Face authentication method, face authentication system, program and recording medium

Abstract

To provide a face authentication method having high convenience by effectively using face authentication and automatically notifying an office employee pf a fact that a visitor arrives at the office, a face authentication system, a program and a recording medium.SOLUTION: When a face authentication system 10 receives information relating to a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device 40 installed at an entrance of an office, the face authentication system 10 compares information relating to the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 with information relating to a recorded visitor's face image and compares time and date when the face image of the visitor is captured by the imaging device with preregistered time and date when the visitor visits the office, to authenticate the visitor and, when the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system 10, the face authentication system 10 transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal 20 of an office employee.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a face recognition method, a face recognition system, a program, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a face authentication system that performs authentication based on face data, a face authentication system that performs identity authentication by matching input face data with pre-registered face data is known (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] In the face authentication system described in Patent Document 1, a target person is authenticated using an image of a face part in an image captured by a camera. In addition, in the face authentication system described in Patent Document 2, for example, when four face images are registered, two are face patterns for accuracy assurance, one is a face pattern for absorbing disturbance components, and one is a face pattern to be updated. When a new face pattern is registered, the face pattern to be updated that has the second lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern among the four face patterns registered in advance is deleted. In other words, by leaving the face pattern for absorbing disturbance components that has the lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern, face authentication is performed while adapting to environmental variations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-197426 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2006-72540 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It would be convenient if, after a visitor makes an appointment to visit an office staff member in the office, the visitor actually arrives at the office, a system could be used to automatically notify the office staff member that the visitor has arrived at the office using facial recognition, but until now, such a system has not existed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a highly convenient face recognition method, face recognition system, program, and recording medium that utilize face recognition to automatically notify office staff that a visitor has arrived at the office. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The face recognition method of the present invention comprises the steps of: A face recognition method performed by a face recognition system, comprising: When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; It is equipped with:

[0008] The face authentication system of the present invention comprises: a visitor information receiving means for receiving visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time; an initial registration setting information sending means for sending an email containing initial registration setting information to an email address of the visitor included in the visitor information received by the visitor information receiving means; a visitor registration information receiving means for receiving visitor registration information including information regarding a face image of the visitor; A face recognition cloud that records the visitor registration information accepted by the visitor registration information accepting means; a registration completion information transmission means for transmitting registration completion information to a user terminal of an office staff member when the visitor's registration information is recorded in the face recognition cloud; an authentication means for receiving information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance to the office, comparing the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with information regarding the face image of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud, and authenticating the visitor by comparing the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance; a visitor notification information transmitting means for transmitting visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office staff member when the visitor is authenticated; It is equipped with:

[0009] The program of the present invention comprises: A program executed by a processor of a face recognition system, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; will be carried out.

[0010] The recording medium of the present invention comprises: A recording medium on which a program executed by a processor of a face authentication system is recorded, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; will be carried out. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the facial recognition method, program, recording medium, and facial recognition system of the present invention, facial recognition can be used to automatically notify office staff that a visitor has arrived at the office, thereby increasing convenience. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a face recognition system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an exchange of information when visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an exchange of information when a visitor visits an office for the first time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing information exchange when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 4 are diagrams showing a face authentication system according to the present embodiment and a face authentication method using such a face authentication system.

[0014] The face authentication system 10 and face authentication method according to the present embodiment authenticates the face of a visitor when the visitor comes to the office, and automatically notifies the office staff that the visitor has arrived at the office entrance. Note that, in the present invention, the office entrance is not limited to the entrance of the office itself on each floor of the building, but is a concept that includes the general reception of the building in which the office is located (generally a reception provided on the first floor or a lower floor of the building).

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the face authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment includes an office reception system 12 and a face authentication cloud 14. An imaging device 40 such as a PC tablet is installed at the entrance of the office, and the imaging device 40 can capture a face image of a visitor. The office reception system 12 performs authentication using the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40, thereby notifying the office staff that the visitor has arrived at the office. The face authentication cloud 14 stores registration information of the visitor, including information related to the features of the face image of the visitor that has been registered in advance. The face authentication system 10 and the imaging device 40 are communicatively connected via a network such as an Internet line. A user terminal 30 such as a smartphone carried by the visitor and a user terminal 20 such as a smartphone carried by the office staff are communicatively connected to the face authentication system 10 via a network such as an Internet line. Note that FIG. 1 shows a smartphone as the user terminal 20 of the office staff and the user terminal 30 of the visitor, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. Other devices such as a notebook computer or a desktop computer may be used as the office staff user terminal 20 and the visitor user terminal 30. The office staff user terminal 20 and the visitor user terminal 30 may be a smartphone or the like that is owned by an individual, or may be a smartphone or the like that is provided by the company.

