Authentication device, processing method, and program

Abstract

In the present invention, degree-of-importance information indicating the degree to which a person to be authenticated may approach is acquired for each imaging direction of a plurality of imaging devices. On the basis of the degree-of-importance information, an imaging device with an imaging direction corresponding to a direction for which the degree to which a person may approach is high is identified as an imaging device with a high degree of importance. For imaging devices other than the imaging device with a high degree of importance, an image generation parameter to be used in the generation of a captured image is set to an image generation parameter with which the power consumption efficiency is improved.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an authentication device, a processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] When performing biometric authentication of a person, it is required that the position of the biometric body in the captured image is close to the correct position. Related techniques are disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2019-526056 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2017 / 163488 [Patent Document 3] JP 2007-145200 A [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2019 / 026985 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] US Pat. No. 6,399,433 discloses dynamically configuring a LIDAR by dynamically allocating LIDAR resources (eg, number of laser pulses or density) according to the relative importance of identified objects. Patent Document 2 discloses a method of performing authentication using a camera installed at an appropriate position from which a face image of the user can be acquired. Patent Document 3 discloses a method for detecting the risk of unauthorized use using vehicle position information, time, and the like, and changing the authentication level. Patent Document 4 discloses, as background technology, a subject identification device that is connected to multiple image capture devices, selects one image capture device from the multiple image capture devices using information on the position of the subject contained in the image captured by the image capture devices, and outputs an instruction to the selected image capture device to increase at least one of the image capture frame rate and image quality of the selected image capture device (e.g., Patent Document 0002, etc.).

[0005] In the meantime, it is being considered to install multiple image capturing devices in an area where a user is to be authenticated, and to perform authentication processing based on an image captured by any one of the image capturing devices. In such a case, it is required to operate the multiple image capturing devices efficiently.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide an authentication device, an authentication method, and a program that solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an authentication device comprises an importance information acquisition means for acquiring importance information indicating the degree of likelihood that a person to be authenticated will approach for each shooting direction of a plurality of camera devices, a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is highly likely to approach as a high-importance camera device based on the importance information, and a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used for generating captured images for camera devices other than the high-importance camera devices to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency.

[0008] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a processing method obtains importance information indicating the degree of likelihood that a person to be authenticated will approach for each shooting direction of a plurality of camera devices, identifies a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is highly likely to approach based on the importance information as a camera device of high importance, and sets image generation parameters used to generate captured images for camera devices other than the camera devices of high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency.

[0009] According to a third aspect of the present invention, the program causes a computer of the authentication device to function as: an importance information acquisition means for acquiring importance information indicating the degree of likelihood that the person to be authenticated will approach for each shooting direction of a plurality of camera devices; a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is highly likely to approach as a high importance camera device based on the importance information; and a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used to generate captured images for camera devices other than the high importance camera devices to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, a plurality of photographing devices are installed in an area where a user is authenticated, and when authentication processing is performed based on an image obtained from any one of the photographing devices, the plurality of photographing devices can be operated efficiently. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an authentication system including an authentication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the authentication device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of an authentication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a first diagram showing an overview of importance information according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the authentication device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a second diagram showing an overview of importance information according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a third diagram showing an overview of importance information according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a minimum configuration of an authentication device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a processing flow of an authentication device with a minimum configuration according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an authentication system including an authentication device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the authentication system 100 according to this embodiment includes an authentication device 1 (processing device) and an image capturing device 2 provided inside a vehicle 5. The authentication device 1 is communicatively connected to a first image capturing device 21 whose image capturing direction (first image capturing direction) is the direction of the windshield, a second image capturing device 22 whose image capturing direction (second image capturing direction) is the direction of the right window glass, a third image capturing device 23 whose image capturing direction (third image capturing direction) is the direction of the rear window glass, and a fourth image capturing device 24 whose image capturing direction (fourth image capturing direction) is the direction of the left window glass. The first image capturing device 21 to the fourth image capturing device 24 are collectively referred to as the image capturing device 2. In this embodiment, the authentication system 100 has image capturing devices 2 corresponding to the four image capturing directions of the first image capturing direction to the fourth image capturing direction, but may have image capturing devices 2 corresponding to other image capturing directions.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the authentication device. As shown in this figure, the authentication device 1 is a computer equipped with various hardware components such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 104, a communication module 105, and a database 106.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the authentication device. The authentication device 1 starts an authentication control program, which causes the authentication device 1 to exert the functions of an importance information generation unit 11, a resource distribution unit 12 (importance information acquisition means, image capture device identification means, resource setting means), a vehicle information acquisition unit 13, an environment information acquisition unit 14, an authentication unit 15, and a key release unit 16.

