Authentication system and door control system

Abstract

To reduce the time required for user authentication processing to improve convenience.SOLUTION: An authentication system 1 for authenticating users comprises: a storage unit 21 which stores the acquired registered information including the user's face in advance; an imaging device 10 (acquisition unit) which continuously acquires authentication information for authenticating an authentication subject; a face detection unit 22 which detects face information from the authentication information; a face authentication unit 25 which inputs the face information detected by the face detection unit and authenticates whether the authentication subject is a user on the basis of whether the face information matches the registered information, a face position acquisition unit 23 which acquires face position information indicative of the position of the face information in the authentication information; and a bypass determination unit 24 which determines whether to bypass the detection of face information by the face detection unit 22 on the basis of the acquisition frequency of the face position information by the face position acquisition unit 23. If the detection of face information in the bypass determination unit 24 is bypassed, the authentication system inputs face information cut out from the authentication information on the basis of face position information into the face authentication unit 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an authentication system that authenticates a user based on authentication information acquired from a person to be authenticated, and a door control system that includes this authentication system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in authentication systems that authenticate registered users, an image of the user is registered in advance, an image of the person to be authenticated is captured, and a match between the two images is determined to authenticate whether the person to be authenticated is the user. Such authentication systems are applied to door control systems such as electric lock systems that control electric locks on doors and automatic door systems that control the opening and closing of doors, and are used to restrict access to common areas or private areas to registered users. Door control systems are used at entrances to commercial or public facilities such as hotels and office buildings, and at entrances or hallways of apartment buildings or private homes, to allow only registered users to access or exit the rooms.

[0003] For example, the information processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an imaging means, a face recognition means that performs face recognition on the captured images acquired by the imaging means, and a determination means that determines the range and frequency of captured images to be subject to face recognition by the face recognition means based on the history of face recognition results by the face recognition means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-170472 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional authentication systems, multiple frames of a person to be authenticated are captured in succession, the face image of the person to be authenticated is detected for each frame, and the detected face image is compared with the image of a registered user to determine whether they match. However, since it takes a relatively long time to perform face image detection processing on a large number of frames, the time required for user authentication processing is also relatively long. Therefore, in door control systems that use authentication systems, it takes a relatively long time to allow a user to enter or exit a common area or private area, which can reduce convenience.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an authentication system that shortens the time required for user authentication processing, thereby improving convenience, and a door control system equipped with this authentication system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system for authenticating a user, comprising: a memory unit that pre-stores acquired registration information including the face of the user; a photographing unit that continuously acquires authentication target information for authenticating the person to be authenticated; a face detection unit that detects facial information from the authentication target information; a face authentication unit that inputs the facial information detected by the face detection unit and authenticates whether the person to be authenticated is the user based on whether the facial information matches the registration information; a face position acquisition unit that acquires facial position information indicating the position of the facial information in the authentication target information; and a bypass determination unit that determines whether to bypass detection of the facial information by the face detection unit based on the acquisition frequency of the facial position information by the face position acquisition unit, and is characterized in that if detection of the facial information by the bypass determination unit is bypassed, the facial information cut out from the authentication target information based on the facial position information is input to the face authentication unit.

[0008] According to the authentication system of the present invention, when authenticating a user based on two or more frames of an image to be authenticated, if the face position information of the face image detected in one frame is confirmed, the face detection process can be omitted for the subsequent frames, thereby shortening the processing time required for image processing and shortening the time required for user authentication. Therefore, in a door control system to which the authentication system is applied, the time required to permit a user to enter or exit a common area or a private area can be shortened, thereby improving convenience. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time required for user authentication processing and improve convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a door control system to which an authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the door control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a face detection process of the door control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing another example of a door control system to which the authentication system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A door control system 2 to which an authentication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the door control system 2 according to this embodiment.

[0012] The door control system 2 permits registered users to enter or exit common areas or private areas at entrances and exits of commercial or public facilities such as hotels or office buildings, or at entrances or hallways of apartment buildings or ordinary homes. In this embodiment, the door control system 2 is applied to an electric lock system that locks and unlocks an electric lock device 12 of a door to control the door.

[0013] The door control system 2 employs an authentication system 1 that includes a photographing device 10 that photographs a person to be authenticated entering or exiting a common area or a private area, and an authentication device 11 that authenticates whether the person to be authenticated is a registered user. The door control system 2 also includes an electric locking device 12 that automatically and electrically locks and unlocks doors that restrict entry and exit to or from the common area or the private area, and a control device 13 that controls the locking and unlocking of the electric locking device 12.

[0014] The image capturing device 10 is an acquisition unit that continuously acquires authentication information for authenticating a person to be authenticated, and is configured, for example, with a camera such as a CCD, and acquires an image of the person to be authenticated as the authentication information. The image capturing device 10 is placed at the entrance of a commercial facility or public facility such as a hotel or office building, or at the entrance or hallway of an apartment building or private residence, so as to capture an image of the person to be authenticated entering or exiting a common area or private area. The image capturing device 10 is communicably connected to the authentication device 11, and transmits the image of the person to be authenticated, i.e., the authentication image, to the authentication device 11 as the authentication information.

[0015] The image capturing device 10 starts capturing images at a predetermined timing and acquires an image of the person to be authenticated in multiple frames that are consecutive in time. For example, the image capturing device 10 starts capturing images in response to the operation of a start button installed near the entrance to the private or common area, and stops capturing images after a predetermined time has passed. Alternatively, the image capturing device 10 starts capturing images when a distance sensor, infrared sensor, motion sensor, or the like installed near the entrance to the private or common area detects the approach of a person, and stops capturing images after a predetermined time has passed or when the person is no longer detected. The image capturing device 10 may stop capturing images when it receives an authentication signal indicating successful authentication from the authentication device 11. Alternatively, the image capturing device 10 installed in the common area may capture images continuously at all times.

[0016] The authentication device 11 is composed of an authentication server or the like, and authenticates whether the person to be authenticated is a registered user based on the authentication information acquired by the acquisition unit, for example, an image to be authenticated captured by the photographing device 10, and transmits an authentication signal indicating the authentication result to the control device 13. The authentication device 11 is connected to the photographing device 10 and the control device 13 wirelessly or via a wire so as to be able to communicate with them. Note that the authentication device 11 may be connected to the photographing device 10 and the control device 13 via the Internet, or may be connected without using the Internet.

[0017] The authentication device 11 includes a control unit 20 made up of a computer such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a storage unit 21 made up of a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk, a flash memory, or the like.

[0018] The memory unit 21 stores programs and data for controlling each unit and various functions of the authentication device 11, and the control unit 20 reads the programs and data stored in the memory unit 21 and executes the programs to control each unit and various functions. For example, the control unit 20 executes the programs stored in the memory unit 21 to function as a face detection unit 22, a face position acquisition unit 23, a bypass determination unit 24, and a face authentication unit 25. The face detection unit 22, the face position acquisition unit 23, the bypass determination unit 24, and the face authentication unit 25 process the image to be authenticated received from the image capture device 10.

[0019] Furthermore, the storage unit 21 pre-stores a registered image containing the face of a registered user as registration information acquired containing the face of the registered user registered in the authentication system 1 as identification information of the user who can lock and unlock the electric lock device 12. The storage unit 21 may store identification information for each of a plurality of registered users. Note that the storage unit 21 may store a user ID or a user name in association with the registered image as identification information of the registered user.

[0020] The face detection unit 22 detects facial information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication information, and for example, detects a facial image of the person to be authenticated as facial information from the image to be authenticated received from the image capture device 10. For example, the face detection unit 22 extracts feature points from the image to be authenticated received from the image capture device 10, and detects facial features from the feature points of the image to be authenticated using a machine learning model of facial features such as contours, eyes, nose, and mouth as facial reference data, thereby detecting a facial image. Note that the face detection unit 22 may calculate a matching rate (score) of the facial image with respect to the facial reference data, and determine that a facial image has been detected if the matching rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined matching rate threshold. Furthermore, the face detection unit 22 cuts out the detected facial image from the image to be authenticated and inputs it to the face authentication unit 25.

[0021] The face position acquisition unit 23 acquires face position information indicating the position of face information in the authentication target information, and for example, acquires face position information indicating the position of a face image in the authentication target image for a face image detected from the authentication target image by the face detection unit 22. The face position information is defined as a rectangular range of a predetermined size that includes the face image, and is indicated by, for example, coordinates, width, height, etc. in the authentication target image. Furthermore, the face position acquisition unit 23 calculates the acquisition frequency of a face in the face position information for multiple frames of the authentication target image.

[0022] Specifically, after acquiring face position information from one frame of the image to be authenticated, the face position acquisition unit 23 determines whether or not a face image detected from a subsequent frame by the face detection unit 22 is within the range of the face position information.The face position acquisition unit 23 then calculates the ratio of the number of frames in which the face image is within the range of the face position information out of a predetermined number of frames including the frame to be determined as the face acquisition frequency.Note that if a face image cannot be acquired from the image to be authenticated, the count of the number of determinations is reset.

[0023] In addition, the face position acquisition unit 23 may determine the movement of the person to be authenticated for each frame based on the detection results of a distance sensor, an infrared sensor, a human presence sensor, etc., and the processing results of a moving object detection process based on the image to be authenticated, and may determine the movement of the face position of the person to be authenticated, and may correct the face position information for each frame in accordance with the movement of the face position.

[0024] The bypass determination unit 24 determines whether or not to bypass the detection of face information (face image) by the face detection unit 22 based on the acquisition frequency of face position information calculated by the face position acquisition unit 23. Specifically, when the face acquisition frequency by the face position acquisition unit 23 up to the previous frame for the image to be authenticated received from the photographing device 10 is less than a predetermined frequency threshold, the bypass determination unit 24 inputs the current frame to the face detection unit 22, cuts out a face image, which is face information detected by the face detection unit 22, from the current frame, and inputs the cut-out face image to the face authentication unit 25.

[0025] On the other hand, if the face acquisition frequency by the face position acquisition unit 23 up to the previous frame for the image to be authenticated received from the photographing device 10 reaches a predetermined frequency threshold, the bypass determination unit 24 confirms the face position information acquired by the face position acquisition unit 23, bypasses the detection process of face information (face image) by the face detection unit 22 from the current frame onwards, cuts out face images as face information from the current frame onwards based on the face position information, and inputs the cut out face images to the face authentication unit 25.

[0026] The face authentication unit 25 determines whether or not the face information (face image) input from the face detection unit 22 or the bypass determination unit 24 matches the registration information (registered image) of the registered user stored in the storage unit 21, and determines whether or not the person to be authenticated can be authenticated as a registered user based on the determination result. The face authentication unit 25 transmits an authentication signal indicating success or failure of authentication to the control device 13 of the electric lock system as the authentication result of the person to be authenticated.

[0027] Specifically, the face authentication unit 25 determines whether authentication is successful or not based on the results of authenticating a predetermined number of frames out of the multiple frames of the image to be authenticated. For example, the face authentication unit 25 may determine that authentication is successful when, for the multiple frames of the image to be authenticated, there are a predetermined number of consecutive frames whose authentication match level is equal to or greater than a predetermined match level threshold, or when the cumulative value of the authentication match levels of the predetermined number of consecutive frames is equal to or greater than a predetermined match level threshold. Note that the predetermined authentication level in the face authentication unit 25 is set to be larger than the predetermined determination number in the face position acquisition unit 23.

[0028] The electric lock device 12 is configured with a locking / unlocking mechanism 30 consisting of, for example, a deadbolt (not shown) and an electric actuator (not shown) that moves the deadbolt, and a drive unit 31 such as a motor for driving the electric actuator. The deadbolt moves to protrude from the door edge and is fixed within the strike of the door frame, locking the door and making it impossible to open, and on the other hand, moves to remove from the strike and is retracted into the door, unlocking the door and making it possible to open it.

[0029] The electric locking device 12 is connected to the authentication device 11 and the control device 13 wirelessly or via a wired connection so that they can communicate with each other. The electric locking device 12 locks and unlocks the door by having the drive unit 31 drive the locking / unlocking mechanism 30 to move the deadbolt in response to a locking / unlocking signal received from the control device 13 based on the authentication result by the authentication device 11 as a door control signal for controlling the door. Note that, although an example in which the electric locking device 12 is configured separately from the control device 13 will be described in this embodiment, the electric locking device 12 may also be configured integrally with the control device 13.

[0030] The control device 13 controls the door by controlling the drive unit 31 of the electric lock device 12 to lock and unlock it. The control device 13 includes a control unit 40 consisting of a computer such as a CPU that controls the overall operation of the electric lock device 12, and a storage unit 41 consisting of a storage medium such as a ROM or RAM that stores information necessary for control by the control unit 40.

[0031] The memory unit 41 stores programs and data for controlling each part and various functions of the electric lock device 12, and the control unit 40 reads the programs and data stored in the memory unit 41 and executes the programs to control each part and various functions. For example, the control unit 40 functions as an electric lock control unit 42 (door control unit) by executing the programs stored in the memory unit 41.

[0032] If authentication is successful based on the authentication signal received from the authentication device 11, the electric lock control unit 42 transmits a locking / unlocking signal to the electric locking device 12 to lock or unlock the electric locking device 12. Specifically, if the electric locking device 12 is in a locked state, the electric lock control unit 42 transmits a locking / unlocking signal to the electric locking device 12 to unlock the electric locking device 12 based on the authentication signal of successful authentication. At this time, when a predetermined time has elapsed since transmitting the locking / unlocking signal to the electric locking device 12 to unlock the electric locking device 12, the electric lock control unit 42 transmits a locking / unlocking signal to the electric locking device 12 to lock the electric locking device 12. Furthermore, if the electric locking device 12 is in an unlocked state, the electric lock control unit 42 transmits a locking / unlocking signal to the electric locking device 12 to lock the electric locking device 12 based on the authentication signal of successful authentication.

[0033] Next, an example of the operation of the door control system 2 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0034] First, as shown in FIG. 2, in the door control system 2, when the photographing device 10 detects the approach of the person to be authenticated to the entrance / exit of the private area or the common area using a distance sensor, an infrared sensor, a human presence sensor, etc., it starts photographing the person to be authenticated (step S1) and transmits the photographed image of the person to be authenticated to the authentication device 11.

[0035] The authentication device 11 performs image processing on a plurality of frames captured as images to be authenticated in chronological order. When performing image processing on the current frame (step S2), the bypass determination unit 24 of the authentication device 11 determines whether or not there is face position information determined in the image processing of the previous frame (step S3).

[0036] If there is no confirmed face position information (step S3: No), the face detection unit 22 of the authentication device 11 performs face detection processing on the current frame (step S4). In the face detection processing, first, as shown in Fig. 3, the face detection unit 22 detects a face image by face detection processing on the current frame (step S11). In addition, the face position acquisition unit 23 determines whether face position information has been acquired from a previous frame (step S12).

[0037] If there is no previous face position information (step S12: No), the face position acquisition unit 23 acquires face position information indicating the face image of the current frame (step S13).If there is previous face position information (step S12: Yes), the face position acquisition unit 23 calculates the face acquisition frequency at which the face image is within the range of the face position information in the predetermined number of frames up to that point (step S14).

[0038] If the number of frames has not reached the predetermined determination number or the face acquisition frequency is less than the predetermined frequency threshold (step S15: No), the bypass determination unit 24 does not confirm the face position information and the face detection process ends. On the other hand, if the number of frames has reached the predetermined determination number and the face acquisition frequency has reached the predetermined frequency threshold (step S15: Yes), the bypass determination unit 24 confirms the face position information (step S16) and the face detection process ends.

[0039] When the face detection process is completed, the face detection unit 22 cuts out the detected face image from the image to be authenticated (step S5), and the face authentication unit 25 inputs the face image resulting from the face detection process of the face detection unit 22.

[0040] On the other hand, if there is confirmed face position information (step S3: Yes), the bypass determination unit 24 bypasses the face detection processing of the face detection unit 22 and cuts out a face image from the image to be authenticated based on the face position information (step S6), and the face authentication unit 25 inputs the face image cut out by the bypass determination unit 24.

[0041] The face authentication unit 25 determines whether the face image input from the face detection unit 22 or the bypass determination unit 24 matches the registered image of the registered user, and determines whether the person to be authenticated is authenticated based on the determination result (step S7).

[0042] If the authentication result in the face authentication unit 25 is successful (step S8: Yes), the control device 13 controls the electric lock device 12 to lock or unlock (step S9) and ends the operation. If the authentication result in the face authentication unit 25 is unsuccessful (step S8: No), and there is a next frame (step S10: Yes), the control device 13 proceeds to image processing of the next frame. If there is no next frame (step S10: No), the operation ends.

[0043] As described above, the authentication system 1 provided in the door control system 2 of this embodiment is an authentication system 1 that authenticates a user, and includes a memory unit 21 that pre-stores acquired registration information (registration image) including the user's face, an acquisition unit that continuously acquires authentication information for authenticating the person to be authenticated and captures two or more frames of authentication image, a face detection unit 22 that detects facial information (facial image) from the authentication information (authentication image), a face authentication unit 25 that inputs the facial information (facial image) detected by the face detection unit 22 and authenticates whether the person to be authenticated is the user based on whether the facial information matches the registration information, a face position acquisition unit 23 that acquires facial position information indicating the position of the facial information in the authentication information, and a bypass determination unit 24 that determines whether or not to bypass detection of facial information by the face detection unit 22 based on the acquisition frequency of facial position information by the face position acquisition unit 23. When detection of facial information by the bypass determination unit 24 is bypassed, facial information cut out from the authentication information based on the facial position information is input to the face authentication unit 25.

[0044] With this configuration, in the authentication system 1, when authenticating a user based on continuous authentication information (two or more frames of authentication image), if the face position information of the face information (face image) detected in one frame is confirmed, face detection processing can be omitted in subsequent frames, thereby shortening the processing time required for processing the authentication information such as image processing, and shortening the time required for user authentication processing. Therefore, in the door control system 2 to which the authentication system 1 is applied, the time required to permit a user to enter or exit a common area or private area can be shortened, improving convenience.

[0045] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the door control system 2 employing the authentication system 1 of the present invention is applied to an electric lock system that locks and unlocks the electric lock device 12 of a door by authenticating identification information, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In another example, the door control system 100 employing the authentication system 1 of the present invention can also be applied to an automatic door system that controls the opening and closing of a door (automatic door) installed at an entrance or the like. Below, another example of the door control system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 4, but a description of the same configuration and functions as those of the door control system 2 of the above embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be omitted.

[0046] 4, another example of a door control system 100 includes, for example, an authentication system 1 including an image capturing device 10 and an authentication device 11, a door opening / closing device 101, and a control device 102. In the other example of the control device 102, a control unit 103 executes a program stored in a storage unit 104, thereby functioning as a door opening / closing control unit 105 (door control unit).

[0047] The door opening and closing device 101 is a mechanism that is controlled by the control device 102 (door opening and closing control unit 105) and automatically opens and closes an automatic door electrically. The automatic door may be configured as either a sliding door or a swing door. In the case of a swing door, an obstacle sensor (not shown) is provided to detect obstacles to the opening and closing of the automatic door, and the door opening and closing device 101 opens and closes the automatic door when there is no obstacle.

[0048] The door opening / closing control unit 105 of this example is configured in a substantially similar manner to the electric lock control unit 42 of the above embodiment, which controls the locking and unlocking of the door (electric lock device 12), except that it controls the opening and closing of the door (door opening / closing device 101).

[0049] The door opening / closing control unit 105 controls the door opening / closing device 101 in accordance with the authentication result by the authentication device 11, and, for example, if the authentication is successful, transmits a control signal to the door opening / closing device 101 to open the door opening / closing device 101. Furthermore, the door opening / closing control unit 105 transmits a control signal to the door opening / closing device 101 to close the door opening / closing device 101 when a predetermined time has elapsed since transmitting the control signal to open the door to the door opening / closing device 101 (opening the door).

[0050] The door control systems 2, 100 equipped with the authentication system 1 of the present invention can be applied not only to entrances and exits of commercial or public facilities such as hotels and office buildings, or entrances and hallways of apartment buildings or ordinary homes, but also to various other buildings such as hospitals, recreational facilities, stores, shopping centers, schools, etc. Furthermore, the authentication system 1 of the present invention can be applied not only to the door control systems 2, 100 but also to various other systems that perform user authentication.

[0051] Furthermore, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope that does not contradict the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and authentication systems and door control systems that involve such modifications are also included in the technical concept of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1. Authentication System 2. 100 door control system 10. Imaging device (acquisition unit) 11 Authentication Device 12 Electric locking device 13 Control device 20 Control Unit 21 Memory section 22 Face detection unit 23 Face position acquisition unit 24 Bypass decision unit 25 Face Recognition Unit 30 Locking / unlocking mechanism 31 Drive unit 40 Control Unit 41 Storage section 42 Electric lock control unit (door control unit) 101 Door opening and closing device 102 Control device 103 Control Unit 104 Storage section 105 Door opening / closing control unit (door control unit)

Claims

1. 1. An authentication system for authenticating a user, comprising: a storage unit that stores in advance the acquired registration information including the user's face; an acquisition unit that continuously acquires authentication subject information for authenticating an authentication subject; a face detection unit that detects face information from the authentication target information; a face authentication unit that receives the face information detected by the face detection unit and authenticates whether the person to be authenticated is the user based on whether the face information matches the registered information; a face position acquisition unit that acquires face position information indicating a position of the face information in the authentication target information; a bypass determination unit that determines whether or not to bypass detection of the face information by the face detection unit based on an acquisition frequency of the face position information by the face position acquisition unit, An authentication system characterized in that, when the detection of the face information in the bypass determination unit is bypassed, the face information extracted from the information to be authenticated based on the face position information is input to the face authentication unit.

2. the registration information is a registration image captured including the face of the user, the authentication information is an image of the person to be authenticated, 2. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein the face information is a face image of the person to be authenticated.

3. An authentication system according to claim 1 or 2; a door control unit that controls the door based on the authentication result of the authentication system; A door control system comprising:

Images