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a voice interface such as a microphone, and the like.

  The output unit 32 outputs the content input by the input unit 31 or the content executed based on the input content by display, voice, or the like. Note that the output unit 32 includes a display, a speaker, and the like.

  The user management unit 33 manages the user information stored in the storage unit 37, the area specifying information used for authentication, the authentication result, and the like. Specifically, the user management unit 33 can register a user, call a user that has already been registered and stored in the storage unit 37, and perform reference, correction, deletion, and the like.

  The area specifying unit 34 specifies at least one area (part) used for authentication from various image data obtained from the pore measuring device 11. Note that the area specifying unit 34 may arbitrarily set an area used for authentication by an administrator or the like, or may specify areas in a preset order or randomly among a plurality of area candidates.

In addition, the area specifying unit 34 causes the output unit 32 to display, for example, information (images, characters, etc.) related to a part used at the time of specifying the previous or previous area, or information on the actually specified area.
That is, the area specifying unit 34 displays a history of which specific area has been set before or before. Thereby, since the same area | region is not set over a long period of time, safety can be improved. Further, by specifying a region used for authentication, authentication can be performed without knowing which part is authenticated. Therefore, a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  The pore extracting means 35 extracts pores from the area used for authentication specified by the area specifying means 34. As for the pore extraction method from the image processing, for example, the pore image extraction method shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-133275 filed by the present applicant can be applied, but the present invention is not limited to this. Not.

  The pore extraction means 35 in this embodiment extracts pore arrangement information and feature information as information about pores. Here, the pore extraction means 35, as the pore arrangement information, for example, between the pores up to other pores (for example, adjacent pores, etc.) based on a predetermined pore among a plurality of pores included in a certain predetermined range, for example. Extract distance and direction information. The pore extracting means 35 extracts representative position information consisting of at least one of the center of the pores, the center of gravity, and the position of the root of the born hair that grows from the pores as the feature information of the pores. Authentication can be performed with high accuracy using these sequence information and representative position information.

  Further, the pore extraction means 35 has at least one of the length of the hair, the color of the hair, the color of the pore, the size of the pore, and the shape of the pore with respect to the representative position information in addition to the representative position information described above as the feature information. Additional information consisting of one may also be extracted. It may be expressed as an actual size if the length of hair is born, or as an R value, RG ratio, etc. among RGB values, an average value of the colors of a plurality of hairs, etc. if the color is a color, and score based on preset conditions May be ranked in several stages. Thereby, multi-faceted authentication can be performed with high accuracy using a plurality of pieces of information on pores. Therefore, safety can be improved.

  Note that the pore extraction means 35 determines the attributes of the edge and branch points of the texture and their relative positional relationship with respect to the back of the hand, the back of the finger, etc. where the texture is clear, because the texture branch point becomes a pore. You may extract as information regarding a pore, and you may extract the outline part of a pore as information regarding a pore.

  The pore extracting means 35 extracts information on pores such as the above-described pore arrangement information and feature information from the image photographed at the time of user registration, and the extracted various information, photographed images, and the like as user information. The data are stored in the storage unit 37 in association with each other.

  The authentication means 36 performs person authentication based on the image data obtained from the pore measurement device 11 and various information related to the pores. Further, the authentication unit 36 can acquire the authentication result on the pore measurement device 11 side by transmitting the authentication result from the transmission / reception unit 38 to the pore measurement device 11 via the communication network 13.

  Further, the authentication unit 36 stores the authentication result, the image data used for the authentication, and various data related to the authentication area by the storage unit 37. Thereby, further highly accurate authentication processing can be realized by the characteristic information of individual pores over time. A specific authentication method in the authentication unit 36 will be described later.

  The accumulating unit 37 accumulates user information and various image data obtained from the pore measuring device 11, authentication results obtained by the authenticating unit 36, and the like. The storage unit 37 stores the image data, the specific area set at the time of authentication, the authentication result, and the like in association with the shooting date and time, user information, and the like. Thereby, the above-mentioned history information for each user can be accumulated, and various data can be acquired as necessary.