[0015] The importance information generating unit 11 generates importance information indicating the degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each different shooting direction captured by the multiple image capturing devices 2. The importance information may be defined as a probability map indicating the probability that a person to be authenticated will approach. The resource distribution unit 12 identifies the camera device 2 with a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which a person is likely to approach based on the importance information as the camera device 2 with high importance. The resource distribution unit 12 sets the image generation parameters used to generate captured images for the camera devices 2 other than the camera device 2 with high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency. Furthermore, the resource distribution unit 12 sets the image generation parameters used to generate captured images by the camera device 2 with high importance to image generation parameters that improve authentication accuracy within a range in which the total power consumption of the multiple camera devices 2 is reduced.

[0016] The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 acquires information indicating that the vehicle 5 has been parked. The environmental information acquisition unit 14 acquires distance information corresponding to each shooting direction based on the sensing information of the distance sensor 3 . The authentication unit 15 performs authentication processing using the image captured by the image capture device 2 . The lock release unit 16 releases locks such as door locks based on the processing result of the authentication unit 15.

[0017] The authentication device 1 in this embodiment identifies the camera device 2 of the multiple camera devices 2 whose shooting direction corresponds to the direction in which a person is likely to approach based on the importance information, and identifies the camera device 2 whose shooting direction corresponds to the direction in which a person is likely to approach based on the importance information as the camera device 2 of high importance. The authentication device 1 sets the image generation parameters used to generate the captured images for the other camera devices 2 other than the camera device 2 of high importance to image generation parameters that increase power consumption efficiency, and sets the image generation parameters used to generate the captured images by the camera device 2 of high importance to image generation parameters that increase authentication accuracy within a range in which the total power consumption of the multiple camera devices 2 is reduced. In this way, the authentication device 1 improves the power consumption efficiency of the authentication system 100 including the multiple camera devices 2 as a whole. In addition, the captured images generated by the camera device 2 of high importance are captured images that maintain suitability for use in authenticating the captured images while reducing the overall power consumption of the authentication system 100, and the authentication device 1 can continue to generate captured images appropriate for use in authenticating the person to be authenticated.

[0018] First Embodiment FIG. 4 is a first diagram showing an overview of the importance information. Suppose vehicle 5 is parked in a position where fences 6 stand near the vehicle body on the rear and right sides. In this case, a person such as the driver leaves in the forward or left direction, and when the person returns to vehicle 5, it is expected that the person will approach vehicle 5 from the same forward or left direction. In the case where authentication device 1 provided in vehicle 5 controls automatic photographing of a person approaching the vehicle, performs authentication using the photographed image, and releases the door lock if authentication is successful, when vehicle 5 is parked with the doors closed to the right and rear as shown in Fig. 4, the important photographing directions during authentication are the forward and left directions.

