Ticket gate system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

An information processing device (100) comprises an identification unit (102) that uses facial recognition to identify a person that has passed through a gate of a paid area of a means of transportation, a settlement processing unit (104) that performs settlement processing for a fare for the identified person, a transmission unit (106) that transmits information that indicates that the means of transportation was used to a terminal of the identified person, and a refund processing unit 108 that performs refund processing for the settled fare when prescribed information has been acquired from the terminal.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ticket gate system, an information processing method, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of an automatic ticket gate with a face matching function is described in Patent Document 1. The system in Patent Document 1 includes a storage device that stores in advance the authentication information of a plurality of users and their pass permission information in association with each other, an automatic ticket gate that restricts whether or not a user can pass through, a biometric information acquisition device that acquires biometric information of a user passing through the automatic ticket gate, and a control device that compares specific information of the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquisition device with authentication information stored in the storage device, determines whether or not the user is allowed to pass based on the pass permission information stored in association with the authentication information derived based on the comparison result, and outputs a pass permission signal to the automatic ticket gate when the user is allowed to pass. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-47672 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 relates to a system that uses facial recognition or QR code recognition to manage permission or denial of passage through an automatic ticket gate. For this reason, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot solve the problems that, in a ticket gate that uses a facial recognition gate, tightening the facial recognition standards reduces the rate of false recognition and the rate of erroneous fare charging, but reduces the rate of passage through the gate and reduces convenience, and that loosening the facial recognition standards improves the rate of passage through the gate but increases the rate of false recognition and the rate of erroneous fare charging. In response to this, the inventors have studied ways to appropriately control the incidence of erroneous fare charges and the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates, and have also studied ways to provide greater convenience to users with this ticket gate system.

[0005] One example of the object of the present invention is to provide a ticket gate system, an information processing method, and a recording medium that solve the problems of an increased rate of erroneous fare charges and a decreased rate of passage through the gate at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates, in consideration of the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, A means for identifying a person who has passed through a ticket gate of a transportation facility by facial recognition; a payment processing means for performing a payment process for the fare to the identified person; a transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A ticket gate system is provided which includes a refund processing means which, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a gate control means for permitting a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the fare for the transportation facility is paid by a commuter pass; When the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, a ticket gate system is provided which includes a payment processing means for processing the payment of the fare for a person whose facial authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a determining means for determining whether a fare payment method used by a user of the transportation facility is a commuter pass or a balance payment; an authentication means for setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; a gate control means for permitting the user to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the face authentication is successful, if the payment method is a commuter pass; If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, a ticket gate system is provided that includes a payment processing means that performs payment processing of the fare for the user who has successfully passed the face authentication.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, One or more computers Facial recognition is used to identify people passing through the ticket gates of public transport. Performing a fare payment process for the identified person; transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to the terminal of the identified person; An information processing method is provided in which, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, a refund process for the fare that has already been paid is executed.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, One or more computers If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, permitting a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; When the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, an information processing method is provided in which the payment process for the fare is carried out for a person whose face authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, One or more computers Determine whether the transportation user's fare payment method is a commuter pass or a balance payment; setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; If the payment method is a commuter pass, when the face authentication is successful, the user is permitted to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; When the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, an information processing method is provided in which a payment process for the fare is carried out for the user who has successfully passed the face authentication.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, On the computer, A procedure for identifying a person passing through a transportation ticket gate using facial recognition; a step of processing a fare payment for the identified person; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A computer-readable recording medium is provided that stores a program for executing a procedure for executing a refund process for the paid fare when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, On the computer, If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, a step of allowing a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, a computer-readable recording medium is provided that stores a program for executing a procedure for processing the fare payment for a person whose facial recognition result meets a second standard that is stricter than the first standard.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, On the computer, a procedure for determining whether a transit user is paying their fare by commuter pass or by balance payment; a step of setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; a step of permitting the user to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the face authentication is successful, in the case where the payment method is a commuter pass; If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, a computer-readable recording medium is provided that stores a program for executing a procedure for processing the fare payment for the user who has successfully undergone facial authentication.

[0015] Another aspect of the present invention may be a program that causes at least one computer to execute the method of the above aspect, or a computer-readable recording medium on which such a program is recorded. This recording medium includes a non-transitory tangible medium. The computer program includes computer program code which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the information processing method on an information processing device.

