Animal age determination apparatus, age determination system, age determination method, and age determination program

Abstract

To provide an animal age determination apparatus, an age determination system, an age determination method, and an age determination program which can determine, from an image of an animal individual provided by a user, a day age, a month age, and an age of the individual to authenticate them.SOLUTION: An age determination apparatus 1 according to the present invention has: an age determination unit 11 for determining a day age, a month age or an age of an individual from an image including the face or teeth of the animal individual as a determination target provided by a user 2 with using a learned model arranged by using, as a teacher data, the image of the animal including at least the face or teeth and the age of the animal upon shooting the image; and an age approval unit 12 for transmitting the determination result by the age determination unknit 11 and the image of the animal individual used for the determination to an animal doctor 3 to obtain an approval of the determination result by the age determination unit 11. Thus, the day age, the month age or the age of the animal is determined.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, system, method, and program for determining the age of an animal from an image.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the number of households that welcome protected animals such as rescue cats and rescue dogs as pets has been increasing. However, in the case of protected animals or animals received from acquaintances, the date of birth is often unknown, and it is difficult to declare the exact age when applying for insurance or registering the breeding with the municipality. In particular, for young animals, since the sale of dogs and cats that have not reached 56 days old after birth is prohibited by the revised Animal Welfare Management Act, an exact age in days is required. However, except for the case of giving birth at an animal hospital, there is no means to prove the date of birth, so it cannot be denied that false declarations may be made by the owner or the like.

[0003] Generally, the age of a protected animal is confirmed by a veterinarian's estimated age. However, the applicant has proposed a method for estimating the age from the face image of an animal for insurance premium calculation (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the insurance premium calculation system described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the age of a pet animal is predicted and determined using a learned model constructed with the face image of the animal and the age at the time of shooting as teacher data.

[0004] Also, conventionally, a method for estimating the age of a human from an image including a subject (human) has been proposed (see Patent Document 3). In the age estimation apparatus described in Patent Document 3, a feature amount indicating the facial features of the subject is generated from the face region detected from the subject image, and the degree of the subject's expression is detected, and the age of the subject is estimated from the facial feature amount and the degree of the expression.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

[0006] However, the above-mentioned conventional technologies have the following problems. First, the technology described in Patent Document 3 is targeted at humans, and in the case of animals, it is difficult to estimate the age from the feature amounts of the face and the degree of expression. On the other hand, according to the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, although the approximate age for insurance coverage of a pet animal can be determined, since it does not guarantee the exact age, the reliability is low. In particular, for animals in the juvenile stage, it is necessary to determine the day age or month age, and it is uncertain only by image determination using a learned model. When reporting to a local government or the like or transferring to others, confirmation by a veterinarian is required.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an animal age determination device, an age determination system, an age determination method, and an age determination program that can determine and prove the day age, month age, or age of an animal individual from an image of the animal individual provided by a user. [Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] An animal age determination device according to the present invention uses a learned model constructed with at least an image of an animal including the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data, and from an image of an animal individual to be determined including at least the face or teeth of the individual, an age determination unit that determines the day age, month age, or age of the individual, and an age certification unit that transmits the determination result in the age determination unit and the image of the individual used for the determination to a veterinarian and obtains approval for the determination result. When the determination result is disapproved, the age certification unit can request a change in the image of the animal individual to be determined. The animal age determination device of the present invention may further include a certificate issuance unit that issues a certificate proving the day age, month age, or year age of the animal individual to be determined based on the determination result approved by a veterinarian. The animal age determination device of the present invention may further include a breed determination unit that determines the breed of the animal individual to be determined. When the animal is a dog or a cat, in the age determination unit, it is possible to determine whether it corresponds to the juvenile period and / or whether it corresponds to the senior period. In that case, in the age determination unit, for example, it may be determined whether it exceeds 8 weeks old and / or whether it is 8 years old or older.

[0009] The animal age determination system according to the present invention includes the above-described age determination device. The animal age determination system of the present invention includes a user terminal connectable to the age determination device via a network. An image of the animal individual to be determined is transmitted from the user terminal to the age determination device, and a request for re-taking an approved age or determination image may be transmitted from the age determination device to the user terminal. The animal age determination system of the present invention includes a veterinarian terminal connectable to the age determination device via a network. The determination result in the age determination unit and the image of the animal individual used for the determination are transmitted from the age determination device to the veterinarian terminal, and whether to approve or not approve the determination result may be transmitted from the veterinarian terminal to the age determination device. The animal age determination system of the present invention may further include an insurance enrollment determination device that determines whether an animal can be enrolled in insurance. In that case, the determination result approved by a veterinarian is output from the age determination device to the insurance enrollment determination device, and the insurance enrollment determination device determines whether the animal individual to be determined can be enrolled in insurance based on the approved determination result.

[0010] The method for determining the age of an animal according to the present invention includes a step of determining the day age, month age, or age of an individual animal to be determined from an image including at least the face or teeth of the individual animal to be determined, using a learned model constructed with an image of an animal including at least the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data by a computer, and an age certification step of obtaining approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result in the age determination step and the image of the animal individual used for the determination.

[0011] The animal age determination program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute an age determination function of determining the day age, month age, or age of an individual animal to be determined from an image including at least the face or teeth of the individual animal to be determined, using a learned model constructed with an image of an animal including at least the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data, and an age certification function of obtaining approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result in the age determination function and the image of the animal individual used for the determination.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, since a veterinarian confirms and approves the determination result by the learned model, it is possible to more accurately determine and prove the day age, month age, or age of an individual animal provided by a user from an image of the individual animal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0015] (First Embodiment) First, an age determination device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the age determination device of this embodiment and its operation. As shown in FIG. 1, the age determination device 1 of this embodiment determines the age, month-old, or day-old of an animal (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "age equivalents") according to the request of the user 2, and an age determination unit 11 that determines the age equivalent of the animal from an image of the animal to be determined, and at least includes an age certification unit 12 that obtains approval from a veterinarian 3 for the determination result of the age determination unit 11. The age determination device 1 may further be provided with a certificate issuance unit 13 that issues a certificate proving the age equivalent of the animal to be determined.

[0016] [Animal to be determined] Examples of the animals whose age equivalents are determined by the age determination device 1 of this embodiment include pet animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, and ferrets, and livestock such as cows, pigs, sheep, and horses. However, the present invention is not limited to these, and can be applied to various animals raised by humans. Among these animals, in particular, dogs and cats, which are often seen as cases where the date of birth is unknown as protected animals, are suitable.

[0017] [User 2] The user 2 in the age determination device 1 of this embodiment is, for example, the owner of the animal individual to be determined, a living body seller (breeder, pet shop, etc.) who sells the individual to be determined, and an animal protection group that protects the animal individual to be determined.

[0018] [Age determination unit 11] The age determination unit 11 determines the age and the like of an input animal individual from an image of the animal individual to be determined, using a learned model constructed with an image of the animal and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data. Here, images of teacher data and images for determination use those that include at least a face or teeth. This is because the face of an animal, particularly the state of the jaw and teeth, changes greatly depending on the number of days, months, or years, making it easy to determine the age and the like of the animal.

[0019] However, since the growth pattern and number of teeth differ depending on the animal species, it is preferable that the images of teacher data and the images for determination have the teeth that can grow in each of the upper and lower jaws photographed for each animal species. Specifically, it is preferable that each part of the incisors, canines, premolars, or molars is clearly photographed. Note that the images for determination may be either still images or moving images.

[0020] Also, as the learned model, artificial intelligence (AI) is preferable. Artificial intelligence (AI) is software or a system that mimics the intellectual work performed by the human brain using a computer. Specifically, it refers to computer programs that understand the natural language used by humans, perform logical inferences, or learn from experience. The artificial intelligence may be either a general-purpose type or a specialized type, and may be any of a deep neural network, a convolutional neural network, etc., and publicly available software can be used.

[0021] The age and the like determined by the age determination unit 11 are not only specific numerical values of age, months, or days, but also, for example, when the animal individual to be determined is a dog or a cat, it may be determined which phase of the growth stage it corresponds to, such as "lactation period", "weaning period", "juvenile period", and "senior period". Depending on the species and breed of the animal, the phases of the growth stage may not be determined only by specific numerical values such as age, etc., and for the convenience of user 2 who manages pets, it may be more useful to indicate the growth stage. In particular, in the case of dogs and cats, transfer before 8 weeks of age is prohibited, and also, since the insurance premiums are different between the senior period of 8 years old and above and before that, it is useful for user 2 to determine whether it is over 8 weeks of age and / or whether it is 8 years old and above.

[0022] The "growth stage" mentioned here indicates the degree of growth and development of the animal, and is judged by the state of the animal obtained by appearance such as age, etc., or weight, etc., but is not limited to these and may be appropriately judged by user 2 and veterinarian 3. Also, the "lactation period" may be judged by age with a range such as "from 0 weeks to 4 weeks", or may be judged by the state obtained from appearance such as "the eyes are not open and the teeth have not grown", or may also be judged by weight such as "from 100 g to 200 g".

[0023] The "weaning period" is judged by "from 4 weeks to 8 weeks", "deciduous teeth have grown. The eyes can see and the ears can hear.", "weight from 400 g to 800 g", etc. The "juvenile period" is judged by "8 weeks of age or older after birth", "deciduous teeth are fully grown and permanent molars begin to grow", "weight from 800 g to 1000 g", etc. The "senior period" is judged by "8 years of age or older after birth", "teeth are missing. The coat condition is poor", "weight 5 kg or less", etc. Note that the judgment criteria for each of these growth stages are examples, and since the physical condition and weight vary depending on the species or breed of the animal, they are appropriately judged by user 2 and veterinarian 3.

[0024] [Age certification unit 12] The age verification unit 12 obtains the veterinarian 3's approval regarding the age, etc. of the animal individual determined by the age determination unit 11 based on the determination result in the age determination unit 11 and the image of the animal individual used for the determination. And, for example, when the veterinarian 3 approves the determination result, the age verification unit 12 notifies the user 2 of the approved age, etc., and when issuing a certificate, outputs the approved age, etc. and the information necessary for certificate issuance to the certificate issuance unit 13.

[0025] On the other hand, when the approval of the veterinarian 3 cannot be obtained, that is, when the determination result is disapproved, the age verification unit 12 can request the user 2 to change or retake the image of the animal individual to be determined.

[0026] [Certificate Issuance Unit 13] The certificate issuance unit 13 issues a certificate proving the day-old, month-old, or age of the animal individual to be determined based on the determination result approved by the veterinarian 3, and is provided as needed. The certificate issued here may be electronic data with an electronic certificate attached. In addition to the age and image of the animal individual to be determined, information for identifying the individual, such as the number of the microchip, may be described in the certificate issued by the certificate issuance unit 13.

[0027] [Operation] Next, a method for determining the age of an animal individual using the above-described age determination device, that is, an age determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the age determination method of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, in the age determination method of this embodiment, at least an age determination step S1 and an age verification step S2 are performed by the age determination device 1, and a certificate issuance step S3 is performed as needed.

[0028] [Age Determination Step S1] In the age determination step S1, using a learned model constructed with at least an image of an animal including the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data, from an image of the animal individual to be determined including at least the face or teeth of the individual, the day-old, month-old, or age of the individual is determined.

[0029] [Age determination step S2] In the age determination step S2, based on the determination result in the age judgment step S1 and the image of the animal individual used for the determination, approval from veterinarian 3 is obtained for the determination result. Specifically, the image of the animal individual used for the determination and the determination result are presented to veterinarian 3, and an answer as to whether to approve the determination result is requested. Then, when the determination result is approved by veterinarian 3, the approved age, etc. is output to user 2, and information necessary for the certificate issuance step S3 described later is provided as needed.

[0030] On the other hand, when the determination result is not approved, user 2 is requested to change or retake the image of the animal individual to be determined. When an image of the animal individual is re - input from user 2, the above - mentioned age judgment step S1 is performed using that image.

[0031] [Certificate issuance step S3] In the certificate issuance step S3, based on the determination result approved by veterinarian 3, a certificate proving the day - age, month - age, or age of the animal individual to be determined is issued and output to user 2. The certificate may be issued in writing, but it is preferably issued as electronic data. In that case, it may be sent by email or may also be issued for download.

[0032] [Program] Each operation of the age determination device 1 of the present embodiment is an animal age determination program that causes a computer to execute an age determination function for determining the day - age, month - age, or age of an animal individual from an image including at least the face or teeth of the animal individual to be determined, using a learned model constructed with at least an image of an animal including the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking that image as teacher data, and an age verification function for obtaining approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result in the age determination function and the image of the animal individual used for the determination.

[0033] As described in detail above, since the veterinarian checks and approves the determination result by the learned model, the age determination device of the present embodiment can more accurately determine and prove the day age, month age, or year age of the individual animal provided by the user from the image of the animal individual. Further, in the age determination device of the present embodiment, since the determination is performed using an image of an animal including at least the face or teeth, it is also possible to determine the day age of an animal in the infancy stage, and it can be used for purposes other than insurance contracts.

[0034] (Modification Example of the First Embodiment) Next, an age determination device according to a modification example of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the age determination device of this modification example. In FIG. 3, the same components as those of the age determination device 1 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, in the age determination device 10 of this modification example, in addition to the age determination unit 11 and the age certification unit 12, a breed determination unit 14 for determining the species and / or breed of the animal individual to be determined is provided.

[0035] [Breed Determination Unit 14] The breed determination unit 14 determines the breed of the animal individual to be determined from the image of the animal individual to be determined using a learned model constructed with at least an image of an animal including the face and the breed of the animal as teacher data. The determination result by this breed determination unit 14 is output to, for example, the age certification unit 12 and used for materials for approval by the veterinarian 3. Since animals, particularly dogs and cats, have different facial features and aging tendencies depending on the breed even if they are of the same species, by providing the breed determination unit 14 to determine the breed, the veterinarian can make a more accurate judgment when approving the age and the like in the age certification unit 12.

[0036] Here, the "breed" determined by the breed determination unit 14 is a unit of a biological population below the species of an organism. For example, in the case of dogs, it is also called a dog breed. Specifically, it includes Toy Poodle, Chihuahua, Miniature Dachshund, Shiba Inu, Kishu Inu, Shikoku Inu, Kai Ken, Hokkaido Dog, Akita Prefecture, Pomeranian, Yorkshire Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, French Bulldog, Papillon, Maltese, Labrador, Dalmatian, Chow Chow, etc. In the case of cats, it is also called a cat breed, and examples include Scottish Fold, American Shorthair, Norwegian Forest Cat, Russian Blue, British Shorthair, Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Persian, etc. In the case of rabbits, examples include Netherland Dwarf, Holland Lop, Lop Ear, Mini Rex, Dwarf Lop, American Fuzzy Lop, etc.

[0037] [Operation] In the age determination device 10 of this modification example, for the image of the animal individual to be determined provided by the user 2, the age determination unit 11 determines the age etc. of the individual using a learned model, and the breed determination unit 14 determines the breed of the individual using a learned model. Then, the determination results of the age determination unit 11 and the breed determination unit 14 are both output to the age certification unit 12 and used for approval by the veterinarian 3.

[0038] In the age determination device 10 of this modification example, the certificate issuance unit 13 may issue a certificate certifying the age etc. of the animal to be determined. Also, although FIG. 3 shows an example in which the age determination unit 11 and the breed determination unit 14 are provided separately, the present invention is not limited to this, and an age / breed determination unit that performs both age determination and breed determination may be provided. In that case, the age / breed determination unit can use a learned model constructed with the face image of the animal, the breed of the animal, and the age at the time of shooting as teacher data.

[0039] As described in detail above, the age determination device of this modification example includes a breed determination unit together with an age determination unit. When a veterinarian approves the determination result (such as the age of the animal to be determined) in the age determination unit, the determination result (the breed of the animal to be determined) in the breed determination unit can be referred to, so that a more accurate judgment can be made. The configuration of this modification example is particularly suitable for the determination of animals in a growth stage where it is difficult to determine their age and the like. The configurations and effects other than those described above in this modification example are the same as those of the first embodiment described above.

[0040] (Second Embodiment) Next, an age determination system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the age determination system of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the age determination system 20 of this embodiment has the age determination device 1 of the first embodiment described above or the age determination device 10 of the modification example of the first embodiment, and determines the age and the like of an animal individual from an image of the animal individual input or transmitted by a user.

[0041] In the age determination system 20 of this embodiment, the user terminal 21 and the veterinarian terminal 31 may be connectable to the age determination devices 1 and 10 via the Internet 30, and an insurance enrollment determination device 40 for determining whether an animal can be enrolled in insurance may be provided.

[0042] [User Terminal 21] The user terminal 21 is a terminal owned by users such as the owner of the animal individual to be determined, a living body seller who sells the animal individual to be determined, and an animal welfare organization that protects the animal individual to be determined. By connecting the age determination devices 1 and 10 to the user terminal 21, the user himself / herself can transmit or upload an image of the animal individual to be determined to the age determination devices 1 and 10, and can receive the recognized age and the like of the animal individual to be determined and its certificate from the age determination devices 1 and 10.

[0043] In addition, the age determination system 20 of the present embodiment can also send or notify the user terminal 21 from the age determination devices 1 and 10 of a request to change or retake the determination image. Here, as the user terminal 21, for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer, or the like can be used. In particular, by using a terminal having an imaging function as the user terminal 21, it becomes possible to capture a still image or a moving image of the animal individual to be determined and send or upload it to the age determination devices 1 and 10.

[0044] [Veterinarian terminal 31] The veterinarian terminal 31 is a terminal owned by a veterinarian in charge of approving the determination result in the age determination unit 11 of the age determination devices 1 and 10 or a terminal installed in an animal hospital to which the veterinarian belongs. For example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer, or the like can be used.

[0045] When the veterinarian approves the determination result, the age determination devices 1 and 10 send the determination result in the age determination unit 11 and the image of the animal individual used for the determination to the veterinarian terminal 31, or the veterinarian operates the veterinarian terminal 31 to connect to the age determination devices 1 and 10 to confirm the determination result in the age determination unit 11 and the image of the animal individual used for the determination. Then, the veterinarian operates the veterinarian terminal 31 to send to the age determination devices 1 and 10 whether to approve or not approve the determination result in the age determination unit 11.

[0046] [Insurance enrollment determination device 40] The insurance enrollment determination device 40 checks the content declared by the user and determines whether insurance enrollment is possible. It is connected to the age determination devices 1 and 10 via a network. The network here may be either the Internet or an intranet. In addition, the insurance enrollment determination device 40 may be connected to the user terminal 21 via the Internet.

[0047] In the age determination system 20 of this embodiment, the age and the like approved by the age determination devices 1 and 10 may be output to the insurance subscription determination device 40 and used when the insurance subscription determination device 40 determines whether insurance can be subscribed. Further, when the age determination system 20 of this embodiment includes the age determination device 10, in addition to the age and the like of the animal individual, the result of the breed determination is output from the age determination device 10 to the insurance subscription determination device 40, and it can also be used when the insurance subscription determination device 40 determines whether insurance can be subscribed.

[0048] As described in detail above, since the age determination system of this embodiment determines the age and the like using a learned model and the veterinarian approves the result, the day age, month age, or age of the animal individual can be determined and proven more accurately. Further, the age determination system of this embodiment can be suitably used for determining whether to subscribe to animal insurance and the like.

Explanation of Signs

[0049] 1, 10 Age determination device 2 User 3 Veterinarian 11 Age determination unit 12 Age certification unit 13 Certificate issuance unit 14 Breed determination unit 20 Age determination system 21 User terminal 30 Internet 31 Veterinarian terminal 40 Insurance subscription determination device

Claims

1. An age determination unit that determines the day age, month age, or year age of an individual of an animal to be determined from an image including at least the face or teeth of the individual of the animal to be determined, using a learned model constructed with an image of an animal including at least the face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data; An age certification unit that obtains approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result by the age determination unit and the image of the animal individual used for the determination; An animal age determination device having the above.

2. The age certification unit requests a change of the image of the animal individual to be determined when the determination result is disapproved. The age determination device according to claim 1.

3. Furthermore, it has a certificate issuance unit that issues a certificate proving the day age, month age, or year age of the animal individual to be determined based on the determination result approved by a veterinarian. The age determination device according to claim 1.

4. Furthermore, it has a breed determination unit that determines the species and / or breed of the animal individual to be determined. The age determination device according to claim 1.

5. The animal is a dog or a cat, In the age determination unit, it is determined whether it corresponds to the juvenile period and / or whether it corresponds to the senior period. The age determination device according to claim 1.

6. In the age determination unit, it is determined whether it exceeds 8 weeks old and / or whether it is 8 years old or older. The age determination device according to claim 5.

7. An animal age determination system having the age determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. It includes a user terminal connectable to the age determination device via a network, An image of the animal individual to be determined is transmitted from the user terminal to the age determination device, A request for reshooting the approved age or the image for determination is transmitted from the age determination device to the user terminal. The animal age determination system according to claim 7.

9. It includes a veterinarian terminal connectable to the age determination device via a network, The determination result by the age determination unit and the image of the animal individual used for the determination are transmitted from the age determination device to the veterinarian terminal, Whether to approve or disapprove the determination result is transmitted from the veterinarian terminal to the age determination device. The animal age determination system according to claim 7.

10. Furthermore, it has an insurance enrollment determination device that determines whether an animal can be enrolled in insurance, The determination result approved by a veterinarian is output from the age determination device to the insurance enrollment determination device. ​ ​ The age determination system according to claim 7, wherein the insurance enrollment determination device determines whether an animal individual to be determined is eligible for insurance enrollment based on the approved determination result.

11. By a computer, using a learned model constructed with an image of an animal including at least a face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data, determining the day age, month age or age of the individual from an image of the animal individual to be determined including at least a face or teeth; an age certification step of obtaining approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result in the age determination step and the image of the animal individual used for the determination; An animal age determination method for performing the above.

12. An age determination function for determining the day age, month age or age of an individual from an image of an animal individual to be determined including at least a face or teeth, using a learned model constructed with an image of an animal including at least a face or teeth and the age of the animal at the time of taking the image as teacher data; an age certification function for obtaining approval from a veterinarian for the determination result based on the determination result in the age determination function and the image of the animal individual used for the determination; An animal age determination program for causing a computer to execute the above.

Images