  The transmission / reception means 38 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data between the authentication device 12 and the pore measurement device 11 via the communication network 13. Therefore, the authentication device 12 acquires various data obtained by the pore measurement device 11 via the communication network 13. Moreover, the acquisition request | requirement of various data is performed to the pore measuring device 11, and if there exists information which has not been transmitted yet, the information will be acquired. Further, the transmission / reception means 38 can also transmit the authentication result to the pore measuring device 11.

  Further, the control means 39 controls the entire components of the authentication device 12. Specifically, information on pores included in the area specified by the pore extraction means 35 or the area used for authentication by the area specifying means 34 is received by the transmission / reception means 38 from the authentication device 12. Or the like is controlled by the authentication means 36.

<Method of setting image area used for authentication>
Here, a method of setting (specifying) an image area used for authentication in the authentication area setting unit 24 and the area specifying unit 34 described above will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image region setting method. In the case of performing authentication, at least one is selected from a plurality of parts having the above-mentioned pores such as the face and the back of the hand (the back of the finger). For example, when a face is selected, a predetermined area of the face 41 can be set as the authentication pore area 42 as shown in FIG. In addition, you may provide the detailed area | region 43 (shaded part in FIG. 4) which consists of a more detailed area | region among the pore regions 42 for authentication. Here, the size and shape (circular, triangular, trapezoidal, etc.) in the detailed area 43 are not particularly limited.

  Similarly, the authentication pore region 42 and the detailed region 43 can be set on the back 44 of the hand shown in FIG. In this case, imaging means capable of imaging each part is required. The authentication area is specified every time authentication is performed or at a predetermined timing such as the number of times of authentication or authentication time. Note that these authentication areas may be specified before the image is taken or after the image is taken.

<Area identification method>
Next, an example of a method for specifying an area used for authentication from an image acquired by the area specifying unit 34 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example for specifying an authentication area in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, for example, when specifying a specific position used for authentication from a face image taken by the imaging means 25 in the pore measuring device 11, a conventional technique for extracting facial feature data (for example, a patent) Using Reference 1 etc.), specify the positions (feature points) such as the corner of the eye, the head of the eye, the side of the nose, the center of the nose, the bottom of the nose, the eyebrows, the buttocks, the edge of the lips, the top of the lips, the bottom of the lips . The area specifying unit 34 extracts a feature line passing through at least one feature point from the specified feature points. Further, feature lines obtained by parallel movement with respect to each feature line are extracted.

  For example, FIG. 5 has characteristic lines A to G (vertical lines), a to f (horizontal lines), aa and bb (hatched lines). Here, the vertical feature line A is a line passing through the corner of the eye, the feature line B is a line passing through the head of the eye, the feature line C is a line passing through the side of the nose, and the feature line D passes through the center of the nose. The feature line E is a line passing through the head of the eyebrow, the feature line F is a line passing through the end of the lips, and the feature line G is a line passing through the buttocks.

  Further, the horizontal feature line a is a line passing through the eyes, the feature line b is a line passing under the nose, the feature line c is a line passing over the lips, and the feature line d passes under the lips. The feature line e is a line that internally divides the feature lines a and c into one to three, and the feature line f is a line that passes through both ends of the lips. Further, the hatched feature line aa is a line passing through the edge of the lips and the corner of the eye, and the feature line bb is a line passing through the side of the nose and the head of the eye. In this way, the region is specified using at least one feature line shown in FIG.

  Here, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a region specifying method using feature lines. When specifying a region, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a plurality of feature lines are used, and regions surrounded by these feature lines are set as specified regions 51 and 52, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, a region having a certain area or length and width with respect to the intersection of two feature lines may be used as the specific region 53. As shown in FIG. A circular area having a predetermined radius around the intersection of two feature lines can be defined as the specific area 54. The size and shape of the specific area are not particularly limited. Moreover, the specific area used for authentication may be one or plural.