[0016] Any combination of the above components, and any transformation of the present invention into a method, device, system, recording medium, computer program, etc., are also valid aspects of the present invention.

[0017] Furthermore, the various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to be independent entities, but may be formed as a single member by multiple components, one component may be formed from multiple components, one component may be part of another component, or part of one component may overlap with part of another component, etc.

[0018] Furthermore, although the method and computer program of the present invention describe a number of steps in a sequential order, the order in which the steps are described does not limit the order in which the steps are executed. Therefore, when implementing the method and computer program of the present invention, the order of the steps can be changed as long as it does not cause any problems in terms of the content.

[0019] Furthermore, the multiple steps of the method and computer program of the present invention are not limited to being executed at different times, and therefore, a step may occur while another step is being executed, or the execution timing of a step may partially or completely overlap with the execution timing of another step, etc. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to one aspect of the present invention, a ticket gate system, an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program are provided that solve the problems of an increased rate of erroneous fare charges and a decreased rate of passage through the gate at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information processing device according to another embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an information processing device according to still another embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a ticket gate for a transportation facility. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the system configuration of a ticket gate system 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer that realizes an information processing device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates an example data structure of master authentication information. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of transportation usage information. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of user information. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screen. [Figure 14] 3 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the operation of the information processing device and the user terminal in step S105 of FIG. 2 in the ticket gate system of the embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 17] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of data structures of master authentication information and user information. [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 23] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screen. [Figure 26] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 28] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all drawings, similar components are designated by similar reference numerals, and their description will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, in the following drawings, configurations of parts that are not related to the essence of the present invention are omitted and are not shown.

[0023] In the embodiments, "acquisition" includes at least one of the following: a device going to retrieve data or information stored in another device or storage medium (active acquisition), and inputting data or information output from another device into the device (passive acquisition). Examples of active acquisition include making a request or inquiry to another device and receiving a reply, and accessing and reading information from another device or storage medium. An example of passive acquisition is receiving information that is distributed (or transmitted, pushed, etc.). Furthermore, "acquisition" may also mean selecting and acquiring data or information from received data or information, or selecting and receiving distributed data or information.

[0024] <Minimum configuration example 1> 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes an identification unit 102, a payment processing unit 104, a transmission unit 106, and a refund processing unit 108. The identification unit 102 identifies a person who has passed through a ticket barrier of a transportation facility by face authentication. The payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare for the identified person. The transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that the person has used public transportation to the terminal of the identified person. When the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the terminal, it executes the refund processing of the paid fare.

[0025] Here, the predetermined information is information indicating that public transportation is not being used.

[0026] <Example of operation> FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100 of this embodiment. First, the identification unit 102 identifies a person who has passed through a ticket gate of a transportation facility by facial recognition (step S101). The payment processing unit 104 performs a fare payment process for the identified person (step S103). The transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the identified person has used the transportation facility to the terminal of the identified person (step S105). If the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the terminal (YES in step S107), that is, if the person whose terminal received the information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility replies with information indicating that the person has not used the transportation facility, the refund processing unit 108 executes a refund process for the fare already paid for the person (step S109), and ends this process.

[0027] If the predetermined information is not acquired from the terminal (NO in step S107), the person is using public transportation, so no refund process is necessary, and step S109 is bypassed and the process ends. Step S107 may wait for a predetermined period of time to acquire information from the terminal. Also, even if the predetermined period has passed, step S109 may be executed if the predetermined information is acquired.

[0028] This information processing device 100 can solve the problems of an increase in the incidence of erroneous fare charges and a decrease in the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use face recognition gates.

[0029] <Minimum configuration example 2> 3 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to another embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes a gate control unit 120 and a payment processing unit 104. If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through the ticket gate of the transportation facility. If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare for a person whose face authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard.

[0030] <Example of operation> FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100 of this embodiment. If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass (commuter pass in step S201), the gate control unit 120 allows a person whose face authentication result meets the first criterion (YES in step S203) to pass through the transportation ticket gate (step S205). If the payment method is payment by remaining balance of the deposit (payment by remaining balance of the deposit in step S201), the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare (step S103) for a person whose facial recognition results satisfy a second criterion that is stricter than the first criterion (YES in step S207).

