Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus configured to prevent execution of processing according to a result of face authentication when not intended by a user.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus 1 includes: a start condition storage unit 101 which stores, for each user, start conditions for starting processing according to a result of face authentication; an image acquisition unit 103 which acquires an image captured by a camera 102; an application information acquisition unit 104 which acquires application information which is information to be applied to the start conditions; a determination unit 105 which determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 104 satisfies the start conditions, or not; a face authentication unit 106 which performs face authentication with the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103 to acquire a result of the authentication; and a result processing unit 107 which executes processing according to the authentication result when the determination unit 105 determines that the start conditions are satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing face recognition processing. [Background technology]

[0002] A known prior art technique is one that performs face authentication of a logged-in user (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-144762 A (Page 1, Figure 1, etc.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the past, there was a problem that when a user's face entered an area for capturing an image for face authentication, the user's face was captured and face authentication was performed unintentionally. Furthermore, conventionally, there has been a problem in that processing based on the result of face authentication is performed without the user's intention.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an information processing device that can prevent processing based on the results of face authentication from being performed unless the user intends to do so. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The information processing device of the present invention is an information processing device that includes a start condition storage unit in which start conditions for starting processing according to the results of facial recognition are stored for each user, an image acquisition unit that acquires an image captured by a camera, an application information acquisition unit that acquires application information that is information to be applied to the start conditions, a judgment unit that determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit satisfies the start conditions, a face authentication unit that performs facial authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and acquires the authentication result, and a result processing unit that performs processing according to the authentication result if the judgment unit determines that the start conditions are satisfied.

[0007] With this configuration, it is possible to prevent processing based on the result of face authentication from being performed unless the user intends to do so.

[0008] In addition, in the information processing device of the present invention, the face authentication unit may perform face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and acquire an authentication result only when the judgment unit determines that the start condition is satisfied.

[0009] With this configuration, face authentication can be prevented from being performed unless the user intends to do so.

[0010] In the information processing device of the present invention, the application information acquisition section may acquire application information which is all or a part of the image acquired by the image acquisition section.

[0011] With this configuration, it is possible to prevent face authentication from being performed unintentionally by the user due to an image other than the user's face in the captured image.

[0012] In the information processing device of the present invention, the application information acquisition section may acquire the application information input by a user using the input means.

[0013] With this configuration, it is possible to prevent face authentication from being performed when the user does not intend it to be performed due to input by the user using the input means.

[0014] In the information processing device of the present invention, the result processing section may execute a login process for a predetermined device only when the authentication result indicates authentication permission.

[0015] With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a user from logging in when the user does not intend to do so. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent processing based on the result of face authentication from being performed unless the user intends to do so. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] A flowchart illustrating the operation of the information processing device. [Diagram 3] 3(a) and 3(c) are diagrams showing an example of a start condition management table for managing start conditions of the information processing device, and FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing an example of a face recognition data management table. [Figure 4] 4(a) and 4(b) are diagrams showing images captured by the camera of the information processing device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer system according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of the computer system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing device and the like will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the embodiments, components with the same reference numerals perform similar operations, and therefore repeated description may be omitted.

[0019] (Embodiment)

[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing device 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0021] The information processing device 1 includes a start condition storage unit 101 , a camera 102 , an image acquisition unit 103 , an application information acquisition unit 104 , a determination unit 105 , a face authentication unit 106 , and a result processing unit 107 .

[0022] The information processing device 1 can be realized by, for example, a computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a mobile information terminal, or the like.

[0023] The start condition storage unit 101 stores start conditions for starting processing according to the result of face authentication for each of one or more users. The start conditions are, for example, conditions for starting face authentication processing. The start conditions are, for example, conditions for determining whether face authentication may be started. For example, when the application information satisfies the start conditions, it is determined that face authentication processing may be started. In addition, the start conditions are, for example, conditions for determining whether processing according to the result of face authentication may be started when face authentication is permitted. The start conditions are conditions to which application information described later is applied.

[0024] The start condition is, for example, a condition that a specific image other than a face is recognized in an image that is application information described later. The specific image may be an image of a specific object (e.g., a wristwatch, a pen, etc.), an image of a specific pattern or design, or an image of a specific pose made by the hand (e.g., a hand sign such as a peace sign, an OK sign, or a GOOD sign). Recognizing a specific object may be recognizing the name or designation of the object, or recognizing that the object is a unique object. Recognizing a specific hand pose may be recognizing what type of pose the hand pose belongs to, or may be recognizing what type of pose the hand pose belongs to, including the pose made by the hand of a specific user.