  In the above example, a face image is used. For example, in the case of the back of a hand, feature data is extracted based on the base of a finger or a joint part, and an area used for authentication is specified from the extracted feature data. Can do. Similarly, other regions can be specified based on preset feature data.

  In this way, since it is possible to acquire information related to pores in a region including a characteristic part obtained by a characteristic line, more accurate authentication can be performed. In addition, the authentication range can be set quickly and efficiently. Further, it is possible to realize highly accurate authentication by eliminating an error in the authentication range for each authentication.

<Authentication method>
Next, the authentication method in the authentication means 36 mentioned above is demonstrated. The authentication unit 36 extracts information on the pores described above by the pore extraction unit 35 based on the region specified by the region specification unit 34, and performs an authentication process using the extracted information and the photographed image.

  Specifically, the authentication unit 36 performs authentication based on the arrangement information between pores and the feature information of the pores acquired by the pore extraction unit 35 from the captured image. Note that authentication may be performed using sequence information or feature information, or may be performed by combining sequence information and feature information. By using sequence information and feature information for authentication, multifaceted authentication can be performed with high accuracy using a plurality of pieces of information related to pores, and the safety of authentication can be improved.

  In addition, the authentication is performed on information on pores extracted by the pore extraction means 35 (pore arrangement information, feature information, etc.) and information on pores for a plurality of pre-registered persons corresponding to the information (pore arrangement information, On the basis of feature information, etc.) and collation is performed by a feature point extraction collation method (Manisha method), a pattern matching method, or the like.

  Here, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of authentication content using pores. As shown in FIG. 7, the measurement data area 60 specified by the area specifying means 34 has one or a plurality of pores 61. Therefore, the pore extraction means 35 extracts the center of each pore as a representative position (feature point) 62 from the pore 61, and also extracts sequence information and the like. In addition, since the representative position (feature point) 65 and arrangement information of the pores 64 included in the region 63 corresponding to the region 60 of the above-described measurement data are registered in advance as registration data for a plurality of persons, these data are registered. Thus, authentication is performed by comparing representative positions with respect to each pore, arrangement information, and the like.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of authentication contents based on pattern matching. As shown in FIG. 8, the authentication means 36 divides the pores 61 included in the above-described measurement data region 60 and the pores 64 included in the registration data region 63 corresponding to the region 60, for example, pore outline information or the like. By performing pattern matching based on the above, verification can be performed by collating.

  Moreover, FIG. 9 is a figure of an example for demonstrating the authentication content based on the arrangement | sequence information of a pore. The authentication unit 36 is configured to arbitrarily specify a pore (for example, the pore 61 in the pores 61-1 to 61-4 and 64-1 to 64-4 in FIG. 9) included in a certain region. Authentication is performed based on arrangement information between pores based on -1,64-1).

  Specifically, as arrangement information, the inter-pore distances 66-1 to 66-3 and the directions of the other pores 61-2 to 61-4 are extracted with reference to the pore 61-1 of the measurement data in FIG. Has been. In addition, regarding the registration data, the inter-pore distances 67-1 to 67-3 and the directions of the other pores 64-2 to 64-4 are extracted on the basis of the pore 64-1. Authenticate based on In this case, it is necessary to adjust the size of the image data. In this case, for example, one image is enlarged or reduced with reference to the size of a certain pore 61-1, so that the same size is obtained. Comparison is performed using the same registered data and measurement data images.

  Therefore, according to FIG. 9, when the registration data is arranged as shown in FIG. 9A, if the measured data of the photographed pores are arranged as shown in FIG. 9B, It can be determined that the authentication results are the same. Further, if the measurement data of the photographed pores are arranged as shown in FIG. 9C, it can be determined that the person is a different person as a result of the authentication.

  Further, the authentication unit 36 calculates, for example, the distance between the feature vector and the feature matrix that are the feature amounts of both the measurement data and the registration data, and extracts the registration data corresponding to the feature vector that is closest to the feature vector. Authentication can also be performed.