[0031] This information processing device 100 can solve the problems of an increase in the incidence of erroneous fare charges and a decrease in the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use face recognition gates.

[0032] <Minimum configuration example 3> 5 is a diagram showing an overview of an information processing device 100 according to yet another embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes a determination unit 130, an authentication unit 110, a gate control unit 120, and a payment processing unit 104. The gate control unit 120 determines whether the fare payment method used by the transport user is a commuter pass or a payment by the remaining balance. The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold value for face authentication according to the determined payment method, and performs face authentication of the user using the threshold value. If the payment method is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows the user to pass through the ticket gate of the transportation facility if face authentication is successful. If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the user whose face authentication has been successful.

[0033] <Example of operation> FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100 of this embodiment. The determination unit 130 determines whether the fare payment method used by the user of the means of transport is a commuter pass or payment by remaining balance (step S301). The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold value for face authentication according to the determined payment method (step S303), and performs face authentication of the user using the threshold value (step S305). If the payment method is a commuter pass (commuter pass in step S307), and if face authentication is successful (YES in step S309), the gate control unit 120 allows the user to pass through the transportation ticket gate (step S205). If the payment method is payment by remaining balance (payment by remaining balance in step S307), the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare for the user whose face has been successfully authenticated (YES in step S311) (step S103).

[0034] This information processing device 100 can solve the problems of an increase in the incidence of erroneous fare charges and a decrease in the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use face recognition gates.

[0035] A detailed example of the information processing device 100 will be described below.

[0036] (First embodiment) <System Overview> FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a ticket gate 10 for a transportation facility. FIG. 7(a) is a top view of the ticket gate 10. FIG. 7(b) is an elevation view of the ticket gate 10. The ticket gate 10 has a housing 12 and a gate 14. The housing 12 has a predetermined height and extends a predetermined distance along a passage 16 through which users 30 pass. Two housings 12 are installed on both sides of the passage 16, side by side along the passage 16 with a predetermined distance between them. Preferably, the two housings 12 are installed parallel to each other. In other words, the passage 16 is formed by the housings 12. However, adjacent housings 12 may be partitions having a predetermined height.

[0037] The entrance side of the passage 16 is open. A gate 14 is provided at the exit side of the passage 16 so that it can be opened and closed. The opening and closing of the gate 14 is controlled by a ticket gate control device 50, which will be described later. The ticket gate control device 50 controls the gate 14 to open so that people who are permitted to pass can pass through the passage 16, and controls the gate 14 to close so that people who are not permitted to pass cannot pass through the passage 16. In the example shown in this figure, the gate 14 rotates around one end 14a of the door as an axis, so that the passage 16 can be blocked (the position shown by the dashed line in the figure) or opened (the position shown by the solid line in the figure) depending on the resting position of the gate 14.

[0038] The gate 14 may be in an open position normally and in a closed position when passage is prohibited, or may be in a closed position normally and in an open position when passage is permitted.

[0039] In the example shown in this figure, a camera 5 and a display device 20 are installed on the upper part of the housing 12 on the entrance side.

[0040] Camera 5 includes a lens and an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor. Camera 5 may be a network camera such as an IP (Internet Protocol) camera, or may be a general-purpose digital video camera or digital camera with a communication function. Alternatively, camera 5 may be a camera built into a computer, such as a tablet terminal, that is integrated with display device 20. Camera 5 has, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication function and is connected to information processing device 100 via a relay device (not shown) such as a router of communication network 3.

[0041] The camera 5 captures an image of the face of the user 30 who is about to pass through the passage 16 of the ticket gate 10, and transmits the image to the information processing device 100. The information processing device 100 performs authentication processing using the facial image of the user 30.

[0042] The camera 5 may have a mechanism for adjusting and controlling focusing, exposure compensation, aperture value, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, etc., in order to improve the quality of the facial image of a person and obtain optimal features for facial recognition, and may be controlled automatically or remotely from an administrator's operating terminal (not shown).

