KR20050123283A - System and method for televsion user authentication using camera - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to TV viewer authentication using a camera, comprising a camera capable of capturing a viewer located in front of a TV, a means for processing each image from the camera, and a means for recognizing each viewer and a recognition result from the recognition means. Program selection means for selecting a TV program allowed to the viewer, and means for limiting the type of viewable channel according to the selection result of the program selection means. The apparatus may further include registration means for registering image information and personal information of a viewer who is expected to watch TV in advance, and storage means for storing the image information and personal information.

According to the present invention, since user authentication can be performed without the hassle of inputting a password, it is possible to provide a viewer-specific TV capable of providing a practical viewer-specific program, and to protect a minor from adult content and automatically guide a preferred program.

Description

System and method for TV viewer authentication using cameras {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TELEVSION USER AUTHENTICATION USING CAMERA}

The present invention relates to TV viewer authentication, specifically, to attach a camera to a TV, register viewer images in advance, and perform viewer authentication during actual viewing, thereby providing a viewable channel for each viewer.

While TVs are devices that are commonly installed and used in homes or other public places, TV programs are becoming increasingly diverse and specialized, and more recently, adult channels are being introduced. In addition, the selectivity of programs provided on TV such as dramas and movies is also increasing.

Due to the diversification of TV programs and increased propaganda, the necessity of restricting TV viewing to minors has begun to be recognized. For example, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced a V-CHIP (Violence Chip) function related to program ratings. The program viewing grade means that the program is classified into six grades in order to set the program viewing suitability according to the viewer's age or maturity. V-CHIP is a feature that allows viewers to restrict viewing by program ratings, and is also called parental lock in the sense that parents can physically prevent indiscriminate children from watching TV. The V-CHIP function can be used by broadcasting a program grade information corresponding to each program on a 21st scan line of horizontal frequency among broadcast signals. When the program rating information is received, the television determines whether the received program rating information is above or below a predetermined rating by the viewer. If the received program rating information is equal to or higher than a predetermined rating, the broadcast signal to be implemented is blocked and cannot be viewed.

Meanwhile, in addition to attempts to restrict TV viewing, attempts to preferentially provide program information preferred by viewers among numerous channels in consideration of preference by viewers (TV viewers) have also been continuously performed.

However, in order to be able to provide a program for viewing restriction and preference consideration, a reliable means for obtaining information or viewer authentication (hereinafter referred to as viewer authentication) of a TV viewer is required in advance.

Viewer authentication schemes proposed or implemented so far may be roughly classified into a password scheme and a viewer-specific authentication scheme. The password method is a method of inputting a password registered in advance for watching a specific channel (eg, adult professional channel) or TV, and the authentication method for each viewer is an authentication device (eg, a personal wireless identification card) for each TV viewer. In this case, the wireless receiver embedded in the TV acquires viewer personal information including age, gender, etc. from each authentication device, and classifies and provides a viewable channel based on this.

For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-0091588 discloses a configuration for setting a parental control program and inputting a password to watch it, and Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0425313 discloses a television environment for each viewer through viewer authentication. A television environment setting method and apparatus for setting the same are disclosed. These all belong to the category of the password system, and the viewer registers a program-specific or channel-specific password or a viewer-specific password (authentication number), and then enters a password for every viewing. However, password-based viewer authentication is not used because of the inconvenience of having to enter a password each time.

On the other hand, the method of using a personal wireless portable device also requires additional devices such as each individual must have a separate authentication device, even in each home at all times, and there are few examples in which use is accompanied by inconvenience to viewers.

Therefore, it would be very beneficial for the desirable use of TV usage and the vitalization of the TV industry to be provided with means to minimize viewer inconvenience and enable reliable viewer authentication.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the related art, the present invention captures an image of a viewer using a camera mounted in a TV and recognizes the image of the viewer, thereby providing viewers with appropriate TV programs for each viewer who has been determined and determined. The purpose is to allow viewers to watch TV safely and conveniently.