  Further, the authentication unit 36 performs authentication based on whether or not the measurement data matches the registered data using the above-described feature information. At this time, if the average value of the color of the vellus hair in the authentication area specified by the authentication and the ranking described above are performed, the information is used as feature information, and the number of each rank, and further the representative point of the pore Authenticate based on information about pores.

  Here, the color, shape, and size of pores change with time, but the pores themselves do not disappear or increase. Therefore, the authentication means 36 provides a certain tolerance for the change in pores depending on the season and time. In addition, this tolerance range is based on average data such as how long the normal hair grows from the pores and how the pores change depending on the season, time, age, gender, etc. An allowable range is set based on average data. Furthermore, in the present invention, an allowable range can be set for each user on the basis of a change in information regarding pores over time of each user, which has been used for previous authentication accumulated by the accumulation unit 37 and the like.

  Therefore, for example, if the allowable range is based on age or the like, both the upper limit and the lower limit change with time, so the authentication condition is inevitably changed. Furthermore, since the size, the ellipse length ratio, and the color differ depending on the pores, information such as characteristics can be added to each pore. Moreover, since the arrangement | sequence information which added the mutual position of the several pore to these information can also be added to authentication conditions, highly accurate authentication can be performed.

  Note that the authentication means 36 may set a time limit for the registered data to be used for authentication. For example, the authentication time limit after registration is set to one day, one week, one month, etc. If it exceeds, processing such as an authentication error can be performed.

  As described above, with the authentication according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize highly accurate person authentication using information using pore-related information. In the case where authentication is performed using a plurality of pores, the authentication unit 36 may set priorities for each pore before authentication and perform authentication in the order of priority. Thereby, detailed authentication settings can be realized by combining the priorities.

  Further, the authentication unit 36 can process a combination of the above-described authentication methods, and can perform authentication using physical feature information of a person's fingerprint, palm, vein, face image, voice, and iris. it can. Therefore, more accurate authentication can be realized.

  Here, the above-described authentication device 12 can be controlled by a dedicated device configuration having the above-described functions, but generates an execution program that can cause a computer to execute each function, for example, a general-purpose personal computer, By installing the execution program on a server or the like, the authentication processing in the present invention can be realized.

<Hardware configuration>
Here, a hardware configuration example of a computer capable of realizing the authentication processing according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration capable of realizing the authentication process according to the present invention.

  10 includes an input device 71, an output device 72, a drive device 73, an auxiliary storage device 74, a memory device 75, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 76 for performing various controls, and a network connection device. 77, which are connected to each other by a system bus B.

  The input device 71 has a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse operated by a user, and inputs various operation signals such as execution of a program from the user. The output device 72 has a monitor that displays various windows and data necessary for operating the computer main body for performing processing in the present invention, and displays the program execution progress and results by the control program of the CPU 76. can do.

  Here, in the present invention, the execution program installed in the computer main body is provided by, for example, a recording medium 78 such as a CD-ROM. The recording medium 78 on which the program is recorded can be set in the drive device 73, and the execution program included in the recording medium 78 is installed from the recording medium 78 to the auxiliary storage device 74 via the drive device 73.

  The auxiliary storage device 74 is a storage means such as a hard disk, and can store an execution program according to the present invention, a control program provided in a computer, and the like, and can perform input / output as necessary.

  The CPU 76 performs various operations and input / output of data with each hardware component based on a control program such as an OS (Operating System) and an execution program read and stored by the memory device 75. Each process in the authentication process or the like can be realized by controlling the process. Various data such as pre-registered information on pores required during program execution and image area specific information used at the time of authentication can be obtained from the auxiliary storage device 74, and the execution results and the like are stored. You can also.

  The network connection device 77 obtains an execution program from another terminal connected to the communication network 13 by connecting to a communication network or the like, or an execution result obtained by executing the program or the present invention. The execution program itself can be provided to other terminals. With the hardware configuration as described above, the authentication process according to the present invention can be executed. Further, by installing the program, authentication in the present invention can be easily realized by a general-purpose personal computer or the like.

