JP2010128629A - Authentication system, authentication device, terminal to be authenticated, authentication method, program for the authentication device, and program for the terminal to be authenticated - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for authenticating the position of an object at a low cost as regards an electronic authentication technology. <P>SOLUTION: An authenticated terminal 20 stores authentication information acquired from an authentication information issuing device 10 in an authentication information storage part 22. In an authentication space, a light emission control part 24 of the authenticated terminal 20 controls a light emission part 23 to convert the authentication information into an optical signal for output. In an authentication device 40, an image acquisition part 41 acquires an image picked up by a camera 30 which images the authentication space, and stores the image in an image storage part 42, and an image analyzing part 43 calculates the authentication information output from the authenticated terminal 20 and the position of the authenticated terminal 20 on the basis of the optical signal detected from the image captured by the camera 30. An authentication part 45 authenticates the authentication information and the position of the authenticated terminal 20 on the basis of the acquired authentication information and the position of the authenticated terminal 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic authentication technique, and relates to an authentication system, an authentication device, an authentication target terminal, an authentication method, and an authentication that can authenticate the authenticity of an authentication target and the correctness of the position of the authentication target. The present invention relates to an apparatus program and an authentication target terminal program.

  In the real world, the range of use of electronic authentication is expanding.

  For example, contactless IC cards are used in situations where authentication such as getting on a train is required. The passenger of the train confirms the legitimacy of the passenger by having the IC card read from an IC card reader installed at a specific location such as a ticket gate of the station. By using such an electronic authentication technology, it is possible to automate the work of confirming the validity of the authentication target that has been performed manually, and it is possible to reduce costs such as labor costs.

  As in the above example, when it is sufficient to confirm the validity of the authentication target at a specific location, an IC card reader may be installed at the specific location. However, if it is necessary to specify the location to be certified, such as a reserved seat ticket for trains, seats for examinations and concerts, and parking lots for regular contracts, an IC card reader is installed at a specific location such as the entrance. It is not possible to perform sufficient authentication by itself.

  As for such authentication that requires the location of the object to be authenticated, it has been a problem to add a location identification mechanism.

  For example, in authentication on a train, an IC card reader is installed in each seat, and the passenger can read the IC card from the IC card reader in his / her seat, whereby the position to be authenticated can be specified. In addition, there is known a technique for specifying a position to be authenticated by installing a terminal for authentication at each seat of a train. In addition, a technique for detecting the seating status of passengers in each seat using a camera image is known.

By the way, a technique for performing visible light communication using an LED backlight of a display is known.
JP 2003-173458 A JP 2007-43706 A

  As in the above example, installing a terminal such as an IC card reader in all seats of a train and connecting them to a network requires a great deal of cost.

  In addition, a technique for measuring the position of a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone by wireless communication technology has been proposed, but has not yet been put into practical use. It is expected that it will take a long time before such technology is installed in most common mobile terminals such as mobile phones.

  As a result, for example, in the case of authentication including location specification in a train, there is a problem that the crew member has to manually check and the advantage of cost reduction by introducing an IC card is negated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide a technique that can realize authentication for specifying the position of an authentication target at a low cost.

  In an authentication system including an authentication target terminal that holds authentication information and an authentication device, the authentication target terminal controls a light emitting unit that emits light and a light emitting unit that outputs the authentication information through communication using an optical signal. And a control unit. In addition, the authentication device includes a camera that captures a space where the authentication target terminal exists, an image analysis unit that detects an optical signal in an image captured by the camera, and decodes the position of the authentication target terminal and authentication information; An authentication unit that authenticates the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the location of the authentication target terminal based on the location of the authentication target terminal and the authentication information decoded by the analysis unit.

  The authentication target terminal outputs authentication information by communication using an optical signal, and the authentication device analyzes the optical signal detected from the captured image of the camera to acquire the authentication information and the position of the authentication target terminal. By performing authentication based on the authentication information and the position of the authentication target terminal, it is possible to authenticate the authenticity of the authentication target position as well as the authentication information with a simple device configuration.

  Since the camera that captures the authentication space can capture a plurality of designated positions at a time, it is not necessary to attach a device that performs position authentication for each designated position. In addition, many inexpensive products such as mobile phone terminals and digital cameras with LEDs are already on the market for terminals having light emitting units and cameras for imaging authentication spaces. In other words, it is possible to realize authentication between the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the position of the authentication target at a low cost.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an authentication system according to this embodiment.

  The authentication system includes an authentication information issuing device 10, an authentication target terminal 20, an authentication device 40, and an authentication status confirmation terminal 50.

  The authentication information issuing device 10 is a device that issues authentication information to the authentication target terminal 20. The authentication information is electronic data used for authentication. Examples of the authentication information include electronic train tickets and concert tickets.

  In the present embodiment, the authentication information includes information for specifying a position designated for the authentication target. The authentication device 40 can know the position specified for the authentication target in the space for authentication from the information specifying the position specified for the authentication target included in the authentication information. The position designated for the authentication target is, for example, the seat number of the designated seat when the authentication space is a designated seat vehicle of a train. At this time, the information specifying the position specified for the authentication target included in the authentication information is, for example, the seat number of the designated seat as it is, or the seat number of the designated seat is associated with the identification number of the authentication information. If it is, it may be the identification number of the authentication information.