According to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, a camera capable of photographing the viewer located in front of the TV, means for processing each image from the camera to recognize each viewer, and each viewer in accordance with the recognition result from the recognition means There is provided a viewer-recognizable TV comprising a program screening means for screening a TV program permitted to the user and means for limiting the types of viewable channels according to the screening result of the program screening means.

According to another aspect of the invention, the steps of photographing the viewer located in front of the TV, the step of recognizing each viewer by processing the photographed image, and selecting the TV program allowed for each viewer according to the result of the recognition step There is provided a program providing method of a viewer recognizable TV comprising a program screening step and a step of providing only a program in a program selected in the screening step.

The TV according to the present invention may further include registration means for registering the image information and the personal information of the viewer who is expected to watch the TV in advance, and storage means for storing the image information and the personal information. The method may further include means for listing the screening results and providing the screening results to a viewer in an OSD (On Screen Display) manner.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to an accompanying drawing, the structure of this invention is demonstrated in detail.

1 is a diagram illustrating a form in which a camera 100 is mounted on a TV. FIG. 1 (a) shows a form in which one external camera is mounted on a TV, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a form in which two built-in cameras are mounted on a TV. The camera 100 is preferable to use a CCD type external digital camera because it is advantageous in its application and image processing, but the camera that can be adopted in the present invention is not limited thereto, and any kind of image capturing is possible. It includes a camera.

Looking at the attachment position of the camera 100, in Figure 1 (a) it is shown that the external camera is mounted to the left side in one place of the upper portion, the camera 100 may be located in the center or at least two places It can be attached to multiple places of. In the case of using an external camera, since the camera output terminal is connected to the image input terminal of the TV, there is an advantage that the present invention can be easily applied to a conventional TV. FIG. 1B illustrates a configuration in which the built-in camera 100 is disposed at two locations on the left and right sides. When the camera 100 is disposed at two locations, the distance between the subject and the TV can also be measured, thereby enabling more accurate recognition, and also reducing the recognition error due to the angle difference between the subject and the camera.

2 is a structural view of a viewer recognizable TV according to the present invention. In order to enhance the convenience and understanding of the description, the portions related to the original functions of the TV, that is, the reception and processing of the broadcast signal and the display, are omitted, and only portions directly related to the present invention are shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the viewer recognition apparatus according to the present invention includes a camera 100, a recognition processor 110, a program selector 120, a channel limiter 130, a program list generator 140, and a registerer. 150, memory 160. In addition, the image unit 170 and the TV signal receiver 180 implement the original functions of the TV and are similar to the image unit and the TV signal receiver of a conventional TV.

The camera 100 used in the present invention has been described above, and the recognition processor 110 performs a function of identifying the viewer based on the image of the viewer photographed by the camera 100. The recognition processor 110 also performs digital processing of the image when the camera 100 is an analog camera. On the other hand, when the viewer information registered in advance is stored in the memory 160, the recognition processing unit 110 compares the image information stored in the memory 160 with the current photographed image to determine whether or not it is a registered viewer. do.

The program selector 120 selects a program suitable for a viewer from among TV signals currently received according to the identification result of the recognition processor 110 and transmits the result to the channel limiter 130.

The channel limiter 140 controls the video unit 170 according to the screening information from the program selector 120 to prevent a broadcast not suitable for the current viewer from being broadcast.

The registration unit 150 is used when a viewer wants to register his or her own image information and personal information in advance, and the personal information inputted through the viewer input means such as a TV remote control and a viewer image from the camera 100, for example, Age, gender, and preference dynamic information such as a preferred channel, a preferred time zone, and a preferred program) are registered and stored in the memory 160.

Hereinafter, the viewer registration process and the viewer authentication process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

3 is a diagram illustrating each step for viewer registration, wherein power is supplied to the TV and the camera 100 (S310), and when entering the registration mode, the camera operates to capture an image of the viewer in front of the camera (S320). . At this time, the angle and zoom of the camera can be controlled by using the TV remote control. However, as an alternative, the camera is fixed and the user who wants to register adjusts his / her position and angle so that a proper image is captured while watching his / her image through the TV screen. Can be taken.

