JP2021103419A - Authentication system, control device, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve usability of an authentication system.SOLUTION: A fingerprint sensor 11 acquires fingerprint information FI of a person to be authenticated. Fingerprint information FI of a user of a device 14 to be controlled and reliability information RI corresponding to reliability of this fingerprint information are stored in a storage device 13 as authentication information AI in association with each other. A control device 12 determines whether a degree of coincidence between the fingerprint information FI of the person to be authenticated and the fingerprint information FI included in the authentication information AI exceeds a threshold or not and, if the degree of coincidence exceeds the threshold, authenticates the person to be authenticated as the user. The control device 12 sets the threshold on the basis of the reliability information RI associated with the fingerprint information FI of the user for use in determining the degree of coincidence.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an authentication system that authenticates a user of a controlled device using biometric information, a control device that constitutes a part of the authentication system, and a computer program executed by a processing unit of the control device.

For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is known an authentication system that authenticates a user of a controlled device using biometric information.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-284460

An object of the present invention is to enhance the convenience of the authentication system.

One aspect of achieving the above objectives is an authentication system.
A biometric information acquisition device that acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated,
A storage device that associates the biometric information of the user of the controlled device with the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information and stores it as authentication information.
A control device that determines whether the degree of matching between the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the biometric information contained in the authentication information exceeds a threshold value, and authenticates the person to be authenticated as the user when the degree of matching exceeds the threshold value. When,
Is equipped with
The control device sets the threshold value based on the reliability information associated with the biometric information of the user, which is used to determine the degree of agreement.

One aspect for achieving the above object is a control device.
The reception department that accepts the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and
It is determined whether the degree of matching between the biometric information of the user of the controlled device stored as a part of the authentication information in the storage device and the biometric information received by the reception unit exceeds the threshold value, and the degree of matching determines the threshold value. A processing unit that authenticates the person to be authenticated as the user when the number exceeds
Is equipped with
The processing unit sets the threshold value based on the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information associated with the biometric information of the user used for determining the degree of matching as a part of the authentication information. To do.

One aspect of achieving the above object is a computer program executed by a processing unit of a control device.
By being executed, the control device
Accept the biometric information of the person to be authenticated
It is made to judge whether the degree of agreement between the biometric information of the user of the controlled device stored as a part of the authentication information in the storage device and the biometric information received from the biometric information acquisition device exceeds the threshold value.
The threshold value is set based on the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information associated with the biometric information of the user used for determining the degree of agreement as a part of the authentication information.
When the degree of agreement exceeds the threshold value, the person to be authenticated is authenticated as the user.

The high and low thresholds correspond to the high and low security levels. In general, the higher the security level, the lower the probability that authentication will be established based on the biometric information of another person (false acceptance rate), while the probability that authentication will not be established based on the biometric information of the person (false rejection rate) will also increase. To do. That is, there is a trade-off relationship between the security level and the ease with which authentication can be established. The high or low reliability of biometric information tends to reflect whether the user prioritizes a high security level or the ease of establishing authentication when registering biometric information.

For example, a user who prioritizes a high security level tries to improve the reliability of biometric information by performing the biometric information detection work by the biometric information acquisition device more carefully. On the other hand, users who prioritize the ease of establishing authentication tend to register fingerprint information with the attitude that the reliability of biometric information may be low.

In the present specification, it is defined that meeting the intention of the user is one aspect of "convenience". According to the above configuration, the threshold value used for authentication is set based on the reliability of biometric information. Therefore, even if the user wants to prioritize a high security level, the user who wants to prioritize the ease of authentication. Can also meet the intentions of. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience as compared with the authentication system in which the threshold value used for authentication is constant.

The functional configuration of the authentication system according to one embodiment is illustrated. An example is shown in which the authentication system of FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle. The authentication information of a plurality of users used for authentication is illustrated.

An example of the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates the functional configuration of the authentication system 10 according to the embodiment. The authentication system 10 can be used, for example, to authenticate the user 30 of the vehicle 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 and allow the user 30 to use the vehicle 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the authentication system 10 includes a fingerprint sensor 11. In the present embodiment, the authentication of the user 30 is performed through fingerprint authentication. The fingerprint sensor 11 is a device configured to be able to acquire the fingerprint information FI of the user 30. Fingerprint information FI is an example of biometric information. The fingerprint sensor 11 is an example of a biometric information acquisition device.

The fingerprint information FI can be acquired based on the charge distribution on the surface of the finger, the distribution of the reflection intensity of light or ultrasonic waves from the surface of the finger, and the like. Since these techniques are well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. The fingerprint sensor 11 is configured to output the acquired fingerprint information FI. The fingerprint information FI may be in the form of analog data or digital data.