[0019] In such a case, the authentication device 1 determines that the forward and left directions are highly likely to be approached by a person, and generates importance information that indicates information on "approachable areas" indicating high importance in the forward and left directions, and does not include information on "approachable areas" in other directions (right and rear). The importance information may be array information indicating the importance corresponding to each pixel of an overhead image centered on the vehicle 5. The authentication device 1 generates an overhead image using the image capture device 2, and generates array information indicating the importance corresponding to each pixel of the overhead image. For example, the authentication device 1 determines that a shooting direction in which the distance information from the image capture device 2 to an adjacent object is 2 m or more away from the object is an "approachable area," and generates importance information indicating the importance according to the determination result. The authentication device 1 may generate importance information indicating three or more degrees of importance according to the distance from the image capture device 2 to the object. For example, the authentication device 1 may determine the lowest importance as "0" when the distance from the camera device 2 to the target is less than 1 m, the middle importance as "1" when the distance from the camera device 2 to the target is 1 m or more but less than 2 m, and the highest importance as "2" when the distance from the camera device 2 to the target is 2 m or more. In this case, the authentication device 1 generates importance information that is array information in which the information of importance "2" indicating an "approachable area" is added to the array corresponding to the pixels of the area determined to have importance "2" in the rectangular range of the overhead image of the vehicle 5, and the information of importance "1" or "0" not indicating an "approachable area" is added to the array corresponding to the pixels of the area determined to have importance "1" or "0".

[0020] 4, the authentication device 1 uses the importance information to identify the first imaging device 21, whose imaging direction is the front, and the fourth imaging device 24, whose imaging direction is the leftward, as the imaging devices 2 responsible for imaging the imaging range with high importance. In this case, the authentication device 1 sets the image generation parameters used to generate captured images for the second imaging device 22 and the third imaging device 23, which are the imaging devices 2 other than the first imaging device 21 and the fourth imaging device 24, whose imaging directions are high, to image generation parameters that at least improve power consumption efficiency. The authentication device 1 may set the image generation parameters used to generate captured images by the first imaging device 21 and the fourth imaging device 24, whose imaging directions are high, to image generation parameters that improve authentication accuracy within a range in which the total power consumption of the multiple imaging devices is reduced.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the authentication device. Next, the processing flow of the authentication device will be explained step by step. The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 of the authentication device 1 acquires position information from a sensor that detects the position of the shift lever (step S100). The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 determines whether the vehicle 5 is in a parked state based on whether the position information of the shift lever is in the parking "P" position (step S101). If the position information of the shift lever is in the parking "P" position, the vehicle information acquisition unit 13 instructs the importance information generation unit 11 to generate importance information. The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 may determine that the vehicle 5 is in a parked state based on vehicle information acquired from a sensor provided in another vehicle 5.

[0022] When the importance information generating unit 11 receives an instruction to generate the importance information, it instructs the environmental information acquiring unit 14 to acquire environmental information. The environmental information acquiring unit 14 controls the distance sensors 3 provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle 5 to sense distance information to nearby objects (step S102). The distance sensor 3 emits, for example, infrared light or radar, and calculates the distance to the nearby object based on the timing of the emission and the timing of the reception of the reflected light. As an example, the distance sensor 3 is provided on the vehicle 5 according to the imaging direction of each of the first imaging device 21 to the fourth imaging device 24. The distance sensor 3 may calculate the distance to the nearby object located in a sensing range corresponding to the imaging range of each imaging device 2. The distance sensor 3 may calculate the distance to the object at each position (sensing range) in the horizontal direction at the height at which the device is installed, for example. The environmental information acquiring unit 14 acquires distance information of the sensing range from each of the distance sensors 3 on the front, rear, left and right sides. The distance sensor 3 may be, for example, a device such as Lidar that detects the distance to each object in the imaging range for each pixel and generates a distance image. The environmental information acquisition unit 14 may acquire distance information of the sensing range based on distance information of each pixel included in the distance image, or the image capture device 2 itself may operate as the distance sensor 3 that generates the distance image.

[0023] The importance information generation unit 11 acquires distance information of the sensing range from each distance sensor 3. Based on the distance information of the sensing range acquired from the distance sensor 3, the importance information generation unit 11 calculates the importance of the sensing range (step S103). For example, the distance information of the sensing range is each distance information in the horizontal direction at the height at which the distance sensor 3 is installed. In this case, the importance information generation unit 11 determines the importance of the sensing range to be the importance according to the closest distance information among the distance information in the horizontal range. Note that the farther the distance information is, the higher the importance.

[0024] The importance information generating unit 11 may determine the importance of the sensing range by other methods. It is assumed that the importance information generating unit 11 specifies the first shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "2" based on the distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 having a sensing range in the forward direction, specifies the second shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "0" based on the distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 having a sensing range in the right direction, specifies the third shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "0" based on the distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 having a sensing range in the backward direction, and specifies the fourth shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "2" based on the distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 having a sensing range in the left direction. In this case, the importance information generating unit 11 generates importance information including arrangement information of the importance corresponding to each pixel, in which the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range forward and to the left of the vehicle 5 excluding the range of the central vehicle 5 is set to "2" and the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range to the right and behind the vehicle 5 is set to "0" (step S104). The importance information generating unit 11 records the importance information in a memory or the like.

[0025] Here, the importance information generating unit 11 may repeat the generation of the importance information at a predetermined timing. For example, the importance information generating unit 11 may repeat the generation of the importance information at a predetermined time interval and record the latest importance information in a storage unit such as a memory. The importance information generating unit 11 may detect a communication connection with a portable device held by the driver, such as a smart key or a portable terminal, and generate the importance information at the timing of the detection. For example, when the driver parks the vehicle 5 and leaves, and then returns to the vehicle 5, the authentication device 1 may generate the importance information in response to a communication connection between the authentication device 1 and the portable device. This allows the latest importance information to be generated and stored based on the latest state of nearby objects. For example, in a parking lot, other vehicles parked adjacently may move. This may change the direction when the driver returns to the vehicle 5, and in this case, the importance indicating the degree of possibility that the person to be authenticated will approach will change, so it is desirable for the authentication device 1 to generate and store importance information corresponding to the latest state of nearby objects.

[0026] When the driver returns to the vehicle 5 after the vehicle 5 has been parked for a while, the authentication device 1 detects the approach of the driver through a communication connection with the portable device (step S105). The resource distribution unit 12 then acquires the importance information from the memory. The resource distribution unit 12 acquires the importance information corresponding to each pixel of the overhead image indicated by the importance information. The resource distribution unit 12 determines the image generation parameters of each image capture device 2 based on the importance information (step S106).

[0027] That is, the resource distribution unit 12 determines image generation parameters to be set for the first image capture device 21 based on importance information corresponding to each pixel in the forward direction, which is the image capture direction of the first image capture device 21. Similarly, the resource distribution unit 12 determines image generation parameters to be set for the second image capture device 22 based on importance information corresponding to each pixel in the rightward direction, which is the image capture direction of the second image capture device 22. Similarly, the resource distribution unit 12 determines image generation parameters to be set for the third image capture device 23 based on importance information corresponding to each pixel in the rightward direction, which is the image capture direction of the third image capture device 23, and determines image generation parameters to be set for the fourth image capture device 24 based on importance information corresponding to each pixel in the leftward direction, which is the image capture direction of the fourth image capture device 24.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, among the pixels in a rectangular overhead image centered on the vehicle 5, the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range in front and to the left of the vehicle 5, excluding the area of ​​the central vehicle 5, is assumed to be "2," and the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range to the right and behind the vehicle 5 is assumed to be "0."

[0029] In this case, the resource distribution unit 12 sets the image generation parameters of the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23, which capture images in the right direction and backward direction, which are image capture directions other than the image capture direction with the importance level of "2", to image generation parameters that reduce power consumption (step S107). For example, the resource distribution unit 12 reduces the frame rate at which the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23 generate captured images. This can reduce the power consumption of the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23. Note that the resource distribution unit 12 may determine image generation parameters so that the compression method is "high" or the compression rate is "high" in the image generation process of the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23, and set the image generation parameters to the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23. This allows the second and third image capture devices 22 and 23 to reduce the memory capacity for recording captured images by using highly compressed captured images, thereby improving memory utilization efficiency.