When a suitable image is captured, the image information is stored in the memory 160 (S330), and optionally, the viewer's personal information is input and stored using a TV remote control or the like (S340), and registration is completed (S350). As described above, the viewer's personal information is composed of unique information such as gender and age, and preference information including a preferred channel, a preferred time zone, and a preferred program. When the preference information is input, a program in consideration of the viewer's preferences located in front of the TV may be selected to operate the TV and displayed, or a guide message may be displayed even when watching another program.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing process when a viewer wants to watch TV after the registration process. When power is applied to the TV and the camera 100 (S310), the camera 100 captures a viewer located in front of the TV. The viewer's image is transferred to the recognition processor 110 and recognized (S420). Since image recognition is for discriminating a viewer's characteristics, the image recognition is mainly performed on the face. Other parts such as arms, legs, or torso are not easy to identify individual characteristic differences. The image transmitted from the camera 100 undergoes a process of correcting illuminance and color, extracting a facial region, and then detecting characteristic portions of skin color, eyes or other faces. The processing algorithm may use the PCA or KPCA algorithm mainly used for face recognition, but is not limited thereto and includes other conventional or future developed recognition algorithms.

Next, the recognition processing unit 110 performs an authentication operation to determine whether to register by comparing the viewer image registered with the viewer image currently registered with reference to the memory 160 (S430). If the user authentication is not performed in this step (S430), the current viewer is not a registered person, so that the program selection unit 120 and the channel restriction unit 130 allow only the general channel (S440). If so, it is determined whether the adult again (S450). If it is not the adult, the program selection unit 120 and the channel restriction unit 130 allows only the adult channel (S452), and if the adult age enters step (S451) to allow all channels including the adult channel. .

The program list providing step may be additionally added to the above-described embodiment. That is, in the program permission steps S440, S451, and S452, the program list generation unit 140 may help the viewer to select a program by listing the allowable programs and displaying them on the TV screen.

Optionally, if personal preference information is input during the registration step (S460), the process proceeds to step S470 to generate a program list based on the personal preference information and display it on the TV screen in an OSD (On Screen Display) manner, It may support to facilitate the program selection (S480). The presentation of the guide information may be implemented to be displayed immediately upon receiving a program signal that can be favored by the currently authenticated viewer even during other program screenings.

That is, according to the present invention, the viewer can recognize each viewer even without inputting a password or having a separate wireless identification device, and can effectively block programs unsuitable for each viewer, and viewer preference information. The TV program of the viewer's taste can be timely guided based on.

On the other hand, since the TV is used (viewing) at a relatively long distance (3 to 5 m) unlike a mobile phone or other user image recognition device, the camera attached to the TV will shoot a wide object as shown in FIG. In the case where a person is watching TV at the same time, it is necessary to extract the face images of each of the plurality of recognition subjects and contrast the feature with a registered image stored in advance. In this case, there is a possibility of misrecognition, so in order to avoid this, each viewer places his or her face close to the camera at the time of viewer authentication or controls the angle and zoom operation of the camera with an operating device such as a TV remote control. It is desirable to be able to zoom in on the face of the camera.

When the camera's performance and recognition processing capability are improved, all of these problems can be solved even if the above-described operations (facing the face close to the camera, or controlling the camera's angle or zoom function) are solved, and each viewer can easily watch the TV according to the present invention. Of course you can watch. However, in order to facilitate the rapid commercialization of the present invention, the present inventors identify viewers according to the present invention even if the low-cost entry-level camera and the processing process use a simple recognition processing algorithm in the actual use environment of the home TV as shown in FIG. Another embodiment has been further envisioned to successfully perform the following, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

Another embodiment according to the present invention utilizes the fact that there is a difference in body size by age in the case of a person, and in general, the body size of each individual falls within a predetermined range for each age group. 6 and 7 illustrate an example in which a family is sitting in a chair watching TV or lying on the floor and an adult and a child are watching TV. The body sizes of the adult (600, 610) and the minor (620) shown in Figure 6 is a factor that can be clearly distinguished even if shooting with a low-cost entry-level camera and processed by a simple algorithm. In addition, even when watching lying down as shown in Figure 7 can be clearly distinguished between the body size of the adult 700 and the child 710.