<Authentication processing procedure>
Next, an authentication processing procedure in the authentication system of the present invention will be described using a flowchart. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the authentication processing procedure in the present invention. In addition, the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is a processing procedure about the authentication system in the pore measuring apparatus 11 and the authentication apparatus 12 mentioned above.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, it is first determined whether or not the user is registered when using the authentication system (S01). If the user is not registered (NO in S01), the user is registered (S02). The registered user information includes “user ID”, “password”, “name”, “date of birth”, “gender”, “shooting date”, for identifying each measurement content as described above. There are “imaging part”, “expiration date of photographed image”, “memo (remarks)”, and the like. Further, at the time of registration, an image of a part having a pore, such as a face (entire face) used for authentication, the back of the hand, and an arm is taken.

  In the process of S01, when it is determined whether or not the user is registered, the information stored in the storage means is searched using “user ID”, “password”, “name”, and the like. The presence or absence of user registration can be confirmed.

  Next, in S01, if the user has already been registered (YES in S01), or if the user registration is completed in S02, an area used for authentication is set by the user (S03). Thereby, authentication can be performed without knowing the site | part used for authentication unlike other authentication techniques by selecting the pore site | part used for authentication by the user himself / herself. Thereby, safety can be improved and a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  Next, the pores in the set area are photographed (S04), and the authentication area is specified based on the authentication area setting information by the user from the photographed pore image (S05). As a result, authentication can be performed without the user knowing which part is performing authentication. Therefore, a stricter authentication system can be provided.

  Next, feature information such as the above-described sequence information and pore representative position information is extracted based on the specific region (S06), and authentication is performed based on the extracted sequence information and feature information, or a combination of the information. (S07), and outputs the authentication result to the authentication device or the pore measuring device (S08). Further, the authentication result is stored in the authentication device (S09). In the process of S09, the authentication result, the image data used for authentication, and various data related to the authentication area are also accumulated. Thereby, in the authentication process in S07, more accurate authentication process can be realized by the characteristic information of each pore over time.

  As described above, highly accurate authentication can be realized by the authentication processing according to the present invention. Note that the processes of S03 and S05 described above may be both performed, or one of them may be performed. At this time, for example, when the process of S05 is omitted, the pore extraction process in S06 is performed based on the authentication area set in the process of S03. When the process of S03 is omitted, the region for extracting the pores in the process of S06 is specified from the image captured in the process of S04 in the process of S05.

  In addition, when setting or specifying an area in S03 and S05, if the same area as the previously set or specified area continues for a predetermined number of times or more, a message or the like indicating that fact is given to the user in the pore measuring apparatus. Or you may show to the administrator in an authentication device and instruct it to change a setting. Thereby, the safety | security of an authentication parameter can be improved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform highly accurate person authentication using information on pores. In the present invention, more accurate authentication can be realized by combining analysis results such as wrinkles and spots obtained from image information, skin color, etc. in addition to information on pores.

  The present invention can be used for purposes such as entering and leaving a facility that places importance on security, and logging in to an information system. Moreover, by collating with a criminal database etc., it can apply to the technique of identifying with a criminal, etc. when disguising with sunglasses, a mask, etc.

  Moreover, the information regarding the pores in the present invention can be applied to an image processing technique that performs matching between image data such as a face and image data registered in advance. Specifically, when matching image data, not only normal feature points such as facial eyes, nose and mouth, but also information on pores in the present invention is used to align the position and angle of the face. Such processing can be performed with higher accuracy.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Is possible.