[0043] The images generated by the camera 5 are preferably captured in real time and transmitted to the information processing device 100. However, the images transmitted to the information processing device 100 do not have to be transmitted directly from the camera 5, but may be images delayed by a predetermined time. The images captured by the camera 5 may be temporarily stored in another storage device, and the information processing device 100 may read them out from the storage device sequentially or at predetermined intervals. Furthermore, the images transmitted to the information processing device 100 may be moving images, frame images at predetermined intervals, or still images.

[0044] The display device 20 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like. of A facial image of the user 30 attempting to pass through, captured by the camera 5, may be displayed, and a message or the like for the user 30 may also be displayed.

[0045] The camera 5 and the display device 20 may be provided in a housing (not shown), and the installation method is not particularly limited.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually showing the system configuration of the ticket gate system 1 according to the embodiment. The ticket gate system 1 includes an information processing device 100, a camera 5, a display device 20, a ticket gate control device 50, and a user terminal 40. The camera 5 and the display device 20 have been described using FIG. 7. The ticket gate control device 50 controls the opening and closing of the gate 14 of the ticket gate 10. The user terminal 40 is a terminal owned by a user 30 who uses public transportation. However, the user terminal 40 may also be a terminal loaned to the user 30.

[0047] The user terminal 40 is, for example, a computer such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer.

[0048] The information processing device 100 includes a storage device 150. The storage device 150 may be provided inside or outside the information processing device 100. In other words, the storage device 150 may be hardware that is integrated with the information processing device 100, or may be hardware that is separate from the information processing device 100.

[0049] Furthermore, the information processing device 100 may be a server computer or a personal computer, or may be a combination of multiple computers. For example, it may include a computer installed at each transportation station and a computer installed at a center that manages multiple stations. Similarly, the storage device 150 may be realized by multiple storage devices. The storage device 150 may be multiple storage devices that each have in multiple computers. Hereinafter, the storage device 150 will be used as a general term for these storage devices.

[0050] The services provided to the user 30 by the ticket gate system 1 of the embodiment can be used by the user 30 after the user 30 has registered for use in advance. For example, the user 30 can use the ticket gate system 1 by installing and starting a predetermined application on the user terminal 40 of the user 30, or by accessing a predetermined website using a browser or the like. Before starting to use the service, the user 30 registers authentication information to be used for face authentication for identity verification as account information.

[0051] Here, a facial image obtained by capturing an image of the user 30 is registered in a database (storage device 150) as authentication information. However, the information registered in the database as authentication information does not have to be the facial image itself, but may be feature information extracted from the facial image, or may be both the facial image and the feature information.

[0052] For example, a booth for registering facial images may be set up in a train station or the like, and a registration device (not shown) in the booth may capture a facial image of user 30 to carry out the registration procedure. Alternatively, the user 30 may use his / her user terminal 40 to access an application or a website for registration, and a facial image of user 30 may be captured using the camera of the user terminal 40 to carry out the registration procedure.

[0053] The feature information may be feature information of other biometric information besides the face. The biometric information may include at least one of the feature information of the iris, veins, auricle, fingerprint, gait, and physique (height, shoulder width, body length, bone structure, etc.), or may be a combination of multiple feature information.

[0054] <Hardware configuration example> 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1000 that realizes the information processing device 100. The display device 20, camera 5, ticket gate control device 50, and user terminal 40 in FIG. 8 are also realized by the computer 1000. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 may be realized by a plurality of computers 1000, and the functions of the information processing device 100 may be distributed among and executed by each computer 1000.

[0055] The computer 1000 includes a bus 1010 , a processor 1020 , a memory 1030 , a storage device 1040 , an input / output interface 1050 , and a network interface 1060 .

[0056] The bus 1010 is a data transmission path for transmitting and receiving data among the processor 1020, memory 1030, storage device 1040, input / output interface 1050, and network interface 1060. However, the method of connecting the processor 1020 and the like to each other is not limited to bus connection.

[0057] The processor 1020 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or the like.

[0058] The memory 1030 is a main storage device realized by a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like.

[0059] The storage device 1040 is an auxiliary storage device realized by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, a read only memory (ROM), or the like. The storage device 1040 stores program modules that realize each function of the information processing device 100 (e.g., the identification unit 102, the payment processing unit 104, the transmission unit 106, the refund processing unit 108, the authentication unit 110, the gate control unit 120, the determination unit 130, the billing notification unit 112, and the countermeasure processