JP2008250755A - Registration system and registration method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a registration system and a registration method which can efficiently register and authenticate unspecified number of persons. <P>SOLUTION: The registration system is provided with: a registering part 15b for registering information about a registration target agreeing to registration along with his/her face image; a temporarily registering part 15c for registering information about an unregistered person who does not agree with registration along with his/her face image; a face image extracting part 15e for extracting a face image from a moving image of a person photographed by an imaging apparatus; an authenticating part 15d for authenticating that the person has been already registered on the basis of the extracted face image; and a history registering part 15f for registering information about the photographed person as history information, wherein the temporarily registering part registers the photographed person as an unregistered person when the temporarily registering part authenticates the photographed person. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a registration system and a registration method that can efficiently register and authenticate an unspecified number of persons.

Conventionally, a system for registering personal information is known. In this system, by registering personal face images in advance, a person can be searched and inquired based on the registered face images. This system makes it possible to authenticate the individual.
However, in order to use the functions of this system, the individual must be registered in advance. Therefore, it is difficult to apply in the case of quickly authenticating whether or not the person is registered for an unspecified number of persons.

Therefore, an apparatus for searching for a large number of unspecified persons has been proposed. In this apparatus, a moving image obtained by photographing a person is searched for a scene according to the structure of the person and reproduced (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-101906

  Using this technology, it is possible to search for a specific individual from an unspecified number of people, but the individual is flexibly registered, and authentication is efficiently performed based on the registration information. It is not enough to apply to registration and authentication for an unspecified number of people.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a registration system and a registration method capable of efficiently executing registration and authentication for an unspecified number of persons. .

  In order to solve the above problems, a registration system according to the present invention includes a registration unit for registering information about a registration target person who agrees to registration together with a face image, and a face image for information about an unregistered person who does not agree to registration. Together with a temporary registration unit for registration, a face image extraction unit for extracting a face image from a moving image of a person photographed by the imaging device, and authenticating that the person has already been registered based on the extracted face image An authentication unit; and a history registration unit that registers information about the photographed person as history information. When the temporary registration unit is not authenticated by the authentication unit, the photographed person is not registered. Register as a person.

  Also, the registration method according to the present invention includes a registration step for registering information about a registration target person who consents to registration together with a face image, and a provisional registration step for registering information about an unregistered person who does not agree to registration together with a face image. A face image extraction step of extracting a face image from a moving image of a person photographed by the imaging device, an authentication step of authenticating that the person is already registered based on the extracted face image, and the photographing A history registration step of registering information about the person as history information. In the temporary registration step, if the authentication step does not authenticate, the photographed person is registered as an unregistered person.

  According to the registration system and the registration method of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently execute registration and authentication for an unspecified number of persons.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments in the case of carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a registration system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The registration system includes a registration device 1 and a plurality of imaging devices 2a, ..., 2n. For example, a plurality of imaging devices 2 are installed at appropriate locations inside a building, and capture a moving image and a still image at each location. The registration device 1 registers and manages personal information inputted in advance, and manages a person extracted based on a photographed image.
Here, the registration device 1 and the imaging device 2 may be directly connected or may be connected via a communication line (not shown). A communication line is a path widely used for transmitting and receiving information, and is not limited to communication using a wire such as a conductive line or an optical fiber, but also includes wireless communication using light, sound waves, radio waves, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the registration apparatus 1.
The registration device 1 includes a processing device 10, a camera interface 11, and an input / output device 12. The camera interface 11 is an information interface for transferring an image from the imaging device 2 to the processing device 10. The input / output device 12 inputs an instruction to the processing device 10 and displays information from the processing device 10.

The processing device 10 is provided with a processing unit 15 and a data unit 16.
The processing unit 15 includes an input / output interface unit 15a, a registration processing unit 15b, a temporary registration processing unit 15c, a search processing unit 15d, an image collection processing unit 15e, a history processing unit 15f, and a registration change processing unit 15g.