[0025] The start condition may be that the user's posture in the application information described later is a specific posture. The start condition may be that the user's movement in a moving image, which is the application information described later, is a specific movement. The user's movement may be, for example, a hand movement of the user.

[0026] The start condition may also be a condition that the application information input by the input means has information that matches the specific information. The input means is, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, etc. The specific information is, for example, a predetermined character string. The character string here may be a password. The specific information may also be information indicating an event or operation (mouse click, pressing a specific key, operation of moving a cursor, etc.) received from the input means. The event here may be one event repeated multiple times, or may be a combination of two or more different events. The operation here is preferably an operation other than character input.

[0027] The start condition may have, for example, information for specifying the condition. The information for specifying the condition is, for example, information such as a sample of a specific image used for detecting a specific image, a feature amount of a specific image, a predetermined character string, and a learning device used for detecting a specific image. For example, the start condition storage unit 101 may store a start condition having, as information on a sample or feature amount used for detecting a specific image, an image of a sign made by a user's hand taken by a user and a feature amount acquired from the image by a processing unit (not shown). In addition, the information for specifying the condition may be specific information (for example, a specific character string, or information recording one or more specific events or operations) input by a user or the like through an input means.

[0028] For example, the start condition storage unit 101 may store the start condition of each user who uses the information processing device 1 in association with the user identifier of each user. The user identifier is, for example, a code assigned to the user, an account name used by the user for logging in, the user's email address, the user's mobile phone number, or the like.

[0029] The start condition storage unit 101 may store, for example, two or more different start conditions as the start conditions of the user. The two or more different start conditions are, for example, conditions for starting different processes according to the results of face authentication. The different start conditions are, for example, conditions for recognizing different specific images other than a face. The different start conditions may be, for example, conditions for detecting hands with different numbers of fingers (for example, a condition for detecting a hand with one finger and a condition for detecting a hand with three fingers), or may be conditions for detecting a state in which the right hand is raised and a state in which the left hand is raised. For example, a process according to the authentication result performed when each of the different start conditions is satisfied is, for example, a process in which login is performed at different security levels. Logins at different security levels are, for example, normal login and login with high security. Logins at different security levels may be considered as logins with different privileges. Logins with different privileges are, for example, login with administrator privileges, normal login, login as a guest, and the like. The two or more different start conditions may store information specifying a process according to the authentication result that is executed when the start condition is satisfied and the authentication result of the face authentication is authentication permitted. This specifying information may be information that identifies the start condition.

[0030] The start condition storage unit 101 is preferably a non-volatile storage medium, but may also be a volatile storage medium. The same applies to the other storage units.

[0031] Camera 102 captures video to acquire an image. For example, camera 102 captures an area including the user's face to acquire an image. The image acquired by the camera may be a still image or a moving image. Note that camera 102 is usually a camera that captures images using ambient light, but camera 102 may be a combination of a camera that captures images using ambient light and a camera that captures light other than ambient light (for example, a camera that irradiates infrared light and captures the reflected light).

[0032] Image acquisition unit 103 acquires an image captured by camera 102. Image acquisition unit 103 may acquire an image captured by camera 102 via a storage medium (not shown) such as a memory. When camera 102 is a combination of a camera that captures images using ambient light and a camera that irradiates infrared light and captures the reflected light, image acquisition unit 103 may acquire images captured by both cameras.

[0033] In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the information processing device 1 has the camera 102, but the information processing device 1 does not have to have the camera 102. In this case, for example, the image acquisition unit 103 may acquire an image captured by a camera outside the information processing device 1 (for example, an external camera) or the like.

[0034] The application information acquisition unit 104 acquires application information. The application information is information to be applied to the start condition. The information to be applied to the start condition may be considered as information used to determine whether or not the start condition is satisfied. The application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 104 is, for example, information corresponding to the start condition stored in the start condition storage unit 101 (for example, information that allows determination of whether or not the start condition is satisfied).

[0035] The application information acquisition unit 104 may acquire application information that is, for example, the whole or a part of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103. The part of the image is, for example, an image of a predetermined area in the image. For example, the application information acquisition unit 104 acquires application information by, for example, partially cutting out the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103. The part of the image may be an image of a continuous area, or may be an image of a discontinuous area (i.e., an area that is not connected). For example, the part of the image may be an image of an area in which the user's hand is likely to be shown in the image. In addition, the part of the image may be an image of an area that is dynamically determined. For example, when the start condition used for judgment by the later-described judgment unit 105 is a condition related to an image of a hand in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, for example, the application information acquisition unit 104 may detect an area in which the hand is shown in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, and acquire an image of the detected area. The detection of the hand here is a process of detecting the position of the face or hand, and does not have to be a process of recognizing the face of a specific user or the hand in a specific pose. The process of detecting an area containing a face or an area containing a hand from an image is a known technique, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] The application information acquisition unit 104 may acquire application information input by a user using, for example, an input means (not shown). The application information input using the input means is, for example, a character string or information identifying one or more events (for example, an event name).