[0016] The office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 is composed of, for example, a computer, and has a processor 12a such as a CPU, and a memory 12b (recording medium) that stores a program. The processor 12a executes the program stored in the memory 12b to perform various processes described below. Note that the programs executed by the processor 12a are not limited to those stored in the memory 12b. The processor 12a may execute a program transmitted to the face authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the face authentication system 10 to perform various processes described below.

[0017] Next, the process of authenticating a visitor using the face authentication system 10 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0018] First, the process contents when registering visitor information in advance before a visitor visits the office for the first time in the face authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The office staff installs a program or application of the office reception service in the user terminal 20 in advance. Such a program or application allows the office staff to register the visitor. Specifically, when the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the number of people are confirmed between the office staff and the visitor by telephone, email, chat, conversation app, etc., the office staff executes the program or application of the office reception service in his / her user terminal 20 and inputs the visitor information. Note that the office staff may register the visitor when reserving a conference room using the company's conference room reservation system, instead of the program or application of the office reception service that has been installed. Specifically, the functions of accepting the visit of the visitor, registering attendees in the company, and reserving the conference room are linked to a schedule tool used in a system such as Microsoft Office (registered trademark). The schedule tool may be Outlook (registered trademark) or Gmail (registered trademark). The visitor information input by the office staff to the user terminal 20 includes information such as the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's company name, the visitor's name, the visitor's email address, the number of people visiting the office, etc. In the present invention, the visitor information only needs to include information related to at least the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address.

[0019] When visitor information is input to the user terminal 20 by an office staff member, the input visitor information is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 ((1) in FIG. 2). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the visitor information from the user terminal 20 by the visitor information receiving means 50, and holds identification information using an email address or the like as a key. The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 then automatically transmits an email containing initial registration setting information to the email address of the visitor included in the visitor information by the initial registration setting information transmitting means 52 ((2) in FIG. 2). The initial registration setting information contained in the email contains download information such as URL information or a two-dimensional barcode for downloading the face authentication app. The email automatically transmitted by the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 may also contain an explanation of the process leading up to the day of the office visit. In addition, when an office worker reserves a conference room using the company's conference room reservation system, when sending an email to a visitor, the office worker notifies himself and other co-workers of the plan by email or other means and reserves the conference room using the conference room reservation system.

[0020] When the visitor receives the email automatically sent by the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 at the user terminal 30, the visitor installs the face authentication application on the user terminal 30 based on the initial registration setting information described in the email, specifically, the URL information for downloading the face authentication application. Alternatively, if the email contains a two-dimensional barcode for downloading, the visitor installs the face authentication application on the user terminal 30 by reading the two-dimensional barcode displayed on the computer screen with the camera of the smartphone. When such a face authentication application is installed on the user terminal 30, the visitor can input registration information in the face authentication application. Specifically, the use of the office reception service can be set by using the face authentication application. When setting up the use of the office reception service, the visitor inputs his / her name, date of birth, sex, email address, telephone number, password, etc. as registration information on the user terminal 30. In addition, when setting up the use of the office reception service, the visitor inputs information indicating that he / she agrees to the terms of use of the office reception service. The setting up of the use of the office reception service described above may be performed by the face authentication application, or may be performed separately from the face authentication application. In addition, the visitor captures his or her own face using the face recognition app with the camera of the user terminal 30. As a result, the user terminal 30 obtains face image data of the visitor.

[0021] When a visitor registers for the office reception service using the user terminal 30, the registration information entered by the visitor is transmitted from the user terminal 30 to the face authentication cloud 14 of the face authentication system 10 ((3) in FIG. 2). At this time, identification information is linked to the registration information. Specifically, information related to the visitor's name, date of birth, sex, email address, telephone number, password, and face image data, etc., entered by the visitor is transmitted from the user terminal 30 to the face authentication cloud 14 of the face authentication system 10. The face authentication cloud 14 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the face image data transmitted from the user terminal 30. Such a hash value is used as a feature of the face image of the visitor. In addition, the face authentication cloud 14 assigns identification information (for example, an identification number) to the visitor. Then, information such as the visitor's name, date of birth, sex, email address, telephone number, password, etc., and information related to the feature of the visitor's face image are recorded in the face authentication cloud 14 in association with the visitor's identification information.

[0022] In addition, the visitor's identification information assigned by the face recognition cloud 14 and information related to the visitor's name are sent to the office reception system 12 ((4) in FIG. 2). At this time, the identification information is used as a key to match and update the visitor information sent in (1) in FIG. 2. In the memory 12b of the office reception system 12, information such as the name of the office staff member who registered, the name of the visitor, and the date and time the visitor will visit the office is associated with the visitor's identification information and recorded by the recording means 56. Thereafter, the office reception system 12 transmits registration completion information to the office staff member's user terminal 20 by the registration completion information transmitting means 58 ((5) in FIG. 2). As a result, information that the visitor's face registration has been completed is displayed on the office staff member's user terminal 20 (for example, if the user terminal 20 is a smartphone, a push notification is displayed).

[0023] After that, the office staff executes the program or application of the office reception service on the user terminal 20, and when the office staff taps the date and time when the visitor registered by the office staff will visit the office, the visitor's name is displayed on the user terminal 20. When the office staff further taps the visitor's name displayed on the user terminal 20, confirmation information is sent from the office staff's user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 ((6) in FIG. 2). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the confirmation information from the office staff's user terminal 20 by the confirmation information receiving means 60. The processor 12a then sends reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30 by the reservation completion information sending means 62 ((7) in FIG. 2). As a result, a reservation completion message and information related to the date and time when the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30. In this way, the process of registering visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time is completed. After the reservation completion message and information related to the date and time when the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30, the visitor may be able to input a receipt confirmation of the reservation completion message by executing a face recognition app on the user terminal 30. In this case, information related to the receipt confirmation of the reservation completion message is transmitted from the visitor's user terminal 30 to the face recognition system 10. Then, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 of the face recognition system 10 transmits information to the office staff member's user terminal 20 that the visitor has confirmed receipt of the reservation completion message. This allows the office staff member to confirm that the visitor has received the reservation completion message.

[0024] Next, the process contents when a visitor visits an office for the first time in the face authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3. When the visitor arrives at the entrance of the office, the visitor taps the face authentication button on the screen of the imaging device 40 such as a PC tablet at the entrance. Then, when the visitor holds his / her face over the imaging device 40, the camera of the imaging device 40 captures the visitor's face. The visitor may be configured to capture the visitor's face by the camera of the imaging device 40 just by holding his / her face over the imaging device 40 without operating the imaging device 40. The imaging device 40 extracts a hash value by a predetermined hash function based on the face image data of the visitor captured by the camera. Such a hash value is used as a feature of the visitor's face image.

[0025] As described above, when the face of a visitor is captured by the camera of the imaging device 40, information related to the feature amount of the visitor's facial image is transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 ((1) in FIG. 3). In addition, information related to the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 (hereinafter, also referred to as the imaging date and time) is also transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10.

[0026] When the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 receives information related to the feature amounts of the visitor's face image from the imaging device 40, it compares the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 with the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. Then, if the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and information related to the image capture date and time are transmitted from the face recognition cloud 14 to the office reception system 12 ((2) in FIG. 3). Note that if the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 do not substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the subsequent processing is not performed. Furthermore, if the feature amount of the visitor's face image does not substantially match the feature amount of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 even after the imaging device 40 captures the visitor's face image a certain number of times, a designated department of the company (e.g., the general affairs department) may be notified, or a normal call operation may be performed using a call phone installed at the entrance. This makes it possible to handle cases where a visitor visits the office for a job interview or a delivery person visits the office.

[0027] The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 compares the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and imaging date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 with the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time when the visitor visits the office recorded in the memory 12b. Then, if the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and imaging date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 approximately match the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time when the visitor visits the office recorded in the memory 12b, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 authenticates the visitor by the authentication means 64. When the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 transmits visitor notification information to the user terminal 20 of the office employee by the visitor notification information transmission means 66 ((3) in FIG. 3). When the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the visitor's name and a message such as "Welcome Mr. / Ms. XX" may be displayed on the monitor of the imaging device 40.

[0028] Note that the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image substantially match means, for example, that the matching rate between the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image received from the imaging device 40 and the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%). Also, the date and time of imaging by the imaging device 40 substantially matches the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office means that the error between the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office recorded in the memory 12b of the office reception system 12 and the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office, is within a predetermined time (e.g., 3 hours).

[0029] When the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 transmits the visitor notification information to the user terminal 20 of the office employee by the visitor notification information transmitting means 66, an email containing the visitor notification information may be transmitted to the user terminal 20 of the office employee. Alternatively, the visitor notification information may be displayed by a program or application of an office reception service installed in the user terminal 20 of the office employee. When the office employee receives the visitor notification information from the office reception system 12, the office employee goes to the entrance of the office to welcome the visitor. In this way, the process when the visitor visits the office for the first time is completed in the face authentication system 10. In addition, when the office employee reserves a conference room in the office for a meeting with the visitor, the office employee or the visitor may be allowed to enter the conference room by performing face authentication of the office employee or the visitor at a specified time (specifically, a time within a predetermined range from the time the visitor visits the office, which is recorded in the memory 12b of the office reception system 12).

[0030] Next, the process performed by the face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time will be described with reference to FIG.

[0031] When the date and time when the visitor will visit the office and the number of people are confirmed between the office employee and the visitor by telephone, email, chat, conversation app, etc., the office employee executes the program or application of the office reception service on his / her user terminal 20 and inputs the visitor information. The visitor information input by the office employee to the user terminal 20 includes information such as the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's company name, the visitor's name, the number of people visiting the office, and the visitor's identification information set previously. Note that, if the office employee has registered visitor information for the first time, the registered visitor may be called by a call function without entering the company name or name. Specifically, a list of visitor names from the visitor information registered in the past is displayed, and the name can be selected by tapping it. Also, when the office employee enters part of the visitor's name, the name of the visitor registered in the past may be displayed by a suggestion function.

[0032] When visitor information is input into the user terminal 20 by the office employee, this input visitor information is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 ((1) in FIG. 4). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the visitor information from the office employee's user terminal 20 through the visitor information receiving means 50. This received visitor information is recorded in the memory 12b of the office reception system 12. The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 then transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30 through the reservation completion information transmitting means 62 ((2) in FIG. 4). As a result, a reservation completion message and information regarding the date and time the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30.

[0033] Thereafter, when the visitor reaches the entrance of the office, the visitor taps the face recognition button on the screen of the imaging device 40, such as a PC tablet, at the entrance. Then, when the visitor holds his / her face over the imaging device 40, the camera of the imaging device 40 captures the visitor's face. As described above, the visitor may be able to capture the visitor's face by the camera of the imaging device 40 simply by holding his / her face over the imaging device 40 without operating the imaging device 40. The imaging device 40 extracts a hash value by a predetermined hash function based on the face image data of the visitor captured by the camera. Such a hash value is used as a feature of the visitor's face image.

[0034] When the visitor's face is captured by the camera of the imaging device 40, information related to the feature amount of the visitor's facial image is transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 ((3) in FIG. 4). In addition, information related to the image capture date and time is also transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10.

[0035] When the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 receives information related to the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image from the imaging device 40, it compares the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image received from the imaging device 40 with the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. Then, if the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image received from the imaging device 40 approximately match the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the visitor's name, the visitor's identification information, and information related to the image capture date and time are transmitted from the face recognition cloud 14 to the office reception system 12 ((4) in FIG. 4).

[0036] The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 compares the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 with the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time the visitor visits the office recorded in the memory 12b. If the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 approximately match the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time the visitor visits the office recorded in the memory 12b, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 authenticates the visitor using the authentication means 64. Once the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 transmits visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 using the visitor notification information transmission means 66 ((5) in FIG. 4). Furthermore, as described above, when the authentication means 64 authenticates the visitor, the monitor of the imaging device 40 may display the visitor's name and a message such as "Welcome, Mr. / Ms. XX."

[0037] When the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 sends the visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 by the visitor notification information sending means 66, an email containing the visitor notification information may be sent to the office employee's user terminal 20. Alternatively, the visitor notification information may be displayed by a program or application of an office reception service installed in the office employee's user terminal 20. When the office employee receives the visitor notification information from the office reception system 12, he or she goes to the office entrance to meet the visitor. In this way, the process when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent times is completed in the face authentication system 10.

[0038] According to the face authentication method performed by the face authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment and configured as described above, when a visitor registers visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system 10 receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and then sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information. Also, when the face authentication system 10 receives visitor registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system 10 records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system 10, and sends registration completion information to the user terminal of the office employee. When the face authentication system 10 receives information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the entrance of the office, the face authentication system 10 compares the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 with the recorded information about the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device 40 with the date and time when the visitor visits the office, which is registered in advance, to authenticate the visitor, and when the face authentication system 10 authenticates the visitor, the face authentication system 10 transmits visitor notification information to the user terminal 20 of the office employee. According to such a face authentication method, the face authentication can be utilized to automatically notify the office employee that the visitor has arrived at the office, thereby improving convenience.

[0039] Furthermore, according to the face authentication method of this embodiment, when a visitor registers visitor information in advance before visiting the office for the first time, the face authentication system 10 transmits registration completion information to the office staff member's user terminal 20, and then, upon receipt of confirmation information, transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30. In this case, by transmitting the reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30, the visitor can reliably recognize that a visit to the office has been reserved.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the face authentication method of the present embodiment, when the face authentication system 10 sends an email containing the initial registration setting information to the email address of the visitor included in the visitor information, the initial registration setting information contained in the email contains information necessary for downloading a face authentication app (for example, URL information for download and two-dimensional barcode information), and the visitor's registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image is sent to the face authentication system 10 by the face authentication app. In this case, by downloading the face authentication app to the user terminal 30, the visitor can use the face authentication app to send the visitor's registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image to the face authentication system 10.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the face authentication method of the present embodiment, when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the face authentication system 10 receives visitor information including at least the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the visitor's name, and the face authentication system 10 transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal. In this case, when the visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the visitor can reserve a visit to the office in a simple manner.

[0042] Furthermore, the face authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment includes a visitor information receiving means 50 for receiving visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor registers visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, an initial registration setting information sending means 52 for sending an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information received by the visitor information receiving means 50, a visitor registration information receiving means 54 for receiving visitor registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image, a face authentication cloud 14 for recording the visitor registration information received by the visitor registration information receiving means 54, and a face authentication cloud 14 for recording the visitor registration information received by the visitor registration information receiving means 54. The face authentication system 10 includes a registration completion information sending means 58 for sending registration completion information to the user terminal of the office staff when the visitor is recorded in the face authentication cloud 14, an authentication means 64 for receiving information about the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the office entrance, comparing the information about the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 with the information about the visitor's face image recorded in the face authentication cloud 14, and authenticating the visitor by comparing the date and time when the visitor's face image was captured by the imaging device 40 with the date and time when the visitor visits the office that is registered in advance, and a visitor notification information sending means 66 for sending visitor notification information to the user terminal of the office staff when the visitor is authenticated. According to such a face authentication system 10, the office staff can be automatically notified that the visitor has arrived at the office by utilizing face authentication, thereby improving convenience.

[0043] In addition, in this embodiment, a program for performing a face authentication method by the face authentication system 10, which is executed by the processor 12a, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded are used. Here, when the processor 12a executes the program, when the face authentication system 10 receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system 10 transmits an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information. In addition, when the face authentication system 10 receives the visitor's registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system 10 records the received visitor's registration information in the face authentication system 10, and transmits registration completion information to the user terminal of the office staff member. When the facial authentication system 10 receives information about a visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system 10 compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 with the recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, which is registered in advance, to authenticate the visitor, and when the facial authentication system 10 authenticates the visitor, the facial authentication system 10 transmits visitor notification information to the user terminal 20 of the office employee. According to such a program and recording medium, the office employee can be automatically notified that a visitor has arrived at the office by utilizing facial authentication, thereby improving convenience.

[0044] The face recognition method and face recognition system according to the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects, and various modifications can be made.

[0045] For example, in the above description, the imaging device 40 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor captured by the camera, and uses the hash value as a feature of the visitor's facial image. The feature of the visitor's facial image is then transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the facial recognition cloud 14 of the facial recognition system 10. However, in another embodiment, the facial image data of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 may be transmitted directly from the imaging device 40 to the facial recognition cloud 14 of the facial recognition system 10. In this case, the facial recognition cloud 14 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor transmitted from the imaging device 40, and uses the hash value as a feature of the visitor's facial image.

[0046] In another embodiment, the face recognition app used in the user terminal 30 of the visitor may extract a hash value as a feature using a predetermined hash function based on the face image data of the visitor captured by the camera of the user terminal 30, instead of transmitting the face image data of the visitor captured by the camera of the user terminal 30 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10. In this case, when the face recognition cloud 14 receives registration information including the feature of the face image of the visitor from the user terminal 30, it assigns identification information (e.g., an identification number) to the visitor. Then, information such as the visitor's name, date of birth, sex, email address, telephone number, password, etc., and information related to the feature of the face image of the visitor are recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 in association with the identification information of the visitor.

[0047] In yet another embodiment, when the facial image data of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 is transmitted directly from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 may compare the facial image data of the visitor transmitted from the imaging device 40 with the facial image data of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. In this case, if the facial image data of the visitor received from the imaging device 40 substantially matches the facial image data of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 transmits the name of the visitor, the visitor's identification information, and information related to the imaging date and time from the face recognition cloud 14 to the office reception system 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 10. Face Recognition System 12 Office reception system 12a Processor 12b Memory 14. Facial Recognition Cloud 20 Office staff user terminals 30 Visitor's user terminal 40 Imaging device 50 Visitor information reception method 52 Initial registration setting information transmission means 54 Visitor registration information reception means 56 Recording means 58 Registration completion information transmission means 60 Confirmation information reception means 62 Reservation completion information transmission means 64 Authentication Methods 66 Visitor notification information transmission means

Claims

1. A face recognition method performed by a face recognition system, comprising: When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; The face recognition method includes:

2. 2. The face authentication method according to claim 1, wherein when a visitor registers visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to the user terminal of an office employee, and then, when the face authentication system receives confirmation information, the face authentication system transmits reservation completion information to the user terminal of the visitor.

3. A facial recognition method as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein when the facial recognition system sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information, the initial registration setting information included in the email contains information necessary for downloading a facial recognition app, and the visitor's registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image is sent to the facial recognition system by the facial recognition app.

4. 4. The face recognition method according to claim 1, wherein when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the face recognition system receives visitor information including at least the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the visitor's name, and transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal.

5. a visitor information receiving means for receiving visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time; an initial registration setting information sending means for sending an email containing initial registration setting information to an email address of the visitor included in the visitor information received by the visitor information receiving means; A visitor registration information receiving means for receiving visitor registration information including information regarding a face image of the visitor; A face recognition cloud that records the visitor registration information accepted by the visitor registration information accepting means; a registration completion information transmission means for transmitting registration completion information to a user terminal of an office staff member when the visitor's registration information is recorded in the face recognition cloud; an authentication means for receiving information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance to the office, comparing the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with information regarding the face image of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud, and authenticating the visitor by comparing the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance; a visitor notification information transmitting means for transmitting visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office staff member when the visitor is authenticated; Equipped with a face recognition system.

6. a confirmation information receiving means for receiving confirmation information after the registration completion information transmitting means transmits the registration completion information to the user terminal of the office staff member when the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time; a reservation completion information sending means for sending reservation completion information to a user terminal of the visitor when the confirmation information is received by the confirmation information receiving means; The face authentication system of claim 5 , further comprising:

7. 7. The face authentication system of claim 6, wherein when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the visitor information receiving means receives visitor information including at least the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the visitor's name, the reservation completion information sending means sends reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal.

8. A program executed by a processor of a face recognition system, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; This is the program that will be carried out.

9. A recording medium on which a program executed by a processor of a face authentication system is recorded, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor visits the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and the face authentication system sends an email including initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information regarding the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; a step of, when the face authentication system receives information regarding a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at an entrance of the office, the face authentication system compares the information regarding the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information regarding the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with a date and time when the visitor will visit the office that is registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; A recording medium on which the

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