Intercom System

Abstract

To provide an intercom system that can execute face authentication using a server only when necessary, has high accuracy of face authentication, and can be operated at low cost.SOLUTION: An intercom system comprises a collective entrance unit 1 including a face detection section 39 that detects the face of a person from images picked up by a camera 31, a distance measurement section 40 that measures the distance to the face of the person captured in the images, and a determination section 41 that determines whether the distance to the face of the person is a predetermined authentication distance set in advance. When the distance to the face of the person captured in the images is equal to or less than the authentication distance, the intercom system generates imaging data from the images and transmits the imaging data to a face authentication server 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an intercom system, such as an intercom system for an apartment building, which checks visitors based on an image captured by a unit at the entrance of the apartment building. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, an apartment complex intercom system, which is one example of an intercom system, has been devised that uses a server located on the cloud (for example, Patent Document 1). In such an intercom system, for example, an image of a visitor captured by a collective entrance device constituting the apartment complex intercom system is transmitted to the server, and the server is configured to execute processing related to face recognition, thereby improving the accuracy of face recognition and reducing costs by using an inexpensive CPU to be installed in the collective entrance device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-127151 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, cameras of collective entrance devices and the like capture images continuously to improve crime prevention. Therefore, it is conceivable that people other than visitors, such as passersby passing in front of the collective entrance device, may be captured in the image. However, if images of people other than visitors that are captured in this way are also sent to a server and the server executes face recognition processing each time, the server usage fee will be higher than necessary, and there is a problem that the operating cost of the intercom system will rise despite the aim of reducing costs.

[0005] Therefore, in consideration of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide an intercom system that can perform face authentication using a server only when necessary, has high accuracy in face authentication, and can be operated at low cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intercom system comprising an intercom device having an imaging means, and a face authentication server that is arranged on a cloud and with which the intercom device can communicate, and in the face authentication server, a predetermined face authentication process is executed based on the imaging data transmitted from the intercom device, and the intercom device comprises a face detection unit that detects a person's face from an image captured by the imaging means, a distance measurement unit that measures the distance to the person's face, and a predetermined authentication distance that is a preset distance. below and a determination unit that determines whether the distance to the face of the person reflected in the image is equal to or less than the authentication distance, and creates imaging data from the image and transmits the imaging data to a face authentication server. On the other hand, if the distance to the face of a person captured in the image is greater than the authentication distance, image data will not be created from the image. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the intercom device includes a face detection unit that detects a person's face from an image captured by an imaging unit, a distance measurement unit that measures the distance to the person's face, and a predetermined authentication distance that is a preset distance. below and a determination unit that determines whether the distance to the face of the person reflected in the image is equal to or less than the authentication distance, and creates imaging data from the image and transmits the imaging data to a face authentication server. On the other hand, if the distance to the face of a person captured in the image is greater than the authentication distance, image data will not be created from the image. Therefore, when a passerby is captured in the video, the face recognition process is not executed in the face recognition server, and face recognition using the face recognition server is executed only when necessary, such as when the distance to the face of a person captured in the video is within the authentication distance, thereby making it possible to provide an intercom system that has high accuracy in face recognition and can be operated at low cost. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an apartment building intercom system. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of a collective entrance unit of the apartment building intercom system. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An apartment house intercom system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an apartment house intercom system according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing the functions of an apartment entrance device 1 of the apartment house intercom system. The apartment complex intercom system is composed of an apartment complex entrance unit 1, which is installed at the entrance of the apartment complex for visitors to call residents, entrance slave units 15, 15..., which are installed at the entrance of each room to call residents, room master units 12, 12..., which are installed in each room to allow residents to respond to calls, a management room master unit 13, which is installed in the management room to allow the manager to talk to residents and visitors, and a controller 14 to control communication between these devices. An automatic door 16 is installed at the entrance, which must be passed when moving from the entrance to the living area where the rooms are located. Furthermore, the apartment complex entrance unit 1 and the controller 14 are connected via a transmission line L1, the management room master unit 13 and the controller 14 are connected via a transmission line L2, and the automatic door 16 and the controller 14 are connected via a transmission line L3, and the room master units 12, 12..., and the controller 14 are connected via a master unit trunk line L4.

[0011] Here, the control relating to face authentication using the collective entrance device 1 and the face authentication server 2, which are essential parts of the present invention, will be described. The collective entrance device 1 comprises a camera 31 for capturing images of visitors, a microphone 32 and a speaker 33 for communication between the visitor and the resident, an operation unit 34 for the visitor to input the room number to be called, etc., a display unit 35 for displaying the operation contents, etc., a CPU 36 for controlling the operation of the collective entrance device 1 itself, and an automatic door control unit 37 for controlling the opening and closing of the automatic door 16. The collective entrance device 1 also comprises a communication unit 38 for communicating with external devices, and is capable of communicating with the control device 14 and the face recognition server 2 arranged on the cloud N via the communication unit 38.

[0012] In the collective entrance device 1 as described above, the camera 31 is constantly activated to capture surrounding images, and when a person is captured in the image, the CPU 36 detects the face of the person in the face detection unit 39, and measures the distance from the collective entrance device 1 to the face of the person captured in the camera 31 in the distance measurement unit 40. The judgment unit 41 judges whether the distance to the person's face is equal to or less than a predetermined authentication distance (for example, 30 cm). If the judgment result shows that the distance to the face of the person captured in the camera 31 is equal to or less than the authentication distance, the facial image of the person captured is extracted from the image (creates captured image data), and transmits the facial image to the face authentication server 2, which executes a predetermined facial authentication process. On the other hand, if it is judged that the distance to the face of the person is farther than the authentication distance, the facial image of the person captured is not extracted from the image, and naturally, no communication is made with the face authentication server 2.

[0013] The face recognition process executed by the face recognition server 2 is to identify a person captured by the camera 31 of the collective entrance machine 1, for example, by comparing a face image sent from the collective entrance machine 1 with an authentication image registered in advance in the face recognition server 2, and judging whether or not the person captured by the camera 31 of the collective entrance machine 1 matches the person registered in advance. Then, when the face recognition server 2 identifies the person captured by the camera 31 as a person registered in advance, the collective entrance machine 1 executes control such as allowing operation of the operation unit 34 and allowing the automatic door 16 to be opened. In addition, a known technique may be used to measure the distance to the person's face, and for example, a 3D camera may be used to measure the distance as described in JP 2015-198260 A, or an infrared imaging unit may be provided in the collective entrance machine 1 as a distance measurement means.

[0014] According to the apartment building intercom system having the above configuration, the apartment entrance device 1 is provided with a face detection unit 39 that detects a person's face from the image captured by the camera 31, a distance measurement unit 40 that measures the distance to the person's face reflected in the image, and a judgment unit 41 that judges whether the distance to the person's face is a predetermined authentication distance set in advance, and if the distance to the person's face reflected in the image is equal to or less than the authentication distance, image data is created from the image and transmitted to the face authentication server 2. Therefore, when a passerby is reflected in the image, the face authentication process is not performed in the face authentication server 2, and face authentication using the face authentication server 2 can be performed only when necessary, such as when the distance to the person's face reflected in the image is equal to or less than the authentication distance, resulting in an apartment building intercom system that has high accuracy in face authentication and can be operated at low cost.

[0015] In addition, the intercom system of the present invention can be modified as necessary, as appropriate, not only in terms of the overall configuration of the intercom system, but also in terms of the configuration of the intercom equipment equipped with an imaging means, etc., without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0016] For example, while the above embodiment has been described as an intercom system for an apartment building, the present invention can also be suitably adopted as other intercom systems, such as an intercom system consisting of an intercom slave unit and an intercom master unit. In addition, in the above embodiment, the imaging means is built into the main body of the intercom device, but the intercom device may also be composed of, for example, a collective entrance unit, a surveillance camera installed separately from the collective entrance unit, and a controller that controls the operation of both of them. [Explanation of symbols]

[0017] 1·· Collective entrance device (intercom device), 2·· Face recognition server, 31·· Camera (imaging means), 36·· CPU, 39·· Face detection unit, 40·· Distance measurement unit, 41·· Determination unit.

Claims

[Claim 1] The present invention includes an intercom device having an imaging means, and a face authentication server that is arranged on a cloud and can communicate with the intercom device, In the face authentication server, a predetermined face authentication process is performed based on the image data transmitted from the intercom device. the intercom device includes a face detection unit that detects a person's face from an image captured by the imaging means, a distance measurement unit that measures a distance to the person's face, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the distance is equal to or shorter than a predetermined authentication distance that is set in advance, If the distance to the face of the person captured in the image is equal to or less than the authentication distance, the imaging data is created from the image and the imaging data is transmitted to the face authentication server. An intercom system, characterized in that if the distance to the face of the person reflected in the image is greater than the authentication distance, the imaging data is not created from the image.

Images