[0037] It is preferable that the application information input using the input means is information that is input without displaying a dialog box that prompts the user to input the application information (for example, a dialog box that prompts the user to input a password), etc. By not displaying the dialog box, it is possible to quickly perform processes such as login that require face authentication, and by eliminating the dialog box that is displayed during authentication processes that are repeatedly performed, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience and reduce the burden on the user.

[0038] The application information is not limited to the above information, and the application information acquiring unit 104 may acquire the application information by a process other than the above.

[0039] The determination unit 105 determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 104 satisfies the start condition. For example, when a user performs face authentication, the determination unit 105 determines whether the application information satisfies the start condition by using the start condition of the user stored in the start condition storage unit 101 before (preferably immediately before) performing the face authentication. For example, when the information processing device 1 is used by a single user, the determination unit 105 reads out the start condition of the user stored in the start condition storage unit 101 and determines whether the application information satisfies the start condition. When the information processing device 1 is used by multiple users, the determination unit 105 reads out the start condition of the user using the information processing device 1 (for example, start information associated with the user identifier of the user) from the start condition storage unit 101 and determines whether the application information satisfies the start condition. The determination unit 105 may determine whether the start condition is satisfied before the face authentication is performed by the face authentication unit 106, or may determine whether the start condition is satisfied after the face authentication is performed. For example, the determination unit 105 may determine whether or not the start condition is satisfied only when the authentication result of the face authentication by the face authentication unit 106 is authentication permission. Furthermore, the determination unit 105 may determine whether or not the start condition is satisfied at the same time that the face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication.

[0040] For example, when the start condition is a condition that a specific image other than a face is recognized in an image that is application information, the determination unit 105 performs a process of recognizing the specific image for the application information, and if the specific image is recognized, it determines that the start condition is satisfied, and if the specific image is not recognized, it determines that the start condition is not satisfied. The process of recognizing the specific image may be considered as a process of recognizing an image that matches the specific image. The image match here may be considered, for example, as the similarity of the images being equal to or greater than a threshold value. For example, when the specific image is a peace sign represented by a hand, the determination unit 105 performs a process of recognizing an image that matches the image of the peace sign in the image that is application information, and if the matching image is recognized, it determines that the start condition is satisfied, and if the matching image is not recognized, it determines that the start condition is not satisfied. When recognizing a specific image from application information that is an image, the determination unit 105 may first detect an area (for example, an area of ​​a hand) that includes the specific image, and then perform a process of recognizing the specific image for the detected area. It is preferable that the area that includes the specific image is a minimum rectangular area that includes the specific image, or the like.

[0041] The process of recognizing a specific image can be realized by image recognition processes such as feature-based matching and area-based matching. The process of recognizing a specific image may be performed using a learning device acquired by machine learning. As described above, a sample of a specific image to be recognized used in image recognition, information on the feature amount of a specific image, a learning device for machine learning, etc. may be included in the start condition as information for specifying the condition, or may be stored in another storage unit (not shown) in association with the start condition. Note that the process of recognizing a specific image described above is an example, and is not limited to the above process.

[0042] Also, for example, when the start condition is a condition that the application information input by the input means has information matching the specific information, the judgment unit 105 performs a process of judging whether or not the application information has information matching the specific information, and if it does, judges that the start condition is satisfied, and if it does not, judges that the start condition is not satisfied. For example, when the start condition is a condition that the application information has information of a specific event called a mouse click (for example, a condition that the application information has a specific event name), the judgment unit 105 judges that the application information has information of an event called a mouse click, and if it does not, judges that the start condition is not satisfied. The information used in the judgment process of this specific event, etc., may be included in the start condition as information for specifying the condition, as described above, or may be stored in another storage unit (not shown) in association with the start condition. Also, the match here may be considered to be a similarity between information equal to or greater than a threshold value, or higher than a threshold value. Note that the process of judging whether or not the application information has information matching the specific information described above is one example, and is not limited to the above process.

[0043] When two or more different start conditions are stored as the start conditions of the user in the start condition storage unit 101, the judgment unit 105 may, for example, judge whether the application information satisfies any one of the two or more different start conditions as the judgment of whether the application information satisfies the start condition. For example, the judgment unit 105 may judge whether the application information satisfies each of the two or more different start conditions. In this case, for example, when any one of the start conditions is satisfied, the judgment unit 105 may judge that the start condition is satisfied, and when none of the start conditions is satisfied, the judgment unit 105 may judge that the application information does not satisfy the start condition.

[0044] The face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, and acquires the authentication result. The face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, and acquires the authentication result, only when the judgment unit 105 judges that the start condition is satisfied, for example. For example, when two or more different start conditions are stored in the start condition storage unit 101 as the start condition of the user, the face authentication unit 106 may perform face authentication when the judgment unit 105 judges that any one of the two or more different start conditions is satisfied. In addition, the face authentication unit 106 may perform face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, for example, before the judgment unit 105 judges whether the start condition is satisfied, and acquire the authentication result. In addition, the face authentication unit 106 may perform face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, and acquire the authentication result, at the same time (for example, in parallel) when the judgment unit 105 judges whether the start condition is satisfied.

[0045] The face authentication process performed by the face authentication unit 106 may be any kind of face authentication process. Since the face authentication process is a known technology, a description thereof will be omitted. Information used for face authentication other than the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103 (for example, one or more images and feature information of the user's face registered in advance, a learning device acquired by machine learning or the like using the image of the user's face, etc.) may be stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the information processing device 1, or may be held by a server device (not shown) accessible by the information processing device 1. When the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103 is a combination of an image captured using ambient light and an image captured by irradiating infrared light and capturing the reflected light, the face authentication unit 106 may appropriately use both images to perform face authentication process.

[0046] The image used by the face authentication unit 106 when performing face authentication and the application information used by the determination unit 105 or the image from which the application information is extracted may be the same image.

[0047] When the determination unit 105 determines that the start condition is satisfied, the result processing unit 107 performs processing according to the authentication result of the face authentication unit 106. For example, the result processing unit 107 performs a predetermined processing only when the authentication result of the face authentication unit 106 is authentication permission. For example, the result processing unit 107 performs a login processing for a predetermined device only when the authentication result of the face authentication unit 106 is authentication permission. The predetermined device may be the information processing device 1 or an external server. The login processing is, for example, a processing to execute a predetermined processing for login (for example, a processing to execute an executable file performed at login, etc.). The login processing may be, for example, a processing to store user information in a session and output a predetermined screen such as a home screen or a start screen. In addition, the result processing unit 107 may start a predetermined application as a processing according to the authentication result only when the authentication result of the face authentication unit 106 is authentication permission, or may perform a processing to open a predetermined door or a processing to unlock a lock. Moreover, result processing unit 107 may further include an output unit (not shown) that outputs the result of authentication. The output here includes display, transmission, storage, etc. of the authentication result.

[0048] In a case where two or more different start conditions are stored in the start condition storage unit 101 as the start conditions of the user, and when the judgment unit 105 judges that the application information satisfies any one of the two or more different start conditions, the result processing unit 107 may perform a different predetermined process corresponding to the start condition judged to satisfy the condition as a process according to the authentication result. The predetermined process corresponding to each of the two or more different start conditions is, for example, a process of logging in at different security levels as described above. The predetermined process corresponding to the start condition may be, for example, a process executed when the authentication result of the face authentication specified by the information stored in the start condition storage unit 101 in association with the above-mentioned start condition is authentication permitted.

[0049] For example, when the authentication result by the face authentication unit 106 is authentication permitted, the result processing unit 107 detects which of the two or more different start conditions the determination unit 105 has determined to be satisfied, and performs processing according to the detected start condition as processing according to the authentication result. Furthermore, for example, when the authentication result by the face authentication unit 106 is not authentication permitted, the result processing unit 107 does not perform predetermined processing. Furthermore, for example, when none of the two or more different start conditions is satisfied, the result processing unit 107 does not perform predetermined processing.

[0050] Next, an example of the operation of the information processing device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0051] (Step S101) The information processing device 1 judges whether or not to perform face authentication. For example, it may be decided to perform face authentication when the information processing device 1 is started up or when the information processing device 1 returns from a standby state or a sleep state. It may also be decided to perform face authentication when a sensor (not shown) or the like provided in the information processing device 1 detects predetermined information. The trigger or timing at which the information processing device 1 decides to perform face authentication is not limited to the above. The judgment here may be made by the judgment unit 105 or the face authentication unit 106 of the information processing device 1, or may be made by a processing unit (not shown) of the information processing device 1. If face authentication is to be performed, proceed to step S102, and if not, return to step S101.

[0052] (Step S102) The camera 102 captures an image.

[0053] (Step S103) The image acquisition unit 103 acquires the image captured by the camera 102 in step S102.