The authentication system 10 includes a control device 12. The control device 12 includes a reception unit 121, a processing unit 122, and an output unit 123. The reception unit 121 is configured as an interface for receiving the fingerprint information FI. When the fingerprint information FI is in the form of analog data, the reception unit 121 may include an appropriate conversion circuit including an A / D converter. The processing unit 122 processes the fingerprint information FI, which is a form of digital data.

The authentication system 10 includes a storage device 13. The storage device 13 is a device configured to be able to store the fingerprint information FI. The storage device 13 can be realized in the form of a semiconductor memory or a hard disk device. The storage device 13 may be mounted on the vehicle 20 or may be provided as an external device capable of receiving the fingerprint information FI via the wireless communication network.

The processing unit 122 of the control device 12 is configured to be able to execute a process of storing the fingerprint information FI received by the receiving unit 121 in the storage device 13. Fingerprint authentication requires the user 30 to register the fingerprint of at least one finger. The user 30 causes the fingerprint sensor 11 to acquire its own fingerprint information FI. By storing the fingerprint information FI in the storage device 13, the fingerprint is registered.

Fingerprints have feature points called center points, deltas, endpoints, and bifurcation points. The fingerprint information FI stored in the storage device 13 includes information such as the number, orientation, and distance from the center point of various feature points. The information is extracted from the fingerprint information acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 through an image processing technique. The information may be extracted by the fingerprint sensor 11 or by the processing unit 122. Since the information extraction technology itself is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The processing unit 122 is configured to associate the fingerprint information FI with the reliability information RI and store it in the storage device 13. The fingerprint information FI and the reliability information RI constitute the authentication information AI. For example, the reliability information RI can correspond to the number of feature points extracted from the fingerprint information acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11. Although there are individual differences in the number of fingerprint feature points, the greater the number of extracted feature points, the higher the reliability of fingerprint information and the higher the authentication accuracy.

The processing unit 122 is configured to be able to execute a process of reading or referencing the authentication information AI stored in the storage device 13. The user 30 who desires authentication causes the fingerprint sensor 11 to acquire his / her fingerprint information FI. The processing unit 122 collates the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 with the fingerprint information FI stored in the storage device 13. The processing unit 122 establishes the authentication when the degree of coincidence between the two exceeds the threshold value. In other words, when the degree of coincidence between the two exceeds the threshold value, the processing unit 122 authenticates the person to be authenticated who has the fingerprint sensor 11 acquire his / her fingerprint information as the registered user 30.

The control device 12 includes an output unit 123. The processing unit 122 allows the output of the control signal CS from the output unit 123. The control signal CS is a signal that controls the operation of the controlled device 14. The control signal CS may be a digital signal or an analog signal. When the control signal CS is an analog signal, the output unit 123 may include an appropriate conversion circuit including a D / A converter.

The controlled device 14 is a device that can be operated when the authentication of the user 30 is established. In this example, the locking device, engine, lighting equipment, air conditioner, audiovisual equipment, seat device, and the like in the vehicle 20 can be the controlled device 14.

For example, the fingerprint sensor 11 may be provided on the doorknob 21 of the vehicle 20 illustrated in FIG. The above authentication is performed when the user 30 touches the doorknob 21 with the registered finger of the fingerprint information FI. When the authentication is established, the control signal CS for unlocking the door of the vehicle 20 is output from the control device 12 to the locking device as the controlled device 14. As a result, the user 30 can board the vehicle 20.

In addition to or in place of this, the fingerprint sensor 11 may be provided in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 20. The above authentication is performed when the user 30 touches the fingerprint sensor 11 with a finger registered with the fingerprint information FI. When the authentication is established, an appropriate control signal CS is output from the control device 12, so that the engine as the controlled device 14 can be started and various facilities in the vehicle interior can be operated.

The processing unit 122 of the control device 12 sets a threshold value used for determining the degree of coincidence between the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 and the fingerprint information FI stored in the storage device 13 during the authentication process. It is configured to be set based on the reliability information RI associated with.

Specifically, the processing unit 122 is configured to set a higher threshold value for the fingerprint information FI associated with the reliability information RI corresponding to the higher reliability. In the case of this example, a higher threshold value is set for the fingerprint information FI from which more feature points are extracted.

The high and low thresholds correspond to the high and low security levels. In general, the higher the security level, the lower the probability that authentication will be established based on the fingerprint of another person (false acceptance rate), while the probability that authentication will not be established based on the fingerprint of the person (false rejection rate) will also increase. That is, there is a trade-off relationship between the security level and the ease with which authentication can be established.

The number of feature points extracted from the fingerprint that are effective for authentication tends to reflect whether the user prioritizes a high security level or the ease of authentication establishment when registering the fingerprint information FI.

For example, a user who prioritizes a high security level tries to extract more effective feature points by more carefully reading the fingerprint by the fingerprint sensor 11. A relatively high threshold is set for the authentication of the fingerprint information registered by such a user. Although the above-mentioned false rejection rate increases, since highly reliable fingerprint information is registered, the decrease in the ease of establishing authentication is suppressed.

On the other hand, users who prioritize the ease of establishing authentication tend to register fingerprint information with the attitude that the number of valid fingerprint feature points to be extracted may be small. A relatively low threshold is set for authentication of fingerprint information registered by such a user. As the security level decreases, the false acceptance rate increases, but the ease with which authentication can be established increases.

In this specification, it is defined that meeting the intention of the user is one aspect of "convenience". According to the above configuration, the threshold value used for authentication is set based on the reliability of the fingerprint information, so that the user who wants to prioritize the high security level also wants to prioritize the ease of authentication. Can also meet the intentions of. Therefore, it is possible to improve the convenience as compared with the authentication system in which the threshold value used for authentication is constant.

The change of the threshold value used for the authentication based on the reliability information RI may be continuous or gradual. In the latter case, the threshold takes one of a plurality of discrete values.

The reliability information RI may be determined according to the place where the fingerprint information FI is acquired. The fingerprint sensor 11 is not limited to the device mounted on the vehicle 20. For example, the fingerprint sensor 11 can be a device installed in a car dealer's store. The fingerprint sensor 11 may be given identification information that identifies a pre-installed location. The processing unit 122 of the control device 12 can set the reliability information RI based on the identification information and associate it with the fingerprint information FI stored in the storage device 13.

For example, when a user registers fingerprint information with a fingerprint sensor 11 installed in a car dealer's store, the work is performed with the assistance of the store staff, so that the user has higher reliability (the number of effective feature points). There is a high probability that the fingerprint information FI will be acquired. In other words, users who choose such a registration environment are likely to prioritize a high level of security. Therefore, the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 installed in the above environment is associated with the reliability information RI corresponding to higher reliability.

On the other hand, when the user registers the fingerprint information with the fingerprint sensor 11 mounted on the vehicle 20, the work is often performed without the assistance of another person, so that the reliability is lower (the number of effective feature points). There is a high probability that the fingerprint information FI will be acquired. In other words, it is highly probable that the user who selects such a registration environment gives priority to the ease of establishing authentication. Therefore, the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 installed in the above environment is associated with the reliability information RI corresponding to the lower reliability.

Even among a plurality of fingerprint sensors 11 mounted on the same vehicle 20, the reliability information RI can be different depending on the installation location. For example, in the fingerprint sensor 11 installed in the vehicle interior and the fingerprint sensor 11 installed outside the vehicle interior, it can be said that the fingerprint information FI acquired by the former has higher reliability from the viewpoint of the stability of the surrounding environment. Therefore, the reliability information RI corresponding to higher reliability than the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 installed outside the vehicle interior is applied to the fingerprint information FI acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 installed inside the vehicle interior. Can be associated with.

Therefore, even with such a configuration, it is possible to provide a highly convenient authentication system capable of setting an authentication threshold value according to the user's intention. Further, since the reliability information RI is determined by specifying the fingerprint sensor 11 that is the provider of the fingerprint information FI, for example, a process of counting the extracted feature points becomes unnecessary, and an increase in the load of the processing unit 122 can be suppressed. ..

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the storage device 13 can store fingerprint information of a plurality of users 31 to 33 sharing the vehicle 20. Further, fingerprint information of a plurality of fingers can be stored for each of the plurality of users 31 to 33. Under such circumstances, the reliability may differ between the plurality of fingerprint information. In this case, the processing unit 122 of the control device 12 may set the threshold value used for authentication to be constant based on the processing described later.

Specifically, the processing unit 122 can store frequency information corresponding to the frequency at which certain fingerprint information is used for authentication in the storage device 13 in association with the fingerprint information. That is, the frequency information constitutes a part of the authentication information AI. In this case, the processing unit 122 can set a threshold value corresponding to the reliability of the fingerprint information associated with the frequency information corresponding to the highest frequency.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the fingerprint 2 of the user 32 is most frequently used for authentication. The reliability information associated with the fingerprint 2 of the user 32 corresponds to low reliability. In this case, the processing unit 122 sets the threshold value used for authentication to be relatively low.

That is, the setting is made in which priority is given to the ease of establishment of authentication, which is presumed to be the intention of the user 32 who uses the vehicle 20 most frequently.

On the contrary, when the frequency information associated with the fingerprint 1 of the user 31 indicates a high frequency and the frequency information associated with the fingerprint 2 of the user 32 indicates a medium frequency, it is associated with the fingerprint 1 of the user 31. The reliability information is referred to. Since the reliability information corresponds to high reliability, the processing unit 122 sets a relatively high threshold value used for authentication.

That is, a setting is made in which a high security level presumed to be the intention of the user 31 who uses the vehicle 20 most frequently is prioritized.

When the frequency information associated with each of the plurality of fingerprint information having different reliability shows high frequency, it is preferable that the processing unit 122 sets a relatively high threshold value used for authentication. That is, a higher security level setting has higher priority.

According to the above configuration, the frequency of changing the threshold value used for authentication is reduced, and the load increase of the processing unit 122 can be suppressed, while the frequency of use is the highest among the plurality of users sharing the vehicle 20. By giving priority to the intentions of the person, the decrease in convenience can be suppressed.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the frequency is expressed stepwise. However, the number of times each fingerprint information is used for authentication may be recorded, and the number of times may be used as frequency information.

The processing unit 122 having various functions as described above can be realized by a general-purpose microprocessor that operates in cooperation with a general-purpose memory. Examples of general-purpose microprocessors include CPUs, MPUs, and GPUs. A ROM or RAM can be exemplified as a general-purpose memory. In this case, the ROM may store a computer program that executes the above-described processing. The ROM is an example of a storage medium for storing a computer program. The processor specifies at least a part of the program stored in the ROM, expands it on the RAM, and executes the above-described processing in cooperation with the RAM. The above computer program may be pre-installed in the general-purpose memory, or may be downloaded from an external server via a communication network and installed in the general-purpose memory. In this case, the external server is an example of a storage medium that stores a computer program.

The processing unit 122 may be realized by a dedicated integrated circuit capable of executing the above-mentioned computer program such as a microprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA. In this case, the above computer program is pre-installed in the storage element included in the dedicated integrated circuit. The storage element is an example of a storage medium that stores a computer program. The processing unit 122 can also be realized by a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a dedicated integrated circuit.

The above embodiments are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the present invention. The configuration according to the above embodiment may be appropriately changed or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the fingerprint information of the user 30 is acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 as biometric information. However, the iris pattern information of the user 30 and the vein pattern information in the palm of the user 30 may be acquired by the fingerprint sensor 11 as biometric information.

The control device 12 may be provided as an external device capable of communicating with the fingerprint sensor 11 and the controlled device 14 mounted on the vehicle 20 via a wireless communication network.

The authentication system 10 can be applied to a moving body other than the vehicle 20. Examples of mobiles include railroads, aircraft, ships and the like. The moving body does not have to require a driver.

The authentication system 10 does not need to be applied to a moving body such as a vehicle 20. The authentication system 10 can be used to control the operation of monitoring devices, locking devices, air conditioners, lighting devices, audiovisual equipment, and the like in houses and facilities.

10: Authentication system, 11: Fingerprint sensor, 12: Control device, 121: Reception unit, 122: Processing unit, 13: Storage device, 14: Controlled device, 30, 31, 32, 33: User, AI: Authentication information , FI: Fingerprint information, RI: Reliability information

Claims (5)

A biometric information acquisition device that acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated,
A storage device that associates the biometric information of the user of the controlled device with the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information and stores it as authentication information.
A control device that determines whether the degree of matching between the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the biometric information contained in the authentication information exceeds a threshold value, and authenticates the person to be authenticated as the user when the degree of matching exceeds the threshold value. When,
Is equipped with
The control device sets the threshold value based on the reliability information associated with the biometric information of the user, which is used to determine the degree of agreement.
Authentication system. The reliability is determined based on the place where the biometric information of the user is acquired.
The authentication system according to claim 1. The storage device stores frequency information corresponding to the frequency at which the biometric information of the user is used for determining the degree of agreement as a part of the authentication information.
The control device sets the threshold value based on the frequency information.
The authentication system according to claim 1 or 2. The reception department that accepts the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and
It is determined whether the degree of matching between the biometric information of the user of the controlled device stored as a part of the authentication information in the storage device and the biometric information received by the reception unit exceeds the threshold value, and the degree of matching determines the threshold value. A processing unit that authenticates the person to be authenticated as the user when the number exceeds
Is equipped with
The processing unit sets the threshold value based on the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information associated with the biometric information of the user used for determining the degree of matching as a part of the authentication information. To do
Control device. A computer program executed by the processing unit of the control device.
By being executed, the control device
Accept the biometric information of the person to be authenticated
It is made to judge whether the degree of agreement between the biometric information of the user of the controlled device stored as a part of the authentication information in the storage device and the biometric information received from the biometric information acquisition device exceeds the threshold value.
The threshold value is set based on the reliability information corresponding to the reliability of the biometric information associated with the biometric information of the user used for determining the degree of agreement as a part of the authentication information.
When the degree of agreement exceeds the threshold value, the person to be authenticated is authenticated as the user.
Computer program.

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