  The authentication information issuing device 10 includes an authentication information issuing status information storage unit 11 and an authentication information issuing unit 12.

  The authentication information issue status information storage unit 11 is a storage device that stores authentication information issue status information. The authentication information issuance status information is information for managing the issuance status of authentication information, for example, the sales status of a reserved seat on a train.

  The authentication information issuing unit 12 generates authentication information while referring to the authentication information issuance status information stored in the authentication information issuance status information storage unit 11. The authentication information issuing unit 12 issues the generated authentication information to the authentication target terminal 20. Further, the authentication information issuing unit 12 records the issuance status of the authentication information in the authentication information issuance status information stored in the authentication information issuance status information storage unit 11.

  The authentication target terminal 20 is a device to be authenticated in the authentication space. The authentication target terminal 20 is, for example, a mobile phone terminal held by a passenger who has purchased a ticket for a designated seat of a train with electronic data.

  The authentication target terminal 20 includes an authentication information acquisition unit 21, an authentication information storage unit 22, a light emitting unit 23, and a light emission control unit 24.

  The authentication information acquisition unit 21 acquires authentication information having information for specifying the position specified for the authentication target from the authentication information issuing device 10. The authentication information acquisition unit 21 stores the acquired authentication information in the authentication information storage unit 22.

  The authentication information storage unit 22 is a storage device that stores authentication information.

  The light emitting unit 23 is a device that emits light. Examples of the light emitting unit 23 include an LED built in a mobile phone terminal for lighting of a camera, notification of an incoming call or mail, and a backlight of a liquid crystal screen.

  The light emission control unit 24 controls the light emitting unit 23 and outputs authentication information stored in the authentication information storage unit 22 by communication using an optical signal. Examples of communication using optical signals include visible light communication using visible light and infrared communication using near infrared rays. For example, in visible light communication, the light emission control unit 24 converts the authentication information into a visible light communication signal that is a blinking signal of the LED, and controls the blinking of the LED that is the light emitting unit 23 to output a visible light communication signal. To do.

  The authentication device 40 authenticates the validity of the authentication target and the validity of the position of the authentication target based on the optical signal output from the authentication target terminal 20.

  The authentication device 40 includes a camera 30, an image acquisition unit 41, an image storage unit 42, an image analysis unit 43, an image / authentication space correspondence information storage unit 44, an authentication unit 45, an authentication management information storage unit 46, and an authentication status notification unit 47. Prepare.

  The camera 30 images a space for authentication. Only one camera 30 may be installed for one authentication space, or a plurality of cameras 30 may be installed for one authentication space if one camera cannot capture the entire authentication space.

  The image acquisition unit 41 acquires an image captured by the camera 30. The image acquisition unit 41 stores the acquired image in the image storage unit 42.

  The image storage unit 42 is a storage device that stores images. The image storage unit 42 stores images of a past fixed period or more.

  The image analysis unit 43 detects an optical signal of authentication information output from the light emitting unit 23 by the authentication target terminal 20 from the image stored in the image storage unit 42. The image analysis unit 43 decodes the detected optical signal and acquires authentication information. Further, the image analysis unit 43 acquires the presence position of the authentication target terminal 20 in the authentication space based on the position where the optical signal on the image is detected. The image analysis unit 43 refers to the image / authentication space correspondence information stored in the image / authentication space correspondence information storage unit 44, for example, so that the authentication target terminal in the authentication space is detected from the position where the optical signal on the image is detected. Find the 20 position.

  The image / authentication space correspondence information storage unit 44 is a storage device that stores image / authentication space correspondence information that is correspondence information between a region on an image captured by the camera 30 and a region in the authentication space. For example, when the authentication space is a designated seat vehicle of a train, when a passenger sitting in the designated seat raises the authentication target terminal 20 with respect to the camera 30, the light emitting unit 23 of the authentication target terminal 20 appears in the camera image. Corresponding information between the area that would be and the reserved seat where the passenger sat is image / authentication space correspondence information.

  The authentication unit 45 authenticates the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the location of the authentication target terminal based on the authentication information obtained by the image analysis unit 43 and the location of the authentication target terminal. For example, the authentication unit 45 compares the information included in the authentication information obtained by the image analysis unit 43 with the information stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46, thereby verifying the validity of the authentication information. Certify. The authentication unit 45 compares and determines the position of the authentication target terminal 20 obtained by the image analysis unit 43 and the position specified for the authentication target obtained from the authentication information obtained by the image analysis unit 43. Thus, the validity of the position of the authentication target terminal 20 is authenticated.

  The position specified for the authentication target is obtained from the information specifying the position specified for the authentication target included in the authentication information. For example, there is a case where the information specifying the position specified for the authentication target included in the authentication information is the position specified for the authentication target as it is. In addition, for example, the authentication management information storage unit 46 prepares information for identifying the position specified for the authentication target and the correspondence information for the position specified for the authentication target. The authentication unit 45 refers to the corresponding information and acquires the position specified for the authentication target from the information specifying the position specified for the authentication target included in the authentication information.

  The authentication management information storage unit 46 is a storage device that stores various information necessary for authentication management.

