Server device, system, control method and program for server device

Abstract

This invention provides a server device that facilitates the investigation of the causes of false authentications that occur in biometric authentication. [Solution] The server device comprises a storage means, an authentication means, and a notification means. The storage means stores, for each of the multiple individuals to be authenticated, biometric information and information about the similar person group to which the individual belongs, from among at least one similar person group whose members have similar physical characteristics. The authentication means receives the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal and performs a matching process using the biometric information. By performing the matching process, the authentication means identifies the person to be authenticated from among the multiple individuals to be authenticated and authenticates the identified person. If the authentication result of the identified person to be authenticated is an authentication failure, the notification means notifies a predetermined person of the information of the person to whom authentication failed and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to whom authentication failed belongs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a server device, a system, a control method for a server device, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There are technologies related to improving the accuracy of biometric authentication.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes that even when there are similar face patterns in a dictionary for face verification, a certain verification performance and security level can be maintained. The face image verification device of Patent Document 1 groups similar face patterns as a similar group when a plurality of similar face patterns are registered in the dictionary. The face image verification device determines the admissibility of verification by a special process different from the normal verification process for the face patterns belonging to the similar group.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In biometric authentication using face images or the like as described in Patent Document 1, false authentication occurs with a predetermined probability. For example, false authentication may occur depending on the environment (for example, time zones such as daytime or nighttime) when acquiring biometric information used for authentication. When false authentication occurs, the server responsible for biometric authentication cannot identify the cause. When false authentication occurs, the system administrator or the like has to conduct an investigation to find the cause. At that time, if no clue is given to the system administrator, it is difficult to investigate the cause of false authentication.

[0006] The primary objective of this invention is to provide a server device, a system, a control method for the server device, and a program that contribute to facilitating the investigation of the causes of false authentications that occur in biometric authentication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a server device is provided that includes: a storage means for storing biometric information and information about the similar person group to which each of a plurality of authentication targets belongs, from among at least one similar person group whose members are similar in physical characteristics; an authentication means for receiving biometric information of a person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal, performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the plurality of stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the plurality of authentication targets, and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated; and a notification means for notifying a predetermined person of the information of the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication belongs, if the authentication result of the identified person to be authenticated fails.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention provides a system comprising: an authentication terminal and a server device, the server device storing, for each of a plurality of persons to be authenticated, biometric information and information of the similar person group to which it belongs, from among at least one similar person group whose members are persons with similar physical characteristics; authentication means for receiving biometric information of a person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal, performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the plurality of stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the plurality of persons to be authenticated, and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated; and notification means for notifying a predetermined person of the information of the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication and information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication belongs, if the authentication result of the identified person to be authenticated is an authentication failure.

[0009] A third aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a server device, comprising: a storage step of storing biometric information and information about the similar person group to which each of a plurality of authentication targets belongs, from among at least one similar person group whose members are similar in physical characteristics; an authentication step of receiving biometric information of a person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal, performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the plurality of stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the plurality of authentication targets, and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated; and a notification step of notifying a predetermined person of the information of the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to be authenticated that was determined to have failed authentication belongs, if the authentication result of the identified person to be authenticated is an authentication failure.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a program is provided for a computer mounted on a server device to perform the following: a storage process, which stores for each of a plurality of persons to be authenticated biometric information and information about the similar person group to which the person belongs, from among at least one similar person group whose members are similar in physical characteristics; an authentication process, which receives biometric information of a person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal, performs a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the plurality of stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the plurality of persons to be authenticated, and authenticates the identified person to be authenticated; and a notification process, which, if the authentication result of the identified person to be authenticated is an authentication failure, notifies a predetermined person of the information of the person to be authenticated that was determined to be an authentication failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to be authenticated that was determined to be an authentication failure belongs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to each aspect of the present invention, a server device, a system, a control method for the server device, and a program are provided that contribute to facilitating the investigation of the causes of false authentication that occur in biometric authentication. However, the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described above. The present invention may produce other effects in lieu of or in conjunction with the effects described above. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the outline of one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation overview of one embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an information processing system according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an information processing system according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of the display on a terminal used by a person in charge according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of the processing configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of an employee management database according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 9] Figures 9A and 9B show an example of a similar database according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the employee management department according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the authentication unit according to the present disclosure. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the authentication failure notification unit according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an example of the processing configuration of an authentication terminal according to an embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of an information processing system according to the embodiment of this disclosure. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server device related to this disclosure.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] First, an overview of an embodiment will be described. The drawing reference numerals appended to this overview are for convenience and are appended to each element as an example to assist understanding, and the description of this overview is not intended to be limiting in any way. Also, unless otherwise specified, the blocks shown in each drawing represent a configuration of functional units, not hardware units. The connection lines between blocks in each figure include both bidirectional and unidirectional ones. The one-way arrow schematically shows the flow of the main signal (data) and does not exclude bidirectionality. In this specification and the drawings, elements that can be similarly described may be denoted by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant description.

[0014] The server device 100 according to an embodiment includes a storage unit 101, an authentication unit 102, and a notification unit 103 (see FIG. 1). The storage unit 101 stores, for each of a plurality of authentication target persons, biometric information and information on a similarity group to which the authentication target person belongs among at least one or more similarity groups having members whose physical characteristics are similar to each other (step S1 in FIG. 2). The authentication unit 102 receives the biometric information of the authenticated person from the authentication terminal and performs a collation process using the received biometric information of the authenticated person and the plurality of stored biometric informations (step S2). The authentication unit 102 identifies the authenticated person from among the plurality of authentication target persons by performing the collation process and authenticates the identified authenticated person (step S3). When the authentication result of the identified authenticated person is authentication failure, the notification unit 103 notifies a predetermined person of the information of the authenticated person determined to be authentication failure and the information of each member of the similarity group to which the authenticated person determined to be authentication failure belongs (notification of information regarding authentication failure; step S4).

[0015] When the server device 100 fails to authenticate an authentication target, it notifies a predetermined person (e.g., a personnel officer) of information about the authentication failure person (e.g., a phone number, etc.) and information about a person similar to the authentication failure person who has similar physical characteristics. The person who receives the information notification can contact the authentication failure person or the similar person and check the status of the authentication failure person or the similar person to investigate the cause of the misauthentication. That is, the server device 100 facilitates the investigation of the cause of misauthentication that occurs in biometric authentication.

[0016] Specific embodiments will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] [First Embodiment] The first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0018] [System Configuration] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of an information processing system (authentication system) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing system includes a server device 10 and a plurality of authentication terminals 20.

[0019] The server device 10 is a device that authenticates an authentication target. In the first embodiment, the case where an employee working for a company is an authentication target (registrant) will be described. More specifically, in the first embodiment, the case where the server device 10 manages the attendance and departure of employees will be taken as an example to describe the configuration, operation, etc. of the information processing system.

[0020] The server device 10 may be installed inside a company building or may be installed on a network (in the cloud).

[0021] The authentication terminal 20 is a device that serves as an interface when authenticating an authentication target. The authentication terminal 20 is installed at the entrance of an office. As shown in FIG. 3, in the first embodiment, a gate-type authentication terminal 20 will be taken as an example for description.

[0022] However, the authentication terminal 20 is not limited to gate-type terminals; it may also be a tablet-type or signage-type terminal. Alternatively, the authentication terminal 20 may be a kiosk terminal. The authentication terminal 20 can be any device equipped with a camera. It is sufficient that a terminal or device suitable for the office environment is installed as the authentication terminal 20.

[0023] Employees operate terminal 30 to input information into server device 10 or to retrieve information from server device 10. System administrators and HR personnel of the company also operate their respective terminals 31 to input information into server device 10 or to retrieve information from server device 10.

[0024] The devices shown in Figure 3 are interconnected. Specifically, the server device 10 and the authentication terminal 20 are connected by wired or wireless communication means and are configured to communicate with each other.

[0025] Figure 3 is illustrative and is not intended to limit the configuration of the information processing system disclosed in this application. For example, the information processing system may include multiple server devices 10. Load balancing and redundancy may be achieved by the multiple server devices 10.

[0026] [General operation] Next, we will describe the general operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0027] <Employee Registration> Employees working for a company are required to register (register as a user) to gain entry to the office using biometric authentication.

[0028] The employee uses terminal 30 to access the employee registration page provided by server device 10. The employee then registers on the employee registration page.

[0029] Employees enter their name, gender, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address, employee number, department, job title, biometric information, etc., into the server device 10.

[0030] Examples of biometric information include data (feature quantities) calculated from individual physical characteristics such as face, fingerprints, voiceprints, veins, retina, and iris patterns. Alternatively, the user's biometric information may be image data such as a face image or fingerprint image. The user's biometric information only needs to include information about the user's physical characteristics. In the first embodiment, the biometric information is a person's face image or feature quantities generated from a face image.

[0031] Upon acquiring employee information, the server device 10 generates an employee ID to identify that employee. The server device 10 stores the generated employee ID and the acquired employee information in the employee management database. Details of the employee management database will be described later.

[0032] <Attendance Management> Employees enter the office by passing through the authentication terminal 20. Employees move towards the authentication terminal 20. When the authentication terminal 20 detects the person to be authenticated, it acquires the person's biometric information (e.g., facial image). The authentication terminal 20 sends an "authentication request" containing the acquired biometric information to the server device 10 (see Figure 4).

[0033] Server device 10 performs biometric authentication using the biometric information included in the authentication request and the biometric information stored in the employee management database. Server device 10 identifies the person to be authenticated (the person attempting to come to work) through a matching process (authentication process) using the biometric information. Server device 10 authenticates the identified person to be authenticated.

[0034] For example, if the person being authenticated has the authority to enter the office and is not yet at work, the server device 10 determines that authentication is successful. If the person being authenticated does not have the authority to enter the office, or is already at work, the server device 10 determines that authentication is unsuccessful.

[0035] The server device 10 notifies the authentication terminal 20 of the authentication result (authentication successful, authentication failed). The server device 10 also updates the status of the authenticated person, who was determined to have successfully authenticated, to "on duty".

[0036] The authentication terminal 20 performs processing according to the authentication result. For example, if authentication success is notified, the authentication terminal 20 opens the gate and allows the authenticated person to pass through the gate. If authentication failure is notified, the authentication terminal 20 closes the gate and refuses the authenticated person to pass through the gate.

[0037] In this way, the server device 10 uses the employee management database as the authentication database to authenticate the person to be authenticated.

[0038] <Similar individuals database> Here, the server device 10 groups each person to be authenticated according to the degree of similarity of their physical characteristics corresponding to the acquired biometric information. For example, when the server device 10 acquires a facial image, it groups the people to be authenticated based on the degree of facial similarity. In the following description, a group whose members have similar physical characteristics will be referred to as a similar person group. The server device 10 also manages each similar person group using at least one similar person database.

[0039] For example, if employees A, B, and C have similar faces, then the information of employees A through C (e.g., employee ID and biometric information) will be stored in the same similar person database.

[0040] For example, when registering an employee, the server device 10 stores the employee's information in one of the similar person databases. For instance, the server device 10 has three similar person databases A to C, and if employee A's face resembles the face of at least one other employee stored in similar person database A, then employee A's information (e.g., employee ID and biometric information) is stored in similar person database A.

[0041] Furthermore, the server device 10 stores information about the similar database to which each employee belongs (for example, the ID of the similar database) in the employee management database.

[0042] <Utilizing Similarity Databases> As described above, the server device 10 manages employees' attendance and departure times using biometric authentication. Here, even if the authenticated person identified through the matching process using biometric information is qualified to enter the office, if the authenticated person's status is "on duty," the server device 10 determines that the authentication of the authenticated person has failed.

[0043] If authentication of the person to be authenticated fails, the server device 10 notifies the HR personnel of this fact. In particular, if the authentication failure is determined to be due to the employee identified by the matching process already being recorded as being at work, the server device 10 notifies the HR personnel of this fact.

[0044] Specifically, the server device 10 notifies the HR personnel of information about the person who failed to authenticate (the person who failed to authenticate) and their similar persons (each member of the similar person group to which the person who failed to authenticate belongs). For example, if employee A is determined to have failed to authenticate, and employee A is registered in the similar person database A, the server device 10 notifies the HR personnel of information about employee A and each employee stored in the similar person database A (for example, name, department, contact information, status).

[0045] For example, the server device 10 sends an "authentication failure notification" containing information about the person who failed authentication and information about similar individuals to the person used by the HR staff member 31 (see Figure 5).

[0046] The employee terminal 31 uses the received information to provide information to personnel personnel, etc. For example, the employee terminal 31 displays a screen like the one shown in Figure 6.

[0047] The HR representative investigates the reason for the authentication failure of the person whose authentication failed, based on the information displayed on the employee terminal 31. For example, in the above example, the HR representative investigates who employee A was mistakenly identified as and therefore failed to authenticate. For example, the HR representative uses the phone number displayed on the employee terminal 31 to interview each employee to find out what happened.

[0048] For example, an interview with an HR representative reveals that employee B is at work and employee C is not yet at work. If employee B is actually at work but the system records them as not yet at work, the HR representative will conclude that there may have been a misauthentication between employee A and employee B. In this case, the server device 10 mistakenly identifies employee A and employee B, treating employee B as not yet at work despite being present, and employee A as already at work, which is considered a failure of authentication for employee A.

[0049] The HR representative accesses server device 10 and corrects the incorrect authentication result. In the example above, the HR representative corrects employee A's status to "Before work" and employee B's status to "At work". After the authentication result is corrected, if employee A attempts authentication again, the authentication for employee A will be successful.

[0050] Next, we will describe the details of each device included in the information processing system according to the first embodiment.

[0051] [Server equipment] Figure 7 shows an example of the processing configuration (processing module) of the server device 10 according to the embodiment disclosed herein. Referring to Figure 7, the server device 10 comprises a communication control unit 201, an employee management unit 202, an authentication unit 203, an authentication failure notification unit 204, and a storage unit 205.

[0052] The communication control unit 201 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 201 receives data (packets) from the authentication terminal 20. The communication control unit 201 also transmits data to the authentication terminal 20. The communication control unit 201 passes the data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 201 transmits the data obtained from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules send and receive data with other devices via the communication control unit 201. The communication control unit 201 has the function of a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and the function of a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0053] The Employee Management Department 202 is a means of controlling and managing employees.

[0054] For example, when the employee management department 202 obtains the biometric information of a person to be authenticated, it determines from at least one similar person group that the person to whom the biometric information was obtained belongs.

[0055] When an employee operates terminal 30 and accesses the employee registration page, the employee management department 202 retrieves information about the employee from that page.

[0056] Specifically, the Employee Management Department 202 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) etc. on terminal 30 to obtain name, gender, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address, employee number, department, job title, biometric information (e.g., facial image), etc. In this way, the Employee Management Department 202 obtains attribute information (e.g., name, department, telephone number, etc.) and biometric information of the person being authenticated.

[0057] Furthermore, when the Employee Management Unit 202 acquires a face image, it generates feature vectors from that image. Since existing technologies can be used for the feature vector generation process by the Employee Management Unit 202, a detailed explanation is omitted. For example, the Employee Management Unit 202 extracts features such as the eyes, nose, and mouth from the face image. Then, the Employee Management Unit 202 calculates the position of each feature point and the distance between each feature point as feature vectors (generating a feature vector consisting of multiple feature vectors).

[0058] Once the features are generated, the employee management unit 202 generates an employee ID to identify the employee. The employee ID can be any information that uniquely identifies the employee. For example, the employee management unit 202 may assign a unique value each time it acquires employee information and use that as the employee ID. Alternatively, the employee management unit 202 may use the employee number as the employee ID.

[0059] When an employee ID is generated, the employee management unit 202 adds a new entry to the employee management database and creates an account. The employee management unit 202 stores the employee ID, name, biometric information (features), etc., in the newly added entry (see Figure 8).

[0060] The employee management database shown in Figure 8 is an example and is not intended to limit the items that can be stored. For example, "facial images" may be registered as biometric information in the employee management database.

[0061] As shown in Figure 8, the employee management database stores the status of each authenticated individual. This status indicates the authentication information status of each authenticated individual. For example, when an employee successfully authenticates to enter the office, that employee's status is set to "At Work".

[0062] When the employee management department 202 stores employee information in the employee management database, it registers that employee in at least one similar employee database (see Figures 9A and 9B).

[0063] Figure 9A shows an example of a similar database with a similar database ID (DBID) of "D01". Figure 9B shows an example of a similar database with a similar database ID (DBID) of "D02".

[0064] As shown in Figures 9A and 9B, each similar person database stores employee IDs and biometric information (e.g., features). Note that the similar person databases shown in Figures 9A and 9B are illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the items to be stored. For example, a "facial image" could be registered as biometric information in the similar person database.

[0065] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the employee management unit 202 according to the embodiment disclosed herein. Referring to Figure 10, the operation of the employee management unit 202 when registering an employee (employee information; employee ID and biometric information) in the similar person database will be explained.

[0066] The employee management department 202 selects one similar database from at least one similar database (step S101).

[0067] The employee management unit 202 calculates multiple similarity scores between the biometric information of the person to be registered in the similar person database and each of the multiple biometric information stored in the selected similar person database (step S102). For example, if five employees are registered in the selected similar person database, the employee management unit 202 obtains five similarity scores from the biometric information of the person to be registered and from each of the five biometric information stored in the similar person database.

[0068] The employee management department 202 calculates a "representative similarity" from the multiple similarity values ​​obtained (step S103). Specifically, the employee management department 202 calculates the representative similarity as the average value of the multiple similarity values ​​obtained.

[0069] The employee management department 202 repeats the above process to calculate the representative similarity score for each similar company database. For example, if the server device 10 has 10 similar company databases, the employee management department 202 calculates the representative similarity score for 10 databases.

[0070] The Employee Management Department 202 determines whether the highest representative similarity value (hereinafter referred to as the maximum representative similarity) is above a predetermined threshold. Specifically, the Employee Management Department 202 performs thresholding on the maximum representative similarity to determine whether the maximum representative similarity is above a predetermined threshold.

[0071] If the maximum representative similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold (Step S104, Yes branch), the employee management unit 202 stores the information of the person to be registered (employee ID, biometric information) in the similar person database corresponding to the maximum representative similarity (Step S105).

[0072] Furthermore, the Employee Management Department 202 sets the Similar Persons Database ID of the Similar Persons Database where the information was registered into the Similar Persons Database field of the Employee Management Database. The Employee Management Department 202 stores the Similar Persons Database ID in the entry for the person to be registered (the entry in the Employee Management Database).

[0073] If the maximum representative similarity is less than the threshold (step S104, No branch), the employee management unit 202 generates a new similar person database (step S106). The employee management unit 202 assigns a new similar person database ID and stores the information of the person to be registered (employee ID, biometric information) in the generated similar person database (step S107).

[0074] Furthermore, Employee Management Department 202 sets the Similar Persons Database ID of the Similar Persons Database where the information was registered into the Similar Persons DB field of the Employee Management Database.

[0075] In this way, when the Employee Management Department 202 obtains the biometric information of an employee to be authenticated (an employee who registers with the system), it selects one similar person group from at least one similar person group (similar person database). The Employee Management Department 202 calculates multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar person group and the acquired biometric information, and repeatedly calculates the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of that similar person group. By repeating the calculation of representative similarity, the Employee Management Department 202 calculates a representative similarity for at least one similar person group. Based on the representative similarity of at least one similar person group, the Employee Management Department 202 determines the similar person group to which the authenticated employee whose biometric information was obtained belongs.

[0076] Furthermore, the Employee Management Department 202 provides an interface for HR personnel to correct the results of incorrect authentication. For example, the Employee Management Department 202 obtains information identifying the employee to be corrected (e.g., the employee's name and employee number) and the employee's status after the correction from a designated website. The Employee Management Department 202 modifies the entry in the employee management database according to the information entered by the HR personnel.

[0077] The authentication unit 203 is a means for authenticating the person to be authenticated. The authentication unit 203 processes the authentication request received from the authentication terminal 20.

[0078] The authentication unit 203 receives the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal 20 and performs a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and multiple biometric information stored in the employee management database. By performing the matching process, the authentication unit 203 identifies the person to be authenticated from among multiple people to be authenticated and authenticates the identified person to be authenticated.

[0079] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the authentication unit 203 according to the embodiment disclosed herein. The operation of the authentication unit 203 will be described with reference to Figure 11.

[0080] Upon receiving an authentication request, the authentication unit 203 performs a matching process using the biometric information contained in the authentication request and the biometric information stored in the employee management database (step S201).

[0081] The authentication unit 203 generates feature quantities from the facial image included in the authentication request.

[0082] The authentication unit 203 performs a matching process using the generated features and multiple features stored in the employee management database. Specifically, the authentication unit 203 sets the generated features on the matching side and the multiple features registered in the employee management database on the registration side, and performs a one-to-many matching (where N is a positive integer, and the same applies hereafter).

[0083] More specifically, the authentication unit 203 calculates the similarity between the feature quantities to be matched and each of the multiple feature quantities on the registration side. This similarity can be calculated using methods such as the chi-squared distance or the Euclidean distance. Note that the greater the distance, the lower the similarity, and the closer the distance, the higher the similarity.

[0084] The authentication unit 203 determines that the matching process has failed if, among the multiple features registered in the employee management database, there is no feature whose similarity to the feature to be matched is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0085] The authentication unit 203 determines that the matching process is successful if, among the multiple features registered in the employee management database, there is a feature whose similarity to the feature to be matched is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the matching process is successful, the employee corresponding to the entry with the feature that has the highest similarity is identified as the person to be authenticated.

[0086] If the matching process fails (step S202, No branch), the authentication unit 203 sets the authentication result to authentication failure (step S203).

[0087] If the matching process is successful (step S202, Yes branch), the authentication unit 203 determines whether the person identified by the matching process is qualified to enter the office (determine whether entry is permitted; step S204).

[0088] For example, the authentication unit 203 determines whether or not the person to be authenticated is eligible for entry based on the department and position of the person identified through the matching process.

[0089] Alternatively, the authentication unit 203 may determine that if the biometric information is registered in the employee management database, the authenticated person (employee) identified through the matching process is qualified to enter the office.

[0090] If the person being authenticated is not qualified to enter the office (step S205, No branch), the authentication unit 203 sets the authentication result to authentication failure (step S203).

[0091] If the person to be authenticated is qualified to enter the office (step S205, Yes branch), the authentication unit 203 determines whether there is any inconsistency in the status of the person to be authenticated identified by the matching process (status determination; step S206).

[0092] Specifically, if the authenticated person's status is "currently at work," the authentication unit 203 determines that there is a contradiction in the status. If the authenticated person's status is "before going to work," the authentication unit 203 determines that there is no contradiction in the status.

[0093] If there is a discrepancy in the status (step S207, No branch), the authentication unit 203 sets the authentication result to authentication failure (step S203). In this case, the authentication unit 203 also notifies the authentication failure notification unit 204 of the employee ID of the person whose authentication failed (the person whose authentication was determined to be unsuccessful as a result of the judgment process in step S206).

[0094] If there is no inconsistency in the status (step S207, Yes branch), the authentication unit 203 sets the authentication result to authentication successful (step S208).

[0095] Furthermore, the authentication unit 203 updates the status of the authenticated person (employee) identified through the matching process to "on duty". In other words, when the authentication unit 203 successfully authenticates the authenticated person identified through the matching process, it changes the status indicating the authentication status of the identified authenticated person.

[0096] The authentication unit 203 transmits the authentication result (authentication successful, authentication failed) to the authentication terminal 20 (step S209). If authentication is successful, the authentication unit 203 transmits an affirmative response to the authentication terminal 20. If authentication fails, the authentication unit 203 transmits a negative response to the authentication terminal 20.

[0097] Note that the threshold used for thresholding the maximum representative similarity is lower than the threshold used for matching. For example, if the threshold for matching to be considered successful when the similarity is calculated in the range of 0 to 1 is "0.8", then the threshold applied to the maximum representative similarity would be set to, for example, "0.6". As a result, the similar person group would include members who might be judged as "different people" in the matching process, but who have extremely similar physical characteristics.

[0098] The authentication failure notification unit 204 is a means of notifying a designated person (for example, a human resources officer) that the authentication of the person to be authenticated has failed.

[0099] If the authentication result of the person to be authenticated, identified through the matching process, is an authentication failure, the authentication failure notification unit 204 notifies a designated person (for example, a human resources officer) of the information of the person to be authenticated that was determined to be an authentication failure, and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person to be authenticated that was determined to be an authentication failure belongs.

[0100] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the authentication failure notification unit 204 according to the embodiment disclosed herein. The operation of the authentication failure notification unit 204 will be explained with reference to Figure 12.

[0101] When the authentication unit 203 obtains the employee ID, the authentication failure notification unit 204 obtains information about the person whose authentication failed (step S301).

[0102] Specifically, the authentication failure notification unit 204 searches the employee management database using the acquired employee ID as a key and identifies the corresponding entry. The authentication failure notification unit 204 then retrieves all or part of the information set in the identified entry. For example, the authentication failure notification unit 204 retrieves the name, department, telephone number, and status as information about the person whose authentication failed.

[0103] Next, the authentication failure notification unit 204 obtains information on similar individuals who are similar to the person whose authentication failed (step S302).

[0104] Specifically, the authentication failure notification unit 204 obtains the similar person database ID set for the identified entry. The authentication failure notification unit 204 accesses the similar person database corresponding to the obtained similar person database ID and obtains at least one employee ID stored in the similar person database. The authentication failure notification unit 204 reads all or part of the employee information (e.g., name, department, telephone number, status) corresponding to the obtained at least one employee ID from the employee management database as similar person information.

[0105] The authentication failure notification unit 204 notifies the HR personnel of the information of the person whose authentication failed and similar individuals. Specifically, the authentication failure notification unit 204 sends an "authentication failure notification" containing the information of the person whose authentication failed and similar individuals to the HR personnel terminal 31 (step S303).

[0106] In this manner, the authentication failure notification unit 204 notifies a designated person (e.g., a human resources officer) of the attribute information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed (e.g., name and telephone number) and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs. At that time, the authentication failure notification unit 204 may further notify the designated person of the status of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0107] The memory unit 205 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the server device 10. Specifically, the memory unit 205 stores, for each of the multiple authentication targets, biometric information and information about the similar person group to which the target belongs (similar person database ID), which consists of at least one similar person group whose members have similar physical characteristics. Furthermore, the memory unit 205 also stores attribute information and status for each of the multiple authentication targets.

[0108] The server device 10 may also handle authentication when an employee leaves the office. A detailed explanation of each processing module when an employee leaves the office is omitted. The server device 10 receives an authentication request from the authentication terminal 20 installed at the office exit, and if the status of the person to be authenticated, identified by the matching process, is "on duty," then the server device 10 should determine that the authentication at the time of departure was successful.

[0109] [Authentication device] Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of the processing configuration (processing module) of an authentication terminal 20 according to the embodiment disclosed herein. Referring to Figure 13, the authentication terminal 20 comprises a communication control unit 301, a biometric information acquisition unit 302, an authentication request unit 303, and a storage unit 304.

[0110] The communication control unit 301 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 301 receives data (packets) from the server device 10. The communication control unit 301 also transmits data to the server device 10. The communication control unit 301 passes the data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 301 transmits the data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules send and receive data with other devices via the communication control unit 301. The communication control unit 301 has the function of a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and the function of a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0111] The biometric information acquisition unit 302 is a means for controlling the camera and acquiring the biometric information (e.g., facial image) of the person being authenticated. The biometric information acquisition unit 302 periodically or at predetermined intervals images the area in front of the device. The biometric information acquisition unit 302 determines whether or not a facial image is included in the acquired image, and if a facial image is included, it extracts the facial image from the acquired image data.

[0112] The biometric information acquisition unit 302 hands over the extracted facial image to the authentication request unit 303.

[0113] The authentication request unit 303 is a means of requesting authentication of the person to be authenticated from the server device 10. The authentication request unit 303 transmits an authentication request to the server device 10 that includes the biometric information obtained from the biometric information acquisition unit 302.

[0114] The authentication request unit 303 receives the authentication result (authentication successful, authentication failed) from the server device 10.

[0115] If a negative response (authentication failure) is received, the authentication request unit 303 closes the gate and refuses passage to the person being authenticated.

[0116] If an affirmative response (successful authentication) is received, the authentication request unit 303 opens the gate and allows the person to pass through.

[0117] The memory unit 304 stores information necessary for the operation of the authentication terminal 20.

[0118] [Terminal] Examples of terminal 30 include mobile devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, game consoles, and tablets, as well as computers (personal computers, laptops). Terminal 30 can be any device or equipment as long as it can receive user input and communicate with the server device 10, etc. Furthermore, the configuration of terminal 30 is obvious to those skilled in the art, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0119] [Person in charge terminal] Examples of the operator terminal 31 include mobile devices such as smartphones, mobile phones, game consoles, and tablets, as well as computers (personal computers, laptops). The operator terminal 31 can be any device or equipment as long as it can receive user input and communicate with the server device 10, etc. Furthermore, the configuration of the operator terminal 31 is obvious to those skilled in the art, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0120] [System operation] Next, the operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0121] Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the information processing system according to the embodiment disclosed herein. The operation of the information processing system according to the embodiment disclosed herein will be explained with reference to Figure 14.

[0122] When the authentication terminal 20 detects a person to be authenticated, it sends an authentication request including the biometric information of the person to be authenticated to the server device 10 (step S01).

[0123] The server device 10 performs authentication processing using the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the biometric information stored in the employee management database (step S02).

[0124] The server device 10 sends the authentication result to the authentication terminal 20 (step S03).

[0125] Furthermore, if the authentication of the person being authenticated fails (especially if the authentication is determined to have failed due to a status inconsistency), the server device 10 sends an authentication failure notification to the user's terminal 31 (step S04).

[0126] The authentication terminal 20 controls the gate according to the authentication result (step S05).

[0127] The employee terminal 31 notifies the HR officer of the information of the person whose authentication failed and similar individuals (notification of similar individuals, etc.; step S06).

[0128] Next, a modified example of the first embodiment will be described.

[0129] <Example 1> In the above embodiment, we described a case where, if the authentication of the person to be authenticated fails, the server device 10 notifies the HR personnel or the like of information about the person who failed to authenticate and information about similar persons. However, the server device 10 may also notify the HR personnel or the like of information about the person who failed to authenticate and information about similar persons in response to an inquiry from the HR personnel.

[0130] For example, the HR staff member obtains the name and employee number from the employee (authenticated person) who was deemed to have failed authentication and was unable to enter the office. The HR staff member then operates the staff terminal 31 and inputs the obtained name and employee number into the server device 10 as information to identify the person who failed authentication.

[0131] The authentication failure notification unit 204 searches the employee management database using the acquired name and employee number as keys, treats the person to be authenticated in the corresponding entry as an authentication failure, and retrieves their name, telephone number, etc. The authentication failure notification unit 204 also accesses the similar person database and the employee management database to retrieve information on each member of the similar person group to which the authentication failure belongs.

[0132] The authentication failure notification unit 204 sends the acquired information on the person to be authenticated and similar persons to the person in charge terminal 31. The person in charge terminal 31 displays a screen similar to that shown in Figure 6.

[0133] <Modification 2> The server device 10 may use an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model for biometric authentication. Specifically, the server device 10 may calculate similarity using an AI model obtained through machine learning. The authentication unit 203 inputs biometric information (e.g., facial images) from both the matching target and the registration side into the AI ​​model. The AI ​​model outputs the similarity (confidence level) of the two facial images.

[0134] The AI ​​model is obtained through machine learning using a large amount of training data in which labels (same person, different person) are assigned to two image data (e.g., facial images). Any algorithm such as support vector machines, boosting, or neural networks can be used to generate the AI ​​model. Since the above-mentioned support vector machines and other algorithms can be publicly known, their explanation will be omitted.

[0135] Furthermore, the server device 10 may utilize the similar person database (similar person groups) and the results of misclassifications to improve the AI ​​model. For example, the server device 10 may utilize the biometric information of employees whose authentication results have been corrected by HR personnel or the like to improve the accuracy of the AI ​​model.

[0136] For example, if a misrecognition occurs between employee A and employee B, as in the example above, the employee management department 202 may use the facial images of employee A and employee B to retrain the AI ​​model. The new AI model obtained through retraining using the facial images that resulted in the misrecognition will calculate different features between the two facial images to prevent the misrecognition from occurring again.

[0137] Thus, the authentication unit 203 may perform the matching process using an AI model. Furthermore, the AI ​​model may be retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0138] As described above, when the server device 10 according to the first embodiment fails to authenticate a person to be authenticated, it notifies the HR personnel of information about the person who failed to authenticate and similar individuals (e.g., phone number and status). The HR personnel investigate the cause of the misauthentication by contacting the person who failed to authenticate and similar individuals by phone, or by checking the status indicating the authentication status. Since it is assumed that the number of members in the similar individuals group is small, the HR personnel only need to contact a small number of people to be authenticated (employees) and check their status, so the cause of the misauthentication can be easily identified. In other words, when a misauthentication occurs, information about each member belonging to the similar individuals group, which consists of people who are highly likely to have made a mistake, is provided to the HR personnel, so the HR personnel can easily and immediately identify the cause of the misauthentication.

[0139] Next, we will describe the hardware of each device that makes up the information processing system. Figure 15 shows an example of the hardware configuration of server device 10.

[0140] The server device 10 can be configured using an information processing device (a so-called computer), and has the configuration illustrated in Figure 15. For example, the server device 10 includes a processor 311, memory 312, input / output interface 313, and communication interface 314, etc. The components of the processor 311, etc., are connected by an internal bus or the like and are configured to communicate with each other.

[0141] However, the configuration shown in Figure 15 is not intended to limit the hardware configuration of the server device 10. The server device 10 may include hardware not shown, and it may not have to have an input / output interface 313 if necessary. Also, the number of processors 311 etc. included in the server device 10 is not intended to be limited to the example in Figure 15; for example, multiple processors 311 may be included in the server device 10.

[0142] The processor 311 is a programmable device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, the processor 311 may be a device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processor 311 executes various programs, including an operating system (OS).

[0143] Memory 312 includes RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. Memory 312 stores the OS program, application programs, and various data.

[0144] The input / output interface 313 is an interface for a display device or input device (not shown). The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device is, for example, a device that accepts user input such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel.

[0145] The communication interface 314 is a circuit, module, etc., that communicates with other devices. For example, the communication interface 314 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), etc.

[0146] The functions of the server device 10 are realized by various processing modules. These processing modules are realized, for example, by the processor 311 executing a program stored in memory 312. The program can also be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be a non-transitory material such as semiconductor memory, hard disk, magnetic recording medium, or optical recording medium. In other words, the present invention can also be embodied as a computer program product. Furthermore, the program can be downloaded via a network or updated using the storage medium on which the program is stored. Moreover, the processing module may be realized by a semiconductor chip.

[0147] Furthermore, the authentication terminal 20, etc., can also be configured using an information processing device, similar to the server device 10, and its basic hardware configuration is no different from that of the server device 10, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0148] The server device 10 is equipped with a computer, and its functions can be realized by having the computer execute a program. Furthermore, the server device 10 executes a control method for the server device 10 using this program.

[0149] [Differentiation] The configuration and operation of the information processing system described in the above embodiment are illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the system configuration.

[0150] In the above embodiment, the case in which the server device 10 manages information on similar individuals using a similar individuals database was described. However, the server device 10 may manage information on similar individuals without using a similar individuals database. The server device 10 can assign the person to be authenticated to one of the similar individuals groups and store the ID of the similar individuals group to which each person to be authenticated belongs in the employee management database. The server device 10 can then use the similar individuals group IDs stored in the employee management database to extract biometric information of members belonging to the same similar individuals group and calculate a representative similarity score using the extracted biometric information.

[0151] The server device 10 may, instead of calculating representative similarity, calculate the similarity of multiple authenticated individuals, including the employee to be registered, each time an employee is registered, and use the calculated similarity to construct a similar person database. The employee management unit 202 may construct a similar person database such that authenticated individuals whose similarity falls within a predetermined range belong to the same similar person group.

[0152] In the above embodiment, the server device 10 was described as sending an authentication failure notification to a human resources officer or the like when an inconsistency occurs in the authenticated person's status. However, the server device 10 may send an authentication failure notification to the employee terminal 31 regardless of the cause of the authentication failure. For example, the server device 10 may send an authentication failure notification to the employee terminal 31 indicating that the matching process failed, or an authentication failure notification indicating that an employee without entry qualifications attempted to enter the office.

[0153] In the above embodiment, the case was described in which the server device 10 sends information about similar individuals, including information about the person who failed authentication, to the person in charge terminal 31. However, the server device 10 may also send information about similar individuals, excluding the person who failed authentication, to the person in charge terminal 31. In the example in Figure 6, "Yamada Taro," the person who failed authentication, may be excluded from the list of similar individuals.

[0154] In the above embodiment, the case in which a facial image is transmitted from the authentication terminal 20 to the server device 10 as biometric information was described. However, feature quantities generated from the facial image may also be transmitted from the authentication terminal 20 to the server device 10 as biometric information. In this case, the server device 10 can omit the process of generating feature quantities from the facial image.

[0155] In the above embodiment, the case in which the employee management database and the similar person database are configured inside the server device 10 was described, but these databases may be built on an external database server or the like. In other words, some functions of the server device 10 may be implemented in another device. More specifically, it is sufficient that the "authentication unit (authentication means)" and "authentication failure notification unit (authentication failure notification means)" described above are implemented in any device included in the system.

[0156] The form of data transmission and reception between each device (e.g., server device 10, authentication terminal 20, etc.) is not particularly limited, but the data transmitted and received between these devices may be encrypted. Since biometric information and the like are transmitted and received between these devices, it is desirable that encrypted data be transmitted and received in order to properly protect this information.

[0157] In the flowcharts (sequence diagrams) used in the above description, multiple processes (processes) are shown in order, but the execution order of the processes performed in the embodiment is not limited to the order in which they are shown. In the embodiment, the order of the illustrated processes can be changed to the extent that it does not impair the content, for example, by executing each process in parallel.

[0158] The embodiments described above are explained in detail to facilitate understanding of the disclosure, and it is not intended that all the configurations described above are necessary. Furthermore, when multiple embodiments are described, each embodiment may be used individually or in combination. For example, it is possible to replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with those of another embodiment, or to add configurations from other embodiments to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of one embodiment with those of another.

[0159] As described above, the industrial applicability of the present invention is clear, and it is particularly suitable for information processing systems that implement biometric authentication in companies and the like.

[0160] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows, but are not limited to the following:

[0161] [Note 1] A storage means that stores, for each of multiple individuals to be authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which the individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. Authentication means that receive biometric information of a person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal, perform a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticate the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification means notifies a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A server device equipped with the following features.

[0162] [Note 2] The storage means further stores attribute information for each of the multiple authenticated persons, The notification means is a server device as described in Appendix 1, which notifies a predetermined person of the attribute information of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs.

[0163] [Note 3] The authentication means is a server device as described in Appendix 2, which, upon successful authentication of the identified person to be authenticated, changes the status indicating the authentication status of the identified person to be authenticated.

[0164] [Note 4] The notification means further notifies the predetermined person of the status of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs, as described in Appendix 3.

[0165] [Note 5] The server device according to any one of the appendices 1 to 4, further comprising a management means for obtaining the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and determining from among the at least one group of similar persons to which the person to be authenticated belongs.

[0166] [Note 6] The aforementioned management means is When the biometric information of the person to be authenticated is obtained, Select one similar group from the at least one similar group, calculate multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar group and the acquired biometric information, and calculate the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of the similar group. Repeat this process to calculate the representative similarity for each of the at least one similar group. The server device described in Appendix 5, which determines the similarity group to which the authenticated person who acquired the biometric information belongs, based on the representative similarity of each of the aforementioned at least one similarity group.

[0167] [Note 7] The authentication means executes the matching process using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. The server device described in any one of the appendices 1 to 4, wherein the AI ​​model is retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of the members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0168] [Note 8] Authentication terminal and Server device, Includes, The server device is A storage means that stores, for each of multiple individuals to be authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which the individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. Authentication means that receives biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal, performs a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticates the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification means notifies a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A system that includes these features.

[0169] [Note 9] The storage means further stores attribute information for each of the multiple authenticated persons, The notification means is the system described in Appendix 8, which notifies the designated person of the attribute information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0170] [Note 10] The authentication means, upon successful authentication of the identified person to be authenticated, changes the status indicating the authentication status of the identified person to be authenticated, as described in Appendix 9.

[0171] [Note 11] The notification means further notifies the predetermined person of the status of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs, as described in Appendix 10.

[0172] [Note 12] The system according to any one of the appendices 8 to 11, further comprising a management means for obtaining the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and determining from among the at least one group of similar persons to which the person to be authenticated belongs.

[0173] [Note 13] The aforementioned management means is When the biometric information of the person to be authenticated is obtained, Select one similar group from the at least one similar group, calculate multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar group and the acquired biometric information, and calculate the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of the similar group. Repeat this process to calculate the representative similarity for each of the at least one similar group. The system described in Appendix 12, which determines the similarity group to which the authenticated person who acquired the biometric information belongs, based on the representative similarity of each of the aforementioned at least one similarity group.

[0174] [Note 14] The authentication means executes the matching process using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. The system described in any one of the appendices 8 to 11, wherein the AI ​​model is retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of the members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0175] [Note 15] A memory process involves storing, for each of the multiple individuals being authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which they belong, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. An authentication step comprising: receiving the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal; performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated; and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, the notification step involves notifying a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A control method for a server device, comprising the following features.

[0176] [Note 16] The storage step further stores attribute information for each of the multiple authenticated persons, The control method for the server device described in Appendix 15, wherein the notification step notifies the predetermined person of the attribute information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0177] [Note 17] The authentication step involves changing the status indicating the authentication status of the identified person to be authenticated, as described in Appendix 16.

[0178] [Note 18] The control method for the server device described in Appendix 17, wherein the notification step further notifies the predetermined person of the status of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs.

[0179] [Note 19] A control method for a server device according to any one of the appendices 15 to 18, further comprising a management step of obtaining the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and determining from among the at least one group of similar persons to which the person to be authenticated belongs.

[0180] [Note 20] The aforementioned control process is, When the biometric information of the person to be authenticated is obtained, Select one similar group from the at least one similar group, calculate multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar group and the acquired biometric information, and calculate the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of the similar group. Repeat this process to calculate the representative similarity for each of the at least one similar group. A control method for a server device according to Appendix 19, which determines the similarity group to which the authenticated person who acquired the biometric information belongs, based on the representative similarity of each of the aforementioned at least one similarity group.

[0181] [Note 21] The aforementioned authentication process executes the matching process using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. The control method for a server device according to any one of the appendices 15 to 18, wherein the AI ​​model is retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of the members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0182] [Note 22] The computer installed in the server device For each of the multiple individuals being authenticated, the system stores biometric information and information about the similarity group to which each individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members share similar physical characteristics. The authentication process involves receiving the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal, performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information, thereby identifying the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification process is performed to notify a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A program to execute.

[0183] [Note 23] The aforementioned storage process further stores attribute information for each of the multiple authenticated individuals, The notification process is a program as described in Appendix 22, which notifies a predetermined person of the attribute information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

[0184] [Note 24] The authentication process is the program described in Appendix 23, which, upon successful authentication of the identified person to be authenticated, changes the status indicating the authentication status of the identified person to be authenticated.

[0185] [Note 25] The notification process is a program as described in Appendix 24, which further notifies the predetermined person of the status of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs.

[0186] [Note 26] A program according to any one of the appendices 22 to 25, which, upon obtaining the biometric information of the person to be authenticated, further performs a management process to determine from among the at least one group of similar persons to which the person to be authenticated belongs.

[0187] [Note 27] The aforementioned management process is: When the biometric information of the person to be authenticated is obtained, Select one similar group from the at least one similar group, calculate multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar group and the acquired biometric information, and calculate the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of the similar group. Repeat this process to calculate the representative similarity for each of the at least one similar group. The program described in Appendix 26, which determines the similar group to which the authenticated person who acquired the biometric information belongs, based on the representative similarity of each of the aforementioned at least one similar group.

[0188] [Note 28] The authentication process executes the matching process using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. The AI ​​model is retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of the members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs, as described in any one of the appendices 22 to 25.

[0189] Furthermore, some or all of the configurations described in Appendices 2 to 7, which are subordinate to Appendice 1 above, may also be subordinate to Appendices 8, 15, and 22 in the same way as those described in Appendices 2 to 7. Moreover, not limited to Appendices 1, 8, 15, and 22, some or all of the configurations described as appendices may also be subordinate to various hardware, software, various recording means for recording software, or systems, without departing from the embodiments described above.

[0190] Furthermore, each disclosure of the above-mentioned prior art documents cited herein is incorporated herein by reference. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are merely illustrative and that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention naturally includes the entire disclosure, including the claims, and various modifications and alterations that can be made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the technical idea. [Explanation of symbols]

[0191] 10 Server devices 20 Authentication terminals 30 devices 31. Person in charge terminal 100 Server Devices 101 Memory means 102 Authentication methods 103 Means of Notification 201 Communication Control Unit 202 Employee Management Department 203 Certification Department 204 Authentication Failure Notification Section 205 Storage section 301 Communication Control Unit 302 Biological Information Acquisition Unit 303 Authentication Request Section 304 Storage section 311 Processors 312 memory 313 Input / Output Interfaces 314 Communication Interface

Claims

1. A storage means that stores, for each of multiple individuals to be authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which the individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. Authentication means that receive biometric information of a person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal, perform a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticate the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification means notifies a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A server device equipped with the following features.

2. The storage means further stores attribute information for each of the multiple authenticated persons, The server device according to claim 1, wherein the notification means notifies the predetermined person of the attribute information of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the attribute information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs.

3. The server device according to claim 2, wherein the authentication means changes the status indicating the authentication status of the identified person to be authenticated when it has successfully authenticated the identified person to be authenticated.

4. The server device according to claim 3, wherein the notification means further notifies the predetermined person of the status of the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed and the status of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication has been determined to have failed belongs.

5. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a management means for obtaining the biometric information of the person to be authenticated and determining from among the at least one group of similar persons to which the person to be authenticated belongs.

6. The aforementioned management means is When the biometric information of the person to be authenticated is obtained, Select one similar group from the at least one similar group, calculate multiple similarities between the biometric information of each member of the selected similar group and the acquired biometric information, and calculate the average of the calculated multiple similarities as the representative similarity of the similar group. Repeat this process to calculate the representative similarity for each of the at least one similar group. The server device according to claim 5, which determines the similarity group to which the authenticated person who acquired the biometric information belongs, based on the representative similarity of each of the at least one similarity group.

7. The authentication means executes the matching process using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the AI ​​model is retrained using the biometric information of the person whose authentication was determined to have failed and the biometric information of the members of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to have failed belongs.

8. Authentication terminal and Server device, Includes, The server device is A storage means that stores, for each of multiple individuals to be authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which the individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. Authentication means that receives biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal, performs a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticates the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification means notifies a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A system that includes these features.

9. A memory process involves storing, for each of multiple individuals being authenticated, biometric information and information about the similarity group to which they belong, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members have similar physical characteristics. An authentication step comprising: receiving the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from an authentication terminal; performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information to identify the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated; and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, the notification step involves notifying a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A control method for a server device, comprising the following features.

10. The computer installed in the server device For each of the multiple individuals to be authenticated, the system stores biometric information and information about the similarity group to which each individual belongs, which consists of at least one similarity group whose members share similar physical characteristics. The authentication process involves receiving the biometric information of the person to be authenticated from the authentication terminal, performing a matching process using the received biometric information of the person to be authenticated and the multiple stored biometric information, thereby identifying the person to be authenticated from among the multiple persons to be authenticated, and authenticating the identified person to be authenticated. If the authentication result for the identified person is an authentication failure, a notification process is performed to notify a designated person of the information of the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure and the information of each member of the similar person group to which the person whose authentication was determined to be a failure belongs. A program to execute.

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