[0030] The resource distribution unit 12 also sets image generation parameters for the first and fourth image capture devices 21 and 24, which have image capture ranges in the forward and left directions, which are image capture directions with a level of importance of "2", to image generation parameters that improve authentication accuracy within a range in which the total power consumption of the multiple image capture devices 2 constituting the authentication system 100 is reduced (step S108). Specifically, the resource distribution unit 12 sets the frame rate used by the first and fourth image capture devices 21 and 24 to generate captured images to "high" within a range in which the total power consumption of the multiple image capture devices 2 is reduced. By setting the frame rate to "high", the number of captured images generated per unit time is increased, and the authentication process is performed using each captured image, thereby increasing the number of authentication attempts and enabling reliable authentication to be performed in a shorter time. The resource distribution unit 12 may also set the compression method or compression rate to "low" in the image generation process in the first and fourth image capture devices 21 and 24, compared to the other image capture devices 2. By setting the compression method to "low" or the compression rate to "low," authentication is performed using a captured image in which unnecessary image information is not reduced, so that authentication accuracy can be maintained.

[0031] The resource allocation unit 12 may set an algorithm for performing authentication using captured images acquired from the second and third camera devices 22 and 23 other than the camera devices in the high-importance shooting range to a simple authentication algorithm with a small amount of processing. This can reduce the power consumption of the entire authentication system 100 and improve the power consumption efficiency.

[0032] Each of the photographing devices 2, in which the image generation parameters have been set by the processing of the resource distribution unit 12, photographs and generates a photographed image based on the settings. The authentication unit 15 of the authentication device 1 acquires a photographed image from each photographing device 2 that is in operation (step S109). The authentication unit 15 performs authentication by comparing face information of a person included in the acquired photographed image with a face image of the driver stored in advance (step S110). The authentication technology may be a known technology. The authentication unit 15 judges whether the authentication is successful. If the authentication is successful, the authentication unit 15 outputs information indicating the authentication success to the lock release unit 16. If the lock release unit 16 acquires the information indicating the authentication success, it releases the door lock, etc. (step S111). If the authentication is not successful, the authentication unit 15 repeats the authentication process using a photographed image showing the face of a person based on the photographed images acquired from each photographing device 2 in sequence.

[0033] According to the above process, the authentication device 1 identifies the camera 2 with a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which a person is likely to approach as a camera with high importance based on the importance information. The authentication device 1 sets the image generation parameters used to generate captured images for the camera devices 2 other than the camera devices 2 with high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency. Furthermore, the authentication device 1 sets the image generation parameters used to generate captured images by the camera devices 2 with high importance to image generation parameters that improve authentication accuracy in a state in which the total power consumption of the multiple camera devices 2 constituting the authentication system 100 is reduced. This allows the authentication device 1 to increase the power consumption efficiency of the authentication system 100 as a whole, and maintain suitability for use in authentication processing of captured images generated by the camera devices 2 with a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which a person is likely to approach.

[0034] Second Embodiment FIG. 6 is a second diagram showing an overview of the importance information. A person who gets off vehicle 5 and moves away is likely to return to vehicle 5 from the same direction as the person who moved away. Therefore, authentication device 1 may detect the direction of movement of the person who gets off vehicle 5 and generate importance information that further increases the importance set within the range of the moving direction.

[0035] The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 acquires position information and a door closing signal from a sensor that detects the position of the shift lever. The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 determines whether the position information of the shift lever is the parking "P" position. If the position information of the shift lever is the parking "P" position, the vehicle information acquisition unit 13 instructs the importance information generation unit 11 to generate importance information.

[0036] When the importance information generating unit 11 receives an instruction to generate the importance information, it instructs the environmental information acquiring unit 14 to acquire environmental information. The environmental information acquiring unit 14 controls the distance sensors 3 provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle 5 to sense distance information to nearby objects. The distance sensors 3 emit, for example, infrared light or radar, and calculate the distance to nearby objects based on the timing of the emission and the timing of the reception of the reflected light. As an example, the distance sensors 3 are provided on the vehicle 5 according to the imaging directions of the first imaging device 21 to the fourth imaging device 24. The distance sensor 3 may calculate the distance to nearby objects located in a sensing range corresponding to the imaging range of each imaging device 2. The distance sensor 3 may calculate the distance to objects at each position (sensing range) in the horizontal direction at the height at which the device is installed, for example. The distance sensor 3 calculates the distance information to the object every time a time elapses, such as every second. The environmental information acquisition unit 14 repeatedly acquires distance information of the sensing range from each of the distance sensors 3 on the front, rear, left and right sides at a predetermined time interval, such as every second, for a predetermined period, such as 30 seconds.