  For example, the information at the time of issuing the authentication information is stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46 by copying from the authentication information issue status information stored in the authentication information issue status information storage unit 11 of the authentication information issuing device 10. . If the information at the time of issuing the authentication information is stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46, the authentication information obtained by the image analysis unit 43 and the authentication information stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46 are issued. The authenticity of the authentication information can be authenticated by comparing with the time information.

  Authentication status information, which is information for managing the authentication status in the authentication space, is stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46. For example, information indicating an authentication status such as whether each designated seat in the designated seat vehicle of the train is authenticated or not is stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46.

  The authentication status notification unit 47 notifies the authentication status confirmation terminal 50 of the authentication status information stored in the authentication management information storage unit 46. For example, the authentication status notification unit 47 notifies the authentication status confirmation terminal 50 of the train conductor of the information on the unauthenticated reserved seat in the train reserved seat vehicle.

  The authentication status confirmation terminal 50 is a terminal for confirming the authentication status in the authentication device. The authentication status confirmation terminal is, for example, a portable terminal carried by a conductor who checks the authentication status of each reserved seat in the train.

  The authentication status confirmation terminal 50 includes an authentication status acquisition unit 51.

  The authentication status acquisition unit 51 acquires authentication status information notified from the authentication device 40. For example, the authentication status acquisition unit 51 acquires information on an unauthenticated reserved seat notified from the authentication device 40. At this time, the authentication status confirmation terminal 50 displays a message prompting the train conductor to confirm an unauthenticated reserved seat.

  Hereinafter, the authentication system according to the present embodiment will be described using an example in which the authentication system is applied to authentication for boarding a reserved seat on a train.

  Here, the reserved seat vehicle of the train is used as a space for authentication, and a camera is installed in the vehicle. The train passenger downloads the encrypted electronic ticket data to a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone when purchasing the reserved seat ticket. When the passenger gets on the seat, the passenger performs an operation of transmitting the encrypted ticket with the portable terminal. The portable terminal transmits the encrypted ticket to the camera in the vehicle by visible light communication by blinking the built-in LED. A device on the provider side such as a railway company has a database that associates LED positions and seat positions on a camera image. The provider's device confirms the legitimacy of the position of the passenger sitting in the designated seat from the decryption result of the encrypted ticket and the position of the LED on the image.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a train authentication system according to the present embodiment.

  The railway company center is provided with a ticket issuing server 110 for issuing electronic tickets such as train tickets and reserved seats. The ticket issuing server 110 corresponds to the authentication information issuing device 10 in the authentication system shown in FIG. Electronic tickets such as issued train tickets and reserved seats correspond to authentication information.

  Train passengers have mobile terminals such as mobile phones. Here, a portable terminal held by a passenger is referred to as a passenger portable terminal 120. The passenger portable terminal 120 accesses the ticket issuing server 110 of the railway company center via the portable telephone network 160 of the portable communication carrier. The passenger portable terminal 120 corresponds to the authentication target terminal 20 in the authentication system shown in FIG.

  A ticket authentication computer 140 for authenticating electronic tickets and managing boarding conditions is installed in the train. The ticket authentication computer 140 corresponds to the authentication device 40 in the authentication system shown in FIG.

  In addition, for each vehicle in the train, a number of cameras 130 necessary for photographing seats in the train are installed. The camera 130 is connected to the ticket authentication computer 140 via the wireless LAN 170. The camera 130 corresponds to the camera 30 in the authentication system shown in FIG.

  The train crew carries a portable terminal to check the authentication status at hand. Here, the portable terminal possessed by the crew is referred to as a crew portable terminal 150. The crew member portable terminal 150 is connected to the ticket authentication computer 140 via the wireless LAN 180. The crew member portable terminal 150 corresponds to the authentication status confirmation terminal 50 in the authentication system shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the train authentication system according to the present embodiment.

  The ticket issuing server 110 includes a ticket purchase request receiving unit 111, a seat sales situation DB (Database) unit 112, an encrypted ticket creating unit 113, and an encrypted ticket transmitting unit 114.

  The ticket purchase request receiving unit 111 receives a ticket purchase request that is a request for purchasing an electronic ticket from the passenger portable terminal 120.

  The seat sales status DB unit 112 is a storage unit that stores information for managing the sales status of train tickets.

  The encrypted ticket creation unit 113 generates an electronic ticket and encrypts the data of the generated electronic ticket.

  The encrypted ticket transmission unit 114 transmits the encrypted ticket.

  The passenger portable terminal 120 includes a seat designation UI (User Interface) unit 121, a ticket purchase request transmission unit 122, an encrypted ticket reception unit 123, and a purchase ticket DB (Database) unit 124.

  The seat designation UI unit 121 is a user interface for a user to make a ticket purchase request.

  The ticket purchase request transmission unit 122 transmits a ticket purchase request to the ticket issuing server 110.

  The encrypted ticket receiving unit 123 receives the encrypted ticket from the ticket issuing server 110.

  The purchase ticket DB unit 124 is a storage unit that holds the received encrypted ticket.

  The passenger portable terminal 120 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) unit 125, an LED control unit 126, and a ticket transmission UI (User Interface) unit 127.

  The LED unit 125 is a light emitting unit using LEDs.

  The LED control unit 126 controls the LED unit 125 and performs visible light communication for transmitting an encrypted ticket.

  The ticket transmission UI unit 127 is a user interface for the user to specify encrypted ticket transmission. When the user designates ticket transmission using the ticket transmission UI unit 127, the LED control unit 126 starts control of visible light communication.

  The camera 130 receives visible light communication output from the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120.

  The ticket authentication computer 140 includes an image capturing unit 141, an image storage unit 142, an image analysis unit 143, a visible light communication decoding unit 144, and a ticket decoding unit 145.

  The image capturing unit 141 captures an image in the train including blinking of the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 from the camera 130.

  The image storage unit 142 is a storage unit that stores an image captured from the camera 130 by the image capture unit 141.

  The image analysis unit 143 detects a blinking portion of the light by the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 from the image captured from the camera 130.

  The visible light communication decryption unit 144 decrypts the information sent by the visible light communication by the passenger portable terminal 120 from the blinking part in the image captured from the camera 130, and obtains the data of the encrypted ticket.

  The ticket decryption unit 145 decrypts the encoded encrypted ticket.

  In addition, the ticket authentication computer 140 includes a ticket information LED position matching unit 146, an image upper seat map DB (Database) unit 147, and a seat authentication status DB (Database) unit 148.

  The ticket information LED position matching unit 146 refers to the image upper seat map DB unit 147 and the seat authentication status DB unit 148 with the specified position based on the decrypted electronic ticket and the seat position obtained from the camera image. Perform verification.

  The image upper seat map DB unit 147 is a storage unit that holds correspondence information between the position of the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 reflected on the camera image and the seat where the passenger holding the passenger portable terminal 120 is sitting. It is.

  The seat authentication status DB unit 148 is a storage unit that holds information on the authentication status of each seat.

  In addition, the ticket authentication computer 140 includes an unauthenticated seat information notification unit 149.

  The unauthenticated seat information notification unit 149 notifies the crew member portable terminal 150 of information on seats that have not been authenticated yet.

  The crew member portable terminal 150 includes an unauthenticated seat information receiving unit 151 and an unauthenticated seat information UI (User Interface) unit 152.

  The unauthenticated seat information receiving unit 151 receives information on an unauthenticated seat from the ticket authentication computer 140.

  The unauthenticated seat information UI unit 152 is a user interface that displays information about an unauthenticated seat received from the ticket authentication computer 140.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the train authentication system according to this embodiment.

  The seat sales status DB unit 112 has seat sales status data, which is information indicating the sales status of seats, for example, as shown in FIG. The seat sales status data shown in FIG. 4A indicates the seat sales status for a certain train XXX. In the seat sales status data shown in FIG. 4 (A), the sales status of whether it is already sold (SOLD) or available (AVAILABLE) is recorded for each seat and between stations.

  The seat authentication status DB unit 148 has seat authentication status data which is information indicating the authentication status of the seat as shown in FIG. 4B, for example. The seat authentication status data shown in FIG. 4B indicates the seat authentication status for a certain train XXX. In the seat authentication status data shown in FIG. 4B, the authentication status as to whether or not the authentication is completed (VALID) is recorded for each seat and for each station. In the seat authentication status data shown in FIG. 4B, INVALID indicates that the seat is not authenticated.

  The image upper seat map DB unit 147, for example, as shown in FIG. 4C, is an image upper seat map that is correspondence information between the area of the image captured by the camera 130 mounted in the vehicle and the seat in the authentication space. Have data. The image upper seat map data shown in FIG. 4 (C) shows the correspondence between the area of the image captured by the camera # 1 attached to the first car of a certain train XXX and each seat of the first car. In the upper seat map data shown in FIG. 4 (C), which seat corresponds to the position at which light emission from the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 is detected for the seat captured from the camera # 1 attached to the vehicle. Is recorded in the image area. In the image upper seat map data shown in FIG. 4C, the image area is expressed by coordinates (x, y), width (width), and height (height) of the upper left point.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image of a seat map on the camera image according to the present embodiment.

  In the image upper seat map data, the correspondence between the area on the image captured by the camera 130 and the area of each seat as shown in the image of FIG. 5 is recorded.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the electronic ticket according to this embodiment.

  The electronic ticket shown in FIG. 6 has information such as ticket ID, ticket type, date, train number, vehicle number, seat number, boarding station, exit station, departure time, arrival time, and the like.

  The ticket ID is identification information of the electronic ticket uniquely assigned to the electronic ticket. The ticket type indicates the type of electronic ticket such as an express ticket. The date, train number, and vehicle number indicate the date, train, and vehicle on which the electronic ticket is used, respectively. The seat number indicates the number of the designated seat. From the date, train number, vehicle number, and seat number data, the only seat specified by the electronic ticket is identified. The boarding station, the getting-off station, the departure time, and the arrival time indicate the station where the passenger gets on, the station where the passenger gets off, the departure time of the train from the boarding station, and the arrival time of the train at the getting-off station.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a ticket issuing process performed by the ticket light emitting server according to the present embodiment.

  Here, a flow of processing in which the passenger portable terminal 120 and the ticket issuing server 110 communicate and the ticket issuing server 110 issues an electronic ticket to the passenger portable terminal 120 will be described.

  The passenger operates the seat designation UI unit 121 of the passenger portable terminal 120 and inputs information such as a train, a seat, a boarding section, etc. for which the purchase of the designated seat ticket is desired, payment information, and the like. The ticket purchase request transmission unit 122 of the passenger portable terminal 120 transmits a ticket purchase request having specified information such as a train, a seat, and a boarding section for which a reserved seat ticket is desired to be purchased and payment information to the ticket issuing server 110.

  In the ticket issuing server 110, the ticket purchase request receiving unit 111 receives a ticket purchase request from the passenger portable terminal 120 (step S10). The ticket purchase request receiving unit 111 refers to the seat sales status data stored in the seat sales status DB unit 112, and acquires the status of the designated seat in the boarding section of the train specified by the received ticket purchase request (step S11). ). The ticket purchase request receiving unit 111 determines whether the designated seat of the train designated by the ticket purchase request is available (AVAILABLE) (step S12).

  If the reserved seat of the train specified in the ticket purchase request is not available (AVAILABLE) (NO in step S12), that is, if all the reserved seats of the train specified in the ticket purchase request are already sold (SOLD), The ticket purchase request receiving unit 111 returns to the passenger portable terminal 120 a notification that the desired designated seat has been sold (step S13).

  If the designated seat of the train designated in the ticket purchase request is available (AVAILABLE) (YES in step S12), the encrypted ticket creation unit 113 provides information on the train, seat, boarding section, etc. as shown in FIG. Is generated (step S14). The encrypted ticket creation unit 113 encrypts the generated electronic ticket (step S15) and generates an encrypted ticket.

  The encrypted ticket transmission unit 114 transmits the generated encrypted ticket to the passenger portable terminal 120 (step S16).

  In the passenger portable terminal 120, when the encrypted ticket receiving unit 123 receives the encrypted ticket from the ticket issuing server 110, the encrypted ticket receiving unit 123 stores the received encrypted ticket in the purchase ticket DB unit 124.

  In the ticket issuing server 110, the encrypted ticket creating unit 113 uses the seat sales status data stored in the seat sales status DB unit 112 to specify the seat and boarding section specified by the electronic ticket issued to the passenger portable terminal 120. The sales status is updated to sold (SOLD) (step S17).

  When the ticket purchase is closed, the seat sales status information recorded in the seat sales status data of the seat sales status DB unit 112 of the ticket issuing server 110 is stored in the ticket authentication computer 140 installed in the train. It is copied to the seat authentication status data in the seat authentication status DB unit 148. The method of copying information may be a method using communication via a network or a method via an external storage medium.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart of ticket authentication processing by the ticket authentication computer of this embodiment.

  Here, a flow in which the passenger portable terminal 120 transmits information on the encrypted ticket to the ticket authentication computer 140 in the train using visible light communication using the LED unit 125 will be described.

  The passenger has the passenger portable terminal 120 so that the LED unit 125 is reflected on the camera 130 installed in the vehicle after sitting in the designated seat of the train. The passenger operates the ticket transmission UI unit 127 of the passenger portable terminal 120 to instruct the transmission of the encrypted ticket stored in the purchase ticket DB unit 124.

  The LED control unit 126 of the passenger portable terminal 120 acquires the encrypted ticket designated by the passenger from the purchase ticket DB unit 124. The LED control unit 126 controls blinking of the LED unit 125 and sends out an electronic ticket by visible light communication. A specific operation example of the LED control unit 126 will be described later.

  In the ticket authentication computer 140, the image capture unit 141 captures an image from the camera 130 connected to the ticket authentication computer 140 (step S20) and stores it in the image storage unit 142. The image analysis unit 143 recognizes a visible light communication signal based on blinking of the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 from the image stored in the image storage unit 142 (step S21). The image analysis unit 143 acquires the coordinates of the recognized blinking part (step S22). A specific operation example of the image analysis unit 143 will be described later.

  The visible light communication decryption unit 144 decrypts the recognized visible light communication signal generated by the blinking of the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 (step S23), and receives the encrypted ticket transmitted from the passenger portable terminal 120 through the visible light communication. get. The ticket decryption unit 145 decrypts the obtained encrypted ticket using a private key stored on the railway company side in advance (step S24), and obtains an electronic ticket.

  The ticket information LED position collation unit 146 refers to the image upper seat map data stored in the image upper seat map DB unit 147 with the information on the designated seat included in the acquired electronic ticket, and determines the seat designated by the electronic ticket. Get the region on the corresponding camera image. The ticket information LED position matching unit 146 determines whether the coordinates of the blinking part of the LED unit 125 on the camera image obtained by the image analysis unit 143 are within the image region corresponding to the seat specified by the electronic ticket. (Step S25). The process of step S25 is a determination process for authenticating the validity of the position to be authenticated.

  Further, the ticket information LED position matching unit 146 refers to the seat authentication status data stored in the seat authentication status DB unit 148 by using the information on the designated seat that the acquired electronic ticket has, and the seat specified by the electronic ticket. , Get the situation between the stations where the train is currently located. The ticket information LED position matching unit 146 determines whether the seat status designated by the electronic ticket is already sold (SOLD) (step S26). The process of step S26 is a determination process for authenticating the validity of the electronic ticket.

  The ticket information LED position matching unit 146 is not in the image area corresponding to the designated seat coordinates of the blinking part (NO in step S25), or the designated seat is not sold (SOLD) (step S26). If NO, it is determined that the authentication has failed (step S27). If the authentication fails, the unauthenticated seat information notifying unit 149 transmits information indicating that the authentication of the corresponding seat is not completed to the crew member portable terminal 150 via the wireless LAN 180 (step). S28).

  The ticket information LED position matching unit 146 is within the image area corresponding to the seat where the coordinates of the blinking part are designated (YES in step S25), and if the designated seat is already sold (SOLD) (step S26). YES), it is determined that the authentication is successful (step S29).

  If the authentication is successful, the ticket information LED position matching unit 146 updates the item of the corresponding seat in the seat authentication status data stored in the seat authentication status DB unit 148 to authenticated (VALID) (step S30).

  Here, a specific operation example of the LED control unit 126 in the passenger portable terminal 120 will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a visible light communication pattern from a passenger portable terminal according to the present embodiment.

  For example, in visible light communication using an LED, it is possible to modulate data and transmit it as visible light by assigning 1 bit of data to be transmitted to ON / OFF of the LED. Here, the light emission, that is, ON of the LED unit 125 is set to 0, and the LED unit 125 is turned off, that is, OFF is set to 1.

  In the passenger portable terminal 120, upon receiving an instruction from the ticket transmission UI unit 127, the LED control unit 126 controls the light emission of the LED unit 125, and first starts data transmission of the encrypted ticket as shown in FIG. Send a regular signal to tell the destination what to do. Here, a regular signal for informing the transmission destination that transmission is to be started is called a preparation period signal. A typical example of the preparation period signal is a signal that alternately repeats ON and OFF of the LED unit 125 at a minimum period during modulation, that is, a period corresponding to information for one bit. When the passenger portable terminal 120 transmits such a preparation period signal, the ticket authentication computer 140 connected to the receiving camera 130 causes the LED unit 125 that performs visible light communication in the captured image by the camera 130. The pixel where the flashing exists can be identified.

  Next, the LED control unit 126 controls the light emission of the LED unit 125 and, as shown in FIG. 9, transmits a signal serving as a delimiter for starting transmission of data of the encrypted ticket body to be transmitted. Here, a signal serving as a delimiter for starting data transmission is referred to as a transmission start signal. For example, information for which the LED unit 125 is continuously turned on for a certain period of time may be determined as a transmission start delimiter. If the encrypted ticket data includes the same pattern information, it may be converted in advance by defining an escape sequence or the like.

  After the transmission of the information that becomes the delimiter for starting the transmission, the LED control unit 126 controls the light emission of the LED unit 125 and transmits the data of the encrypted ticket as shown in FIG. Here, the LED control unit 126 performs control by blinking control of the LED unit 125 that modulates the data of the encrypted ticket, that is, when each bit is 0, the LED unit 125 is turned on, and when the bit is 1, the LED unit 125 is turned off at a constant cycle. By doing this, the encrypted ticket data is transmitted.

  Finally, the LED control unit 126 controls the light emission of the LED unit 125, and transmits a signal serving as a delimiter for ending the transmission of the data of the encrypted ticket body to be transmitted, as shown in FIG. Here, a signal serving as a delimiter for ending data transmission is referred to as a transmission end signal. For example, as in the case of the start of transmission, information for which the LED unit 125 continues to be turned on for a certain period may be determined as the end of transmission.

  Here, as an example of the visible light communication signal, an LED unit 125 ON / OFF, that is, a signal generated by blinking of the LED unit 125 is used. For example, as the visible light communication signal, the emission color of the LED unit 125 is changed. A combination signal or the like may be used.

  Further, as light used for communication, for example, near infrared light may be used instead of visible light. In this case, the camera 130 is an infrared camera that captures an infrared image. When visible light is used as communication light, an inexpensive camera 130 can be used, so that the cost of the system can be reduced.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a visible light communication detection process performed by the ticket authentication computer according to the present embodiment.

  The visible light communication detection process shown in FIG. 10 is an example of the process for detecting the visible light communication signal shown in FIG.

  Here, the ticket authentication computer 140 performs visible light communication as shown in FIG. 10 for each seat area on the image captured by the camera 130 corresponding to each seat such as the first car 1A, the first car 1B,. The detection process shall be performed. The ticket authentication computer 140 uses the image upper seat map data as shown in FIG. 3 to determine the seat area on the image corresponding to each seat, and the x, y coordinates, width (width), height of the upper left point of the seat area. Calculated from height.

  The image analysis unit 143 calculates the sum of the inter-frame differences of the pixel values for the past certain time stored in the image storage unit 142 for each pixel in all the pixels in the seat area (step S40).

  Specifically, the image analysis unit 143 performs the following calculation. Here, for the pixel at the coordinate (x, y) at time t, a value obtained by averaging the pixel values of the RGB pixels is P (x, y, t). Let D (x, y, t) be the value obtained by adding the differences from the same coordinates of the immediately preceding frame for the set of camera images from the current t to N frames before. If the time interval between frames is T, D (x, y, t) can be expressed by the following equation.

The image analysis unit 143 determines whether there is a pixel in the seat area where the calculated value of D (x, y, t) exceeds _a predetermined threshold value THa (step S41).

The image analysis unit 143, the calculated D (x, y, t) if any pixel value of exceeds a predetermined threshold value TH _a (YES in step S41), the process proceeds to the next step S42. Time image analysis unit 143, the calculated D (x, y, t) If the value of no pixel exceeding the predetermined threshold value TH _a (NO in step S41), returns to step S40, and acquires the next frame In, the same calculation is performed.