It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the authentication system in this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of a pore measuring device. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of an authentication apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting method of an image area | region. It is a figure which shows an example for specifying the authentication area | region in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the identification method of the area | region using a feature line. It is a figure which shows an example of the authentication content using a pore. It is a figure of an example for demonstrating the authentication content based on pattern matching. It is a figure of an example for demonstrating the authentication content based on the arrangement | sequence information of a pore. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions which can implement | achieve the authentication process in this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the authentication processing procedure in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Authentication system 11 Pore measuring apparatus 12 Authentication apparatus 13 Communication network 21, 31 Input means 22, 32 Output means 23, 33 User management means 24 Authentication area setting means 25 Imaging means 26, 37 Storage means 27, 38 Transmission / reception means 28, 39 Control means 34 Area specifying means 35 Pore extraction means 36 Authentication means 41 Face 42 Authentication pore area 43 Detailed area 44 Back of hand 51, 52, 53, 54 Specific area 60, 63 Area 61, 64 Pore 62, 65 Representative position 66, 67 Distance between pores 71 Input device 72 Output device 73 Drive device 74 Auxiliary storage device 75 Memory device 76 CPU
77 Network connection device 78 Recording medium

Claims (14)

In the authentication method for performing person authentication using information about pores,
An authentication area setting step for setting a pore area to be authenticated by the user;
Pore photographing step of photographing an image including the authentication region set by the authentication position setting step;
A pore extraction step of extracting information about pores from the pore image photographed by the pore photographing step;
An authentication step of performing authentication based on the pore arrangement information and / or feature information extracted in the pore extraction step and the pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of pre-registered persons. A characteristic authentication method. In the authentication method for performing person authentication using information about pores,
A pore photographing step of photographing an image of a part having a pore of the user;
An area specifying step for specifying an area to be used for authentication from the image photographed by the pore photographing step;
A pore extraction step of extracting information about pores included in the region identified by the region identification step;
An authentication step for performing authentication based on the pore arrangement information and / or feature information extracted by the pore extraction step and the pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance. A characteristic authentication method. The pore extraction step includes
3. The authentication method according to claim 1, wherein a distance between pores and a direction to other pores are extracted as the array information with a predetermined pore as a reference. The pore extraction step includes
4. The representative position information consisting of at least one of the center, the center of gravity of the pores, and the root position of the pubic hair that grows from the pores is extracted as the feature information. Authentication method. The pore extraction step includes
The representative position information and additional information consisting of at least one of the length of hair, the color of the hair, the color of the pores, the size of the pores, and the shape of the pores with respect to the representative position information are extracted as the feature information. The authentication method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The region specifying step includes:
A region is specified based on one or a plurality of feature lines passing through at least one feature point obtained from the image photographed in the pore photographing step, or a feature line obtained by translating the feature line. The authentication method according to claim 2. In an authentication device that performs person authentication using information about pores,
Pore extraction means for extracting information about pores from an image including pore regions for authentication set by a user;
And authentication means for performing authentication based on pore arrangement information and / or feature information extracted by the pore extraction means and pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance. A featured authentication device. In an authentication device that performs person authentication using information about pores,
Photographing means for photographing an image of a part having a pore of the user;
Area specifying means for specifying an area used for authentication from an image taken by the photographing means;
Pore extraction means for extracting information about pores contained in the area specified by the area specifying means;
And authentication means for performing authentication based on pore arrangement information and / or feature information extracted by the pore extraction means and pore arrangement information and / or feature information for a plurality of persons registered in advance. A featured authentication device. The pore extraction means includes
The authentication apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a distance between pores and a direction to other pores are extracted as the array information with a predetermined pore as a reference. The pore extraction means includes
10. The representative position information consisting of at least one of the center, the center of gravity of the pores, and the root position of the pubic hair that grows from the pores is extracted as the feature information. 9. The authentication device according to 8. The pore extraction means includes
The representative position information and additional information consisting of at least one of the length of hair, the color of the hair, the color of the pores, the size of the pores, and the shape of the pores with respect to the representative position information are extracted as the feature information. The authentication apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein The region specifying means includes
A region is specified based on one or a plurality of feature lines passing through at least one feature point obtained from an image photographed by the photographing means, or a feature line obtained by translating the feature line. The authentication device according to claim 8.   An authentication program for operating a computer to execute the authentication method according to claim 1.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the authentication program according to claim 13 is recorded.