[0037] The importance information generating unit 11 acquires distance information of each sensing range from the environmental information acquiring unit 14. The importance information generating unit 11 identifies a sensing range in which the distance to the object is getting farther based on the change in the distance information of each sensing range over time. The sensing range in which the distance to the object is getting farther can be estimated as the range in the direction in which the person has left the vehicle 5. The distance information of the sensing range may be each distance information in the horizontal direction at the height at which the distance sensor 3 is installed. Furthermore, the importance information generating unit 11 determines the importance of the sensing range based on each distance information last acquired among the distance information of the horizontal ranges repeatedly acquired. Note that the farther the distance information, the higher the importance. The importance information generating unit 11 multiplies a weighting coefficient so that the importance of the sensing range in which the distance to the object is getting farther over time is further increased, and increases the importance of the range in the direction in which the person is likely to return.

[0038] For example, the importance information generating unit 11 may determine the importance as "0" if the closest distance information among the distance information in the horizontal range is less than 1 m, the importance as "1" if the distance information is 1 m or more but less than 2 m, and the importance as "2" if the distance information is 2 m or more. The importance information generating unit 11 then multiplies the importance of a sensing range in which the distance to the target object is getting farther over time by a weighting coefficient α (α>1). The importance information generating unit 11 may determine the importance of a sensing range by other methods.

[0039] More specifically, the importance information generating unit 11 specifies the first shooting range corresponding to the sensing range in the forward direction as having an importance of "2" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is the forward direction, specifies the second shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "0" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is the rightward direction, specifies the third shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "0" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is the backward direction, and specifies the fourth shooting range corresponding to the sensing range as having an importance of "2" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is the leftward direction. The importance information generating unit 11 also multiplies the importance of a sensing range in which the distance to the object is getting farther as time passes by a weighting coefficient α (α>1).

[0040] In this case, the importance information generating unit 11 generates, as importance information, arrangement information of the importance corresponding to each pixel, where the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range forward and to the left of the vehicle 5 excluding the range of the central vehicle 5 is "2", the importance of the range in the forward and leftward range where the distance to the object is decreasing over time is multiplied by a weighting coefficient α (α>1) to "2α", and the importance corresponding to each pixel in the range to the right and to the rear is "0". The importance information generating unit 11 records the importance information in a memory or the like.

[0041] The importance information generating unit 11 may identify the trajectory of the person's movement in the overhead image centered on the vehicle 5 based on the distance information, and multiply the importance according to the pixel of the position of the trajectory of the person's movement by the weighting coefficient α. When setting image generation parameters for each image capturing device 2 based on such importance information, the resource distributing unit 12 may set the image generation parameters by the same method as described above.

[0042] Through the above processing, the image generation parameters of each image capturing device 2 can be determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment, based on importance information that increases the importance of a range that is likely to approach the vehicle 5.

[0043] <Third embodiment> FIG. 7 is a third diagram showing an overview of the importance information. When setting image generation parameters for reducing the power consumption of the other imaging devices 2 other than the imaging device 2 with high importance to the other imaging devices 2, the authentication device 1 may stop the imaging operation of the other imaging devices 2. For example, as in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6, it is assumed that the second imaging range corresponding to the sensing range in the right direction is identified as having an importance of "0" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is in the right direction, and the third imaging range corresponding to the sensing range is identified as having an importance of "0" based on distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3 whose sensing range is in the rear direction. In this case, the resource allocation unit 12 may assign 0 resources to the second imaging device 22 and the third imaging device 23 and stop imaging.