In the preparation period signal as shown in FIG. 9, since the LED unit 125 repeatedly blinks, the fluctuation of visible light becomes large. The predetermined threshold value THa is _a threshold value of D (x, y, t) for detecting a change in the visible light communication signal reflected in the camera image. The image analysis unit 143 identifies the position on the camera image of the LED unit 125 that emits a preparation period signal as shown in FIG. 9 by the processing shown in steps S40 and S41.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the specification of the LED position on the camera image according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the image analysis unit 143 sets the same coordinates of the immediately preceding frame as to a set of camera images from a current time t to a certain time ago, that is, a set of camera images from the current time t to N frames before. And the total difference obtained is added.

  As described above, the LED unit 125 that emits the visible light communication preparation period signal repeats blinking. Therefore, the pixel D in which the LED unit 125 is reflected has a large difference value D (x, y, t) obtained. Become. That is, a pixel having a large difference sum value D (x, y, t) may be a pixel in which visible light communication by the LED unit 125 is reflected.

  The image analysis unit 143 selects a pixel having the largest inter-frame difference sum D (x, y, t) of pixel values from the pixels in the seating area as a representative pixel (step S42), and the selected representative pixel The x and y coordinates are stored.

  The visible light communication decoding unit 144 extracts the ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal from the pixel value P (x, y, t) within the past fixed time for the representative pixel (step S43).

Visible light communication decoding unit 144, a frame pixel value P of the representative pixel (x, y, t) is greater than a predetermined threshold value TH _b is the frame when LED 125 passengers mobile terminal 120 is ON . Further, the visible light communication decoding unit 144 has a frame in which the pixel value P (x, y, t) of the representative pixel is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value TH _b as a frame when the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 is OFF. Judge that there is. As the predetermined threshold TH _b , a value serving as a reference for determining whether the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 shown in the pixel is ON or OFF is set.

  The visible light communication decoding unit 144 determines whether the ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal extracted from the pixel value change of the representative pixel matches the transmission start signal as shown in FIG. 9 (step S44). ). For example, the visible light communication decoding unit 144 determines that it matches the transmission start signal when the predetermined number of frames ON continues.

  If the ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal matches the transmission start signal (YES in step S44), the visible light communication decoding unit 144 proceeds to the next step S45. If the ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal does not match the transmission start signal (NO in step S44), the visible light communication decoding unit 144 returns to step S43 and performs the same processing when acquiring the next frame. To do.

The visible light communication decoding unit 144 acquires the pixel value of the representative pixel until the transmission end signal is detected, and records the ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal based on the acquired pixel value of the representative pixel ( Step S45). Visible light communication decoding unit 144, the pixel value P of the representative pixels in each frame (x, y, t) from whether exceeds a predetermined threshold value TH _b, extracted ON / OFF pattern of the visible light communication signal can do.

  The visible light communication decryption unit 144 can decrypt the visible light communication signal by converting the ON / OFF pattern of the recorded visible light communication signal into bits (step S46), and obtain encrypted ticket data. .

  So far, the case where authentication for each reserved seat has been performed normally has been described. However, when the ticket authentication fails due to the reason that the LED unit 125 of the passenger portable terminal 120 is blocked by something, it is necessary to check with the crew of the train. In the following, a mechanism for notifying the crew members only of seats that have not been authenticated will be described.

  FIG. 12 is an unauthenticated seat information notification processing flowchart by the ticket authentication computer of this embodiment.

  The ticket authentication computer 140 performs the above-described authentication process for a predetermined time after the train departs from the stop station.

  In the ticket authentication computer 140, the unauthenticated seat information notification unit 149 accesses the seat authentication status DB unit 148 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the train departed from the stop station, and confirms the authentication status of each seat (step S50). ).

  The unauthenticated seat information notifying unit 149 detects a seat that has been sold (SOLD) but has not been authenticated (VALID) in the seat authentication status data stored in the seat authentication status DB unit 148. (Step S51).

  The unauthenticated seat information notifying unit 149 determines whether there is an unauthenticated (INVALID) seat in the seat authentication status data stored in the seat authentication status DB unit 148 (step S52).

  If there is an unauthenticated (INVALID) seat (YES in step S52), the unauthenticated seat information notification unit 149 wirelessly transmits information indicating that the authentication of the corresponding seat is not completed to the crew member portable terminal 150. Transmission is performed via the LAN 180 (step S53).

  If there is no unauthenticated (INVALID) seat (NO in step S52), the unauthenticated seat information notifying unit 149 completes the process without any problem.

  In some cases, passengers who are not qualified to sit in an unoccupied seat are illegally seated. In such a case, it is known that the ticket authentication computer 140 detects whether a passenger is sitting in a seat that is originally vacant by an image analysis of the camera 130 in the train and notifies the crew member portable terminal 150 of it. What is necessary is to respond using technology.

  Thus, the train authentication system according to the present embodiment makes it possible to realize an authentication process for confirming that a passenger has a valid electronic ticket and is sitting on a valid seat.

  The processing by each device in the authentication system described above can be realized by hardware such as CPU and memory provided in the computer and a software program, and the program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium through a network. It is also possible to provide.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention can naturally be modified in various ways within the scope of the gist thereof.

  For example, in the example of the train authentication system according to the present embodiment, the electronic ticket which is the authentication information holds information on the seat designated as the authentication target. In this case, the information of the seat designated as the authentication target included in the electronic ticket becomes the information specifying the position designated as the authentication target as it is.

  The information on the seat specified as the authentication target in the electronic ticket which is the authentication information may not be directly held. For example, the ticket authentication computer 140 holds correspondence information between the ticket ID uniquely given to the electronic ticket and the position designated as the authentication target, and refers to the correspondence information to obtain the electronic ticket acquired by visible light communication. The seat designated as the subject of authentication may be specified from the ticket ID possessed by. In this case, the ticket ID included in the electronic ticket is information for specifying the position designated for the authentication target.

It is a conceptual diagram of the authentication system by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the whole structure of the authentication system of the train by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the authentication system of the train by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the data structure which the authentication system of the train by this Embodiment has. It is a figure which shows the image of the seat map on the camera image by this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the data structure which the electronic ticket by this Embodiment has. It is a ticket issuing process flowchart by the ticket light emission server of this Embodiment. It is a ticket authentication process flowchart by the ticket authentication computer of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the visible light communication pattern from the passenger portable terminal by this Embodiment. It is a visible light communication detection process flowchart by the ticket authentication computer of this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining specification of the LED position on the camera image by this Embodiment. It is an unauthenticated seat information notification process flowchart by the ticket authentication computer of this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Authentication information issuing apparatus 11 Authentication information issuing status information storage part 12 Authentication information issuing part 20 Authentication object terminal 21 Authentication information acquisition part 22 Authentication information storage part 23 Light emission part 24 Light emission control part 30 Camera 40 Authentication apparatus 41 Image acquisition part 42 Image Storage unit 43 Image analysis unit 44 Image / authentication space correspondence information storage unit 45 Authentication unit 46 Authentication management information storage unit 47 Authentication status notification unit 50 Authentication status confirmation terminal 51 Authentication status acquisition unit

Claims (6)

An authentication system comprising a terminal for holding authentication information and an authentication device,
The terminal is
A light emitting unit that emits light;
A light emission control unit for controlling the light emission unit and outputting the authentication information by communication using an optical signal;
The authentication device is:
A camera that images the space in which the terminal exists;
Detecting an optical signal in an image captured by the camera, and deciphering the position of the terminal and the authentication information;
An authentication system comprising: an authentication unit that authenticates the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the position of the terminal based on the position and authentication information of the terminal decoded by the image analysis unit. An authentication device in an authentication system, comprising: a terminal having a storage unit that holds authentication information; a light emitting unit that emits light; and an authentication device,
A camera that images the space in which the terminal exists;
An image analysis unit that detects an optical signal of authentication information output from the light emitting unit by the terminal from an image captured by the camera, and decodes the position of the terminal and the authentication information;
An authentication apparatus comprising: an authentication unit that authenticates the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the terminal position based on the terminal position and authentication information decoded by the image analysis unit. An authentication target terminal in an authentication system comprising an authentication target terminal holding authentication information and an authentication device,
A light emitting unit that emits light;
A light emission control unit for controlling the light emission unit and outputting the authentication information by communication using an optical signal;
Causing the authentication apparatus to detect an optical signal in an image captured by a camera that captures a space in which the authentication target terminal exists, to decode the position of the authentication target terminal and the authentication information, and to decrypt the decrypted authentication target An authentication target terminal, wherein the authenticity of the authentication information and the correctness of the position of the authentication target terminal are authenticated by the position of the terminal and the authentication information. An authentication method by an authentication system comprising: a terminal having a storage unit that stores authentication information; a light emitting unit that emits light; and an authentication device that has a camera that captures a space in which the terminal exists.
A process in which the terminal controls the light emitting unit and outputs the authentication information by communication using an optical signal;
The authentication device detects an optical signal in an image captured by the camera and decodes the position of the terminal and the authentication information;
The authentication method includes a step of authenticating the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the position of the terminal based on the decrypted terminal position and authentication information. A program to be executed by a computer of the authentication device in an authentication system comprising a terminal having a storage unit for storing authentication information and a light emitting unit that emits light, and an authentication device having a camera that images a space in which the terminal exists There,
Said computer,
An image analysis unit that detects an optical signal of authentication information output from the light emitting unit by the terminal from an image captured by the camera, and decodes the position of the terminal and the authentication information;
A program for an authentication device for causing a function of an authentication unit for authenticating the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the position of the terminal based on the position and authentication information of the terminal decoded by the image analysis unit. In an authentication system comprising an authentication target terminal having a storage unit that holds authentication information and a light emitting unit that emits light, and an authentication device, a program to be executed by a computer of the authentication target terminal,
Said computer,
Control the light emitting unit, function as a light emission control unit that outputs the authentication information by communication using an optical signal,
Causing the authentication apparatus to detect an optical signal in an image captured by a camera that captures a space in which the authentication target terminal exists, to decode the position of the authentication target terminal and the authentication information, and to decrypt the decrypted authentication target An authentication target terminal program for authenticating the validity of the authentication information and the validity of the position of the authentication target terminal based on the position of the terminal and the authentication information.

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