[0054] (Step S104) The determination unit 105 acquires a start condition from the start condition storage unit 101. For example, the determination unit 105 acquires a start condition of a user who uses the information processing device 1 stored in the start condition storage unit 101. Note that, immediately before step S102, etc., a user identifier or the like of a user who will undergo face authentication may be accepted, and the user identifier of a user associated with this user identifier may be acquired from the start condition storage unit 101.

[0055] (Step S105) The application information acquisition unit 104 performs a process of acquiring application information.

[0056] (Step S106) The judgment unit 105 judges whether the application information acquired in step S105 satisfies the start condition acquired in step S104. If it does, proceed to step S107, and if it does not, proceed to step S110. Note that the judgment unit 105 may not start the processing of step S106 until some application information is acquired in step S105. Also, the judgment unit 105 may determine whether the application information was acquired within a predetermined time in step S105, and if it was not acquired, determine that the start condition is not satisfied.

[0057] (Step S107) The face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication using the image acquired in step S103.

[0058] (Step S108) The face authentication unit 106 judges whether the result of the face authentication performed in step S107 is authentication permitted or not. If authentication is permitted, the process proceeds to step S109, and if authentication is not permitted, the process returns to step S110.

[0059] (Step S109) Result processing unit 107 performs processing according to the authentication result of step S108, and then returns to step S101.

[0060] (Step S110) The information processing device 1 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since it was decided in step S101 to perform face authentication, and if so, it determines that a timeout has occurred and returns to step S101, and if not, returns to step S102.

[0061] In the above flowchart, the case where the determination unit 106 determines in step S106 that the start condition is satisfied is described, and the process proceeds to step S107 to perform face authentication. However, when the face authentication is performed in steps S107 and S108 and it is determined that the authentication is permitted, the process from step S103 to step S106 is performed to determine whether the start condition is satisfied, and if it is determined that the start condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S109. If it is determined that the start condition is not satisfied, the process of acquiring new application information is performed again, and the determination of whether the acquired application information satisfies the start condition may be repeated until a timeout occurs. At this time, if the application information is an image, the camera 102 may repeatedly capture an image so that the application information acquisition unit 104 can acquire new application information. In addition, the process of face authentication in steps S107 and S108 and the process of determining whether the start condition is satisfied in steps S103 to S106 may be performed in parallel at the same time, and in step S109, the result processing unit 107 may perform a process according to the authentication result corresponding to the combination of the results of each process. Note that performing processing according to the authentication result is a concept that also includes not performing a predetermined process depending on the authentication result.

[0062] In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the process ends when the power is turned off or an interrupt occurs to end the process.

[0063] A specific operation of the information processing device 1 in this embodiment will be described below. A conceptual diagram of the information processing device 1 is shown in Fig. 1. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the information processing device 1 is a computer equipped with a camera 102 that takes pictures of a user. It is also assumed that only user A can log in to this computer.

[0064] (Example 1) The following description will be given taking as an example a case where the application information is an image.

[0065] FIG. 3(a) is a start condition management table for managing the start conditions stored in the start condition storage unit 101. The start condition management table has attributes of "condition" indicating the condition used to determine the start of face recognition, and "specific information" which is the file name of information for identifying the condition. Here, since only user A can log in, it is assumed that only the start condition used before user A starts face recognition is stored in the start condition storage unit 101. Here, the "condition" is assumed to be a condition that "an image having a feature amount matching the feature amount of data having a file name "u001" is recognized", and the "specific information" indicates data having a feature amount specified in this condition and having a file name "u001". It is assumed that the data "u001" is data having a feature amount acquired from an image of the right hand of user A making a peace sign taken by user A.

[0066] For ease of explanation, the "conditions" are expressed in natural language here, but the "conditions" may be composed of, for example, one or more functions corresponding to these natural languages, method names, control syntax indicated by "if", "then", etc. Furthermore, the "conditions" may be algorithms for performing decision processing corresponding to these natural languages. The same applies to other conditions.

[0067] 3(b) shows a face recognition data management table for managing data used for face recognition stored in a storage unit (not shown) of the information processing device 1, and "USER_A_FACE_RECOG" is assumed to be data used for face recognition of user A. The data used for face recognition of user A is, for example, multiple images of user A's face captured from different positions and information on the facial features of user A. The multiple images may include images captured using infrared light.

[0068] First, when user A turns on the information processing device 1, the information processing device 1 executes a startup process and decides to perform face authentication to enable a legitimate user to log in. Then, the camera 102 captures an image of the user A standing in front of the information processing device 1. At this time, it is assumed that the user A is standing in front of the camera 102 making a peace sign with his right hand, and the captured image shows the user's face and his right hand making the peace sign. The image acquisition unit 103 acquires the image captured by the camera 102.

[0069] FIG. 4(a) is a diagram showing an image captured by the image capture unit 103 and taken by the camera 102 of the user A making a peace sign with his right hand.

[0070] The determination unit 105 reads out and acquires the start condition of user A shown in FIG.

[0071] The application information acquisition unit 104 acquires the entire image shown in Fig. 4(a) as the application information. Note that, in cases where it is predetermined that the user's hand sign is used as the start condition, the image acquisition unit 103 may detect an image of the hand from the image acquired, cut out the detected image of the hand, and acquire it as the application information. When detecting an image of the hand, information on the feature amount of the hand used to detect the image of the hand may be stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown) or the like.

[0072] The determination unit 105 performs a process of recognizing an image having a feature amount that matches the feature amount of the data having the file name "u001" in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 104 according to the start condition acquired above. For example, rectangular areas are set in the image indicated by the application information while shifting the position, and it is determined whether the feature amount acquired in the image extracted from each set area matches the feature amount of the data having the file name "u001". Here, it is determined that the feature amount matches when the similarity of the feature amount is equal to or greater than a threshold. Then, when a matching area exists, the determination unit 105 determines that the start condition is satisfied. Here, the data having the file name "u001" is a feature amount acquired from an image of the hand of user A making a peace sign, so when the application information includes an image of the hand of user A making a peace sign, an image having a matching feature amount is recognized and it is determined that the start condition is satisfied.

[0073] For example, suppose that the image in area 40 shown in FIG. 4(a) is recognized as an image having features that match the features of data with the file name "u001", and is determined to satisfy the start condition.

[0074] Since the determination unit 105 has determined that the start condition is satisfied, the face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication processing on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103. Specifically, the face authentication unit 106 first detects a face image 41 from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103 using a face detection technique. Then, for the detected face image 41, a process of recognizing the face of user A is performed using the face authentication data "USER_A_FACE_RECOG" of user A shown in FIG. 3(b). If the face of user A is recognized, it is determined that authentication is permitted, and if it is not recognized, it is determined that authentication is not permitted. Here, it is assumed that the face of user A is recognized and authentication is permitted.

[0075] Since the authentication is permitted, the result processing unit 107 performs a process of logging in to the information processing device 1. For example, the result processing unit 107 executes a login process on the information processing device 1, and causes a screen after login to be displayed on a monitor (not shown) or the like.

[0076] Here, suppose that when the information processing device 1 decides to perform face authentication, user A who is in front of the camera 102 is not making a peace sign, and the image captured by the camera 102 shows the user's face but does not show the hand making the peace sign, unlike in Fig. 4(a). The image acquisition unit 103 acquires the image captured by the camera 102.

[0077] FIG. 4(b) is a diagram showing an image captured by the camera 102 of the user A who is not making a peace sign and which is acquired by the image acquisition unit 103.

[0078] As described above, the judgment unit 105 reads out and acquires the start condition of user A shown in Fig. 3(a) stored in the start condition storage unit 101, the application information acquisition unit 104 acquires the entire image shown in Fig. 4(b) as application information, and the judgment unit 105 performs processing to recognize an image having a feature amount matching the feature amount of the data with the file name "u001" in the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit 104 according to the acquired start condition. Here, since the image of the peace sign with the right hand is not in the application information, the image with the matching feature amount is not recognized, and it is determined that the start condition is not satisfied.

[0079] Since the determination unit 105 determines that the start condition is not satisfied, the face authentication unit 106 does not start face authentication, and the result processing unit 107 does not perform the login process.

[0080] Furthermore, if the judgment unit 105 recognizes an image with features matching those of user A's peace sign in an image acquired by the image acquisition unit 103, determines that the start condition is satisfied, and the face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication, but face authentication is not permitted, the result processing unit 107 does not perform login processing.

[0081] In the above specific example, the start condition storage unit 101 may store, as the start condition for user A as described above, in addition to the start condition that an image of a right hand making a peace sign can be recognized, a further start condition that an image of a right hand with three fingers held up can be recognized, and the judgment unit 103 may appropriately perform a process of recognizing an image of a right hand making a peace sign and a process of recognizing an image of a right hand with three fingers held up, and may judge that the start condition is satisfied if either image is recognized. The result processing unit 107 may perform login processing at different security levels as predetermined processing according to the authentication result, depending on whether the judgment unit 103 recognizes an image of a right hand making a peace sign or an image of a right hand with three fingers held up. For example, when the face authentication is permitted and the determination unit 103 recognizes an image of a right hand making a peace sign and determines that the start condition is satisfied, the result processing unit 107 may perform normal login processing, and when the face authentication is permitted and the determination unit 103 recognizes an image of a right hand with three fingers raised and determines that the start condition is satisfied, the result processing unit 107 may perform login processing at a high security level. For example, by performing login processing at a high security level, user A can access files that could not be accessed by normal login processing. Furthermore, when none of the start conditions are satisfied, the result processing unit 107 may not perform login processing.

[0082] (Example 2) Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the application information is information input by the user using the input means.

[0083] Fig. 3(c) is a start condition management table for managing the start conditions stored in start condition storage unit 101, and has the attributes "condition" and "specific information" similar to the start condition management table in Fig. 3(a). The "condition" here is a condition that "an event with the event name 'double click' is recognized", and the "specific information" does not contain data that specifies the condition. Note that in this case, the "specific information" may be omitted.

[0084] As described above, when the information processing device 1 decides to perform facial authentication to execute login, the camera 102 captures an image of user A standing in front of the information processing device 1, and the image acquisition unit 103 acquires the image captured by the camera 102.

[0085] The determination unit 105 reads out and acquires the start condition of user A shown in FIG.

[0086] Here, if user A performs an arbitrary operation using a mouse as an input means, the application information acquisition unit 104 acquires, as application information, the event name of an event that occurs due to input via the mouse. Here, for example, it is assumed that user A performs a double-click operation, which is predetermined for logging in, using the mouse, and the application information acquisition unit 104 acquires the event name of the double-click event that occurs as a result, "double-click", as application information. Note that the predetermined operation here may be an operation other than double-clicking. Also, in order to simplify operations, it is preferable that the predetermined operation is an operation on an arbitrary location, rather than an operation on a specific button, field, etc.

[0087] For example, when the applicable information acquisition unit 104 acquires applicable information, the determination unit 105 determines whether this applicable information satisfies the start condition acquired above. In this case, since the event name, which is the applicable information, matches the event name "double click" included in the start condition acquired above, the determination unit 105 determines that the start condition is satisfied. The process thereafter performed by the face authentication unit 106 and the like is the same as when the determination unit 105 determines in the above specific example that the start condition is satisfied, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here. Note that the determination unit 105 determines whether the applicable information acquisition unit 104

[0088] Furthermore, if, instead of the double-click operation described above, the user performs a drag operation using the input means, that is, the mouse, the applicable information acquisition unit 104 acquires, as applicable information, the event name "mouse drag" of the event that occurred due to the input performed via the mouse.

[0089] In this case, the event name, which is the applicable information, does not match the event name "double click" of the start condition acquired above, so the determination unit 105 determines that the start condition is not satisfied. Therefore, the face authentication unit 106 does not perform face authentication processing.

[0090] In each of the above specific examples, the case where face authentication processing is performed after determining whether or not the start condition is satisfied has been described, but as described above, for example, face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication processing, and only when authentication is permitted, determination unit 105 determines whether or not the start condition is satisfied, and when the start condition is satisfied, result processing unit 107 performs processing according to a predetermined authentication result. Also, face authentication processing by face authentication unit 106 and determination processing by the determination unit as to whether or not the start condition is satisfied may be performed simultaneously, and result processing unit 107 may perform processing according to a combination of the respective processing results as processing according to a predetermined authentication result.

[0091] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent processing according to the result of face authentication from being performed when the user does not intend to do so. For example, face authentication can be prevented from being performed when the application information does not satisfy the start condition, and face authentication can be prevented from being performed when the user does not intend to do so, thereby preventing processing according to the result of face authentication from being performed.

[0092] In each of the above embodiments, each process (each function) may be realized by centralized processing in a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing in a plurality of devices.

[0093] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the information processing device is a stand-alone device has been described, but the information processing device may be a stand-alone device or a server device in a server-client system. In the latter case, the output unit and the reception unit receive inputs and output screens via communication lines. In the latter case, for example, a reception unit (not shown) or the like receives information such as a user identifier of a user who performs face authentication from a client device used by the user, and the determination unit 105 determines whether or not the start condition is satisfied using a start condition corresponding to the user identifier, and the face authentication unit 106 performs face authentication using information used for face authentication of the user corresponding to the user identifier.

[0094] In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit (e.g., a recording medium such as a hard disk or memory).

[0095] The software for realizing the information processing device in each of the above-described embodiments is a program as follows: That is, this program causes a computer that can access a start condition storage unit in which start conditions for starting processing according to the result of face authentication are stored for each user to function as an image acquisition unit that acquires an image captured by a camera, an application information acquisition unit that acquires application information that is information to be applied to the start condition, a determination unit that determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit satisfies the start condition, a face authentication unit that performs face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and acquires the authentication result, and a result processing unit that performs processing according to the authentication result when the determination unit determines that the start condition is satisfied.

[0096] In addition, the functions realized by the above program do not include functions that can only be realized by hardware, such as a modem or an interface card in an acquisition unit that acquires information or an output unit that outputs information.

[0097] Furthermore, the program may be executed by a single computer or a plurality of computers. That is, the program may be executed by either centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0098] 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the above program to realize the information processing device according to the above embodiment. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0099] In FIG. 5, computer system 900 includes a computer 901 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 905 , a keyboard 902 , a mouse 903 , and a monitor 904 .

[0100] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a computer system 900. In Fig. 6, the computer 901 includes, in addition to a CD-ROM drive 905, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing programs such as a boot-up program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 913 connected to the MPU 911 and temporarily storing instructions of application programs and providing a temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 for storing application programs, system programs, and data, and a bus 915 for mutually connecting the MPU 911, the ROM 912, etc. Note that the computer 901 may include a network card (not shown) for providing a connection to a LAN.

[0101] A program for causing computer system 900 to execute the functions of the information processing device or the like according to the above-described embodiment may be stored on CD-ROM 921, inserted into CD-ROM drive 905, and transferred to hard disk 914. Alternatively, the program may be transmitted to computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored on hard disk 914. The program is loaded into RAM 913 at the time of execution. The program may also be loaded directly from CD-ROM 921 or the network.

[0102] The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the information processing device according to the above embodiment. The program may include only an instruction portion that calls appropriate functions (modules) in a controlled manner to obtain a desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, and a detailed description will be omitted.

[0103] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0104] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the information processing device according to the present invention is suitable as a device for authenticating a user, and is particularly useful as a device for performing face authentication. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1. Information processing device 101 Start condition storage section 102 Camera 103 Image acquisition unit 104 Application information acquisition section 105 Judgment Department 106 Face Recognition Unit 107 Result Processing Unit

Claims

1. a start condition storage unit in which two or more start conditions for starting a login process for a predetermined device, the start conditions being processing according to a result of face authentication, and for each user, start conditions for performing the login process at different security levels are stored; an image acquisition unit that acquires an image captured by a camera; an application information acquisition unit that acquires application information that is information applied to the start condition; a determination unit that determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit satisfies any one of the two or more start conditions; a face authentication unit that performs face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and acquires an authentication result; and a result processing unit that, when the determination unit determines that a start condition is satisfied, performs login processing according to the authentication result at a security level according to the start condition that the determination unit determines to be satisfied.

2. The face authentication unit is The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a step of: performing face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit, and acquiring an authentication result only when the determination unit determines that a start condition is satisfied.

3. The application information acquisition unit 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition unit acquires application information that is a whole or a part of the image acquired.

4. The application information acquisition unit 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application information is input by a user using the input means.

5. The result processing unit: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a step of executing a login process for a predetermined apparatus only when the authentication result indicates that authentication has been permitted.

6. An information processing method using a start condition storage unit, an image acquisition unit, an application information acquisition unit, a determination unit, a face authentication unit, and a result processing unit, in which two or more start conditions for starting a login process for a predetermined device, the start conditions being processing according to a result of face authentication, and for which login processes are performed at different security levels are stored for each user, the method comprising: an image acquiring step in which the image acquiring unit acquires an image captured by a camera; an application information acquisition step in which the application information acquisition unit acquires application information that is information to be applied to a start condition; a determination step in which the determination unit determines whether the application information acquired in the application information acquisition step satisfies any one of the two or more start conditions; a face authentication step in which the face authentication unit performs face authentication using the image acquired in the image acquisition step and acquires an authentication result; and a result processing step in which, when the result processing unit determines in the judgment step that a start condition is met, it performs login processing in accordance with the authentication result at a security level in accordance with the start condition that is determined to be met in the judgment step.

7. A computer that can access a start condition storage unit in which two or more start conditions for starting a login process for a predetermined device, the start conditions being processing according to a result of face authentication, and for which login processes are performed at different security levels are stored for each user, an image acquisition unit that acquires an image captured by a camera; an application information acquisition unit that acquires application information that is information applied to the start condition; a determination unit that determines whether the application information acquired by the application information acquisition unit satisfies any one of the two or more start conditions; a face authentication unit that performs face authentication using the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and acquires an authentication result; A program for functioning as a result processing unit that performs login processing according to the authentication result at a security level according to the start condition that the judgment unit has determined to be satisfied when the judgment unit determines that the start condition is satisfied.

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