[0044] The authentication device may also specify the number of pixels included in the imaging range specified in the overhead image of the imaging device 2 based on the pixels in the overlapping area between the imaging range and the overhead image, and calculate the distribution ratio of power consumption based on the ratio of the number of pixels for each imaging device. In this case, the resource distribution unit 12 may multiply the value of each pixel by a weight β (β>1) according to the importance information, assuming that the pixel value is 1, to calculate the distribution ratio so that the ratio is larger for imaging ranges with more overlapping areas of pixels with higher importance. The resource distribution unit 12 may set predetermined image generation parameters to each imaging device 2 according to the distribution ratio for each imaging device.

[0045] <Fourth embodiment> In the above-mentioned example of the other embodiment, the importance according to the pixels of each shooting direction of the overhead image centered on the vehicle 5 is calculated based on the distance information obtained from the distance sensor 3. However, the importance according to the pixels of each shooting direction of the overhead image centered on the vehicle 5 may be calculated based on geographic information such as a map, and high importance information of the shooting direction corresponding to the direction in which the person to be authenticated is likely to approach may be generated. For example, the importance information generating unit 11 of the authentication device 1 acquires map information output from a navigation device or the like, information on the current position of the vehicle 5, and the direction ahead of the vehicle 5 via the vehicle information acquiring unit 13. The importance information generating unit 11 of the authentication device 1 acquires the information. The importance information generating unit 11 detects the positions of the structures and the positions of the roads around the vehicle 5 based on the parking position of the vehicle 5, the direction ahead of the vehicle 5, and the map information. When the distance between the position of the vehicle 5 and the position of the structure is less than a predetermined distance, the importance information generating unit 11 determines the shooting direction of the structure to be low importance. When there is no structure between the vehicle 5 and the position of a nearby road, the importance information generating unit 11 determines that the shooting direction corresponding to the direction of the road has high importance. Then, based on the importance of each direction, the importance information generating unit 11 generates importance information indicating the arrangement of the importance of each pixel corresponding to each shooting direction of the overhead image. This makes it possible to generate importance information using map information (geographic information).

[0046] <Fifth embodiment> The authentication device 1 may change the image generation parameters set for each image capture device 2 according to the weather and brightness so that the image is suitable for authentication. For example, the vehicle information acquisition unit 13 acquires weather information, illuminance information, and time information from a car navigation device or an illuminance sensor. When the importance information generation unit 11 determines that it is dark outside the vehicle 5 based on the weather information, illuminance information, and time information, it may set the frame rate of the image capture device 2 corresponding to the shooting direction with high importance to "high" so that a captured image with high authentication accuracy can be generated. This increases the number of captured images generated per unit time, and by performing authentication processing using each captured image, the number of authentication attempts can be increased, making it possible to perform more reliable authentication.

[0047] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the minimum configuration of an authentication device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a process flow of an authentication device with a minimum configuration. The authentication device 1 includes at least an importance information acquisition unit 81, an image capture device identification unit 82, and a resource setting unit 83. The importance information acquiring means 81 acquires importance information indicating the degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each of different image capturing directions taken by the multiple image capturing devices 2 (step S901). The camera device identification means 82 identifies the camera device 2 having the shooting direction corresponding to the direction in which a person is likely to approach based on the importance information as the camera device 2 having high importance (step S902). Resource setting means 83 sets image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the camera devices other than camera device 2 with high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency (step S903).

[0048] Each of the above-mentioned devices has a computer system inside. The steps of each of the above-mentioned processes are stored in a computer-readable recording medium in the form of a program, and the above processes are performed by the computer reading and executing this program. Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, etc. Also, the computer program may be distributed to a computer via a communication line, and the computer that receives the program may execute the program.

[0049] The program may be a program for implementing some of the above-mentioned functions, or may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0050] A part or all of the above-described embodiments may be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0051] (Appendix 1) an importance information acquiring means for acquiring importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each of the image capturing directions of the plurality of image capturing devices; a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach based on the importance information as a camera device having high importance; a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance to image generation parameters that increase power consumption efficiency; An authentication device comprising:

[0052] (Appendix 2) The resource setting means sets image generation parameters used by the image capture device with high importance to generate a captured image to image generation parameters that increase authentication accuracy within a range in which the total power consumption of the plurality of image capture devices is reduced. 2. An authentication device as described in claim 1.

[0053] (Appendix 3) an importance information generating means for generating, based on a moving direction of the person, the importance information indicating a high importance of a shooting direction corresponding to the moving direction; 2. An authentication device as described in claim 1, comprising:

[0054] (Appendix 4) an importance information generating means for generating importance information indicating that the importance of the shooting direction is higher as the distance to the object increases based on the distance to the object; 2. An authentication device as described in claim 1, comprising:

[0055] (Appendix 5) an importance information generating means for generating importance information having a high importance level for a photographing direction corresponding to a direction in which the person to be authenticated is likely to approach based on geographic information; 2. An authentication device as described in claim 1, comprising:

[0056] (Appendix 6) The resource setting means sets the image generation parameters for reducing a frame rate used by other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance for generating the captured image. 6. An authentication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

[0057] (Appendix 7) The resource setting means sets the image generation parameters for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device having high importance, the image generation parameters lowering the compression method used by the other image capture devices to generate the captured images. 7. An authentication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

[0058] (Appendix 8) The resource setting means sets the image generation parameters for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device having high importance, the image generation parameters lowering the compression ratio used by the other image capture devices to generate the captured images. 8. An authentication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

[0059] (Appendix 9) The resource setting means sets an algorithm for performing authentication using captured images acquired from other image capturing devices other than the image capturing device having high importance to an algorithm with a low processing load. 8. An authentication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

[0060] (Appendix 10) acquiring importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each of the image capturing directions of the plurality of image capturing devices; identifying an image capture device having an image capture direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach based on the importance information as an image capture device having high importance; The image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device having high importance are set to image generation parameters that increase power consumption efficiency. Processing methods.

[0061] (Appendix 11) The authentication device computer, an importance information acquiring means for acquiring importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each of the photographing directions of the plurality of photographing devices; a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach as a camera device having high importance based on the importance information; a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency; A program that functions as a [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1. Authentication device 2. Imaging device 3. Distance sensor 5. Vehicle 11...Importance information generation unit 12 Resource distribution unit 13 Vehicle information acquisition unit 14...Environmental Information Acquisition Department 15 Authentication section 16. Unlocking section

Claims

1. an importance information generating means for generating importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each image capturing direction of a plurality of image capturing devices, the importance information being high for an image capturing direction corresponding to a moving direction of the person based on the moving direction of the person; an importance information acquiring means for acquiring the importance information; a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach based on the importance information as a camera device having high importance; a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance to image generation parameters that increase power consumption efficiency; An authentication device comprising:

2. The resource setting means sets image generation parameters used by the image capture device with high importance to generate a captured image to image generation parameters that increase authentication accuracy within a range in which a total power consumption of the plurality of image capture devices is reduced. The authentication device according to claim 1 .

3. The resource setting means sets the image generation parameters for reducing a frame rate used by other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance for generating the captured image.

3. The authentication device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The resource setting means sets the image generation parameters for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device having high importance, the image generation parameters lowering the compression ratio used by the other image capture devices to generate the captured images. The authentication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. generating importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each image capturing direction of a plurality of image capturing devices, the importance information being of high importance for an image capturing direction corresponding to a moving direction based on a moving direction of the person; Obtaining the importance information; identifying an image capture device having an image capture direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach based on the importance information as an image capture device having high importance; The image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device having high importance are set to image generation parameters that increase power consumption efficiency. Processing methods.

6. The authentication device computer, an importance information generating means for generating importance information indicating a degree of possibility that a person to be authenticated will approach for each image capturing direction of a plurality of image capturing devices, the importance information being high for an image capturing direction corresponding to a moving direction of the person based on the moving direction of the person; an importance information acquiring means for acquiring the importance information; a camera device identification means for identifying a camera device having a shooting direction corresponding to a direction in which the person is likely to approach as a camera device having high importance based on the importance information; a resource setting means for setting image generation parameters used for generating captured images for the other image capture devices other than the image capture device with high importance to image generation parameters that improve power consumption efficiency; A program that functions as a

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