The input / output interface unit 15 a is an interface for exchanging various types of information between the camera interface 11 and the input / output device 12.
The registration processing unit 15b stores the personal information and the face photograph in association with each registration target person in a DB (database). The temporary registration processing unit 15c stores a face photograph and related information in the DB for each unregistered person. The search processing unit 15d checks whether a person in the image input from the imaging device 2 is registered. The image collection processing unit 15 e extracts a face image from the image input from the imaging device 2. The history processing unit 15f generates history information of the person of the image input from the imaging device 2, and stores the information in the DB. The registration change processing unit 15g executes processing for changing an unregistered person to a registrant.

  The data unit 16 includes a registration DB (database) 16a, an unregistered DB 16b, and a history DB 16c. In the registration DB 16a, personal information and a face photograph are stored in association with each registration target person. In the unregistered DB 16b, personal information and a face photograph are stored in association with each unregistered person. In the history DB 16c, the history information of the person of the image input from the imaging device 2 is stored.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a registration process using the registration system according to the first embodiment.

  When registration is performed in advance by a regular procedure, in step S01, the imaging apparatus 2 captures a moving image of the registration target person. Here, it is desirable that the imaging device 2 be able to clearly photograph the face of the person to be registered, for example, by providing it at a dedicated photographing location. However, it is not necessary to shoot in a posture that fits in the mold, such as taking ID photos.

  The captured image is sent to the processing device 10. In step S02, the image collection processing unit 15e extracts the person's face image from the photographed image. At this time, an image that clearly shows the characteristics of the person is extracted. For example, an image with eyes open facing the front is preferentially extracted from the moving image. The face image to be extracted is not limited to one, and a plurality of face images may be extracted. It should be noted that a known face extraction technique can be applied when extracting the face image.

  In step S <b> 03, the registration processing unit 15 b stores the extracted face image and personal information related to the registration target person in the registration DB 16 a of the data unit 16. The personal information is information for identifying a person to be registered such as name, age, address, occupation, and the like, and is input from the input / output device 12 by an operator of the registration system. The registration processing unit 15b generates a unique registration ID for registration.

  In the registration procedure described above, the imaging device 2 may take a still image of the person to be registered, and further read a face image of the person to be registered that has been taken in advance via an image input device (not shown). Also good.

  Next, the authentication processing operation of the registration system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. An example in which the present registration system is applied to a company security system will be described below.

  If there is a visitor in the company, in step S11, the imaging device 2 captures the visitor's moving image. Here, it is desirable that the imaging device 2 be able to clearly photograph the visitor's face, for example, by providing it at the entrance gate.

  The captured moving image is sent to the processing device 10. In step S12, the image collection processing unit 15e identifies a person from the moving image and extracts a face image of the person. At this time, an image that clearly shows the characteristics of the person is extracted. For example, an image with eyes open facing the front is preferentially extracted from the moving image. The face image to be extracted is not limited to one, and a plurality of face images may be extracted. It should be noted that a known face extraction technique can be applied when extracting the face image.

  In step S13, the search processing unit 15d checks whether the person is a registrant based on the extracted face image. The search processing unit 15d collates the extracted face image with the face image stored in the registration DB 16a. In this collation, a known face authentication technique can be used.

  As a result of the collation, if the user is not authenticated as a registrant, the search processing unit 15d further collates the extracted face image with the face photograph stored in the unregistered DB 16b in step S14. If the result of the collation is not stored in the unregistered DB 16b, the temporary registration processing unit 15c registers the person in the unregistered DB 16b in step S15. That is, the temporary registration processing unit 15c stores the extracted face image and related information in the unregistered DB 16b. The related information includes the date and time of shooting, the shooting location, and the like. However, the visitor's personal information is blank.

On the other hand, when the result of the collation is that the user is authenticated as a registrant, predetermined processing for the registrant is executed in step S16.
For example, when the imaging device 2 is arranged at the entrance of the office, the office is unlocked to allow the registrant to enter. However, if the user is not a registrant, an alarm can be issued that the locked state is continued or that an unauthorized entry has occurred.

  According to the above-described operation, when the imaging device 2 captures a person and the image collection processing unit 15e extracts a face image, information about the person is always registered in the registration DB 16a or the unregistered DB 16b. Accordingly, the history processing unit 15f stores history information about the person in the history DB 16c. The history information includes information for identifying the person, the date and time when the person was photographed, the location, and the like. As a result, by searching the history DB 16c, it is possible to extract as time-series information when and where a certain person was photographed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another authentication processing operation of the registration system according to the first embodiment.

In step S20, when the imaging device 2 has photographed a plurality of visitors, a face image is cut out for each visitor by each processing unit described above, and search and matching are performed. In step S21, when another imaging device 2 has photographed a plurality of other visitors, a face image is cut out for each visitor and search and matching are performed.
Even in the case where a plurality of people are photographed in this way, since the authentication of the same person is obtained, a history can be obtained for each visitor.

Next, a method for changing an unregistered person to a registered person will be described with reference to FIG.
For example, when an unregistered person is in a position to be treated as a registrant for the company and new registration is performed, regular registration processing is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG. Subsequent to this registration process, a change process shown in FIG. 6 is executed.

In step S25, the registration change processing unit 15g extracts the newly registered registrant's face image. Then, the unregistered DB is searched to check for unregistered persons having a face image similar to the face image.
When the corresponding unregistered person exists, the data regarding the unregistered person is deleted from the unregistered DB 16b. Then, the history DB 16c is searched, and the history information of the unregistered person is rewritten with the history information of the registrant.

  In the embodiment described above, the present system is applied as a company security system. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can be applied in various forms.

  For example, the system can be used in a department store surveillance camera. By using this system, it is possible to easily grasp the customer's travel route history, repeat information, and the like. In addition, by linking this information with sales information, it can be used to formulate an effective sales layout, for example.

  In this system, all persons who can authenticate faces are managed as search targets. Therefore, it is possible to search from information such as a photograph regardless of whether the user is a registered person or an unregistered person. Then, by searching the history DB 16c, it is possible to specify the imaging device that captured the person and its time zone. As a result, a required person video can be efficiently searched from the recorded video of the specified imaging device 2.

  Each function described in the above embodiment may be configured using hardware, or may be realized by reading a program describing each function into a computer using software. Each function may be configured by appropriately selecting either software or hardware.

  Furthermore, each function can be realized by causing a computer to read a program stored in a recording medium (not shown). Here, as long as the recording medium in the present embodiment can record a program and can be read by a computer, the recording format may be any form.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

The figure which shows the structure of the registration system which is one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of a registration apparatus. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the registration process using the registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the authentication processing operation | movement of the registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows other authentication processing operation | movement of the registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the change process operation | movement of the registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Registration device, 2 ... Imaging device, 10 ... Processing device, 15 ... Processing unit, 15b ... Registration processing unit, 15c ... Temporary registration processing unit, 15d ... Search processing unit, 15e ... Image collection processing unit, 15f ... History processing Part, 15g ... registration change processing part, 16 ... data part, 16a ... registration DB, 16b ... unregistered DB, 16c ... history DB.

Claims (6)

A registration unit for registering information about a registered person who consents to registration together with a face image;
A temporary registration unit that registers information about unregistered people who do not agree to registration with a face image;
A face image extraction unit that extracts a face image from a moving image of a person photographed by the imaging device;
An authentication unit for authenticating that the person is already registered based on the extracted face image;
A history registration unit for registering information about the photographed person as history information;
The temporary registration unit
When the authentication unit does not authenticate, the photographed person is registered as an unregistered person.   The registration system according to claim 1, further comprising a search unit that searches for information on a registrant similar to the face image based on the face image input to the registration system.   The registration system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of persons are photographed in the moving image, the face image extraction unit extracts a face image for each person.   The registration system according to claim 1, wherein the history registration unit further registers the location and time when the person was photographed.   When the registered person registered by the registration unit and the unregistered person registered by the temporary registration unit are the same, the information registered by the temporary registration unit is canceled and the unregistered person registered by the history registration unit The registration system according to claim 1, further comprising a registration change unit that changes history information related to the history information related to the registration target person. A registration step of registering information about the person to be registered who consents to registration together with a face image;
A temporary registration step of registering information about unregistered persons who do not agree to registration with a face image;
A face image extraction step of extracting a face image from a moving image of a person photographed by the imaging device;
An authentication step for authenticating that the person is already registered based on the extracted face image;
A history registration step of registering information about the photographed person as history information,
In the provisional registration step, the registered person is registered as an unregistered person when the authentication is not performed in the authentication step.

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