Therefore, instead of extracting the facial features of each viewer and contrasting them with the registered image, the present embodiment determines whether the viewer is an adult or a child from the body size of each viewer so that the adult channel is not allowed for the child.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the TV and the camera operate (S800), the camera 100 recognizes the viewer located in front of the TV by distinguishing it from the surrounding objects (S810). Thereafter, the body size of each viewer is determined based on the viewer's image, and the age range is estimated based on this (S820). According to the estimated result, it is determined whether or not the adult (S830), and if the adult is allowed all channels including the adult channel, and if the viewer is a child or a plurality of viewers including children only allow the adult channel (S832) . Alternatively, the age of the children may be estimated to selectively allow only programs such as 7 years old and over, 15 years old and over.

In the present embodiment, there is a disadvantage that it may not be easy to distinguish between the teenager and the adult in the late teens, but since the distinction between children under the teen and the adult can be clearly performed, restriction on watching TV in terms of child protection The function can be performed to a sufficient degree, and in particular, a separate register and memory for storing the registration information are not required, and even if a low cost low resolution camera and a simple recognition processing algorithm are used, the intended purpose can be achieved. By using a plurality of cameras arranged in two or more places as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the distance between the object to be recognized and the camera can be grasped. Therefore, the possibility of misunderstanding of the body size according to the distance between the object to be recognized and the camera is simple. Can be solved.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, each component 110-150 of FIG. 2 may be a software module implemented in one processor and each may be an independent hardware device. In addition, the functionality of one component may be incorporated into another component, and some or all of the components may be implemented in a processor mounted on a TV. Such changes and other modified embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description herein, and therefore the scope of the invention should be defined by the following claims.

As described above, according to the present invention, each viewer can be identified so that only a program suitable for the age of the viewer can be viewed without requiring a password input or a separate wireless identification device. Program guidance is available. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to clearly distinguish the adult and the child even with a low-cost camera and a simple recognition processing algorithm, which can contribute significantly to the commercialization of the viewer-recognizable TV.

1 is a view showing a state that the viewer recognition camera is attached to the TV according to the present invention.

2 is a schematic structural diagram of a TV having a viewer recognition processing function according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a viewer registration process according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a program providing process according to viewer recognition and recognition result according to the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a viewing type of a TV viewer.

6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating age-specific characteristics of viewers.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a program providing process based on viewer recognition and recognition results according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: camera 110: recognition processing unit

120: program selection unit 130: channel restriction unit

140: program list generation unit 150: register

160: memory 170: video portion

180: TV signal receiver

Claims (7)

A camera that can capture viewers in front of the TV, Means for processing an image from the camera to recognize each viewer; Program sorting means for sorting TV programs allowed to each viewer in accordance with a result of the recognition from said recognition means; Means for limiting the types of viewable channels according to the screening result of the program screening means; Viewer recognizable TV comprising a. The method of claim 1, Registration means for registering image information and personal information of a viewer who is expected to watch TV in advance; And viewer means for storing said image information and personal information. The method of claim 1, And a means for listing the screening results by the program screening means and providing the screening results to viewers in an OSD (On Screen Display) manner. The method of claim 1, wherein the camera A viewer-recognized TV that can control the shooting direction, zoom, and shooting operation with a TV remote control. Photographing the viewer in front of the TV, Recognizing each viewer by processing the captured image; A program selection step of selecting TV programs allowed to each viewer according to the result of the recognition step; Providing only a program in a program selected in the selection step Program providing method of the viewer recognizable TV comprising a. The method of claim 5, A registration step of registering image information and personal information of a viewer who is expected to watch TV before the photographing step; And storing the image information and the personal information. The method of claim 5, And listing the selection results by the program selection step and providing the selection results to the viewer in an OSD (On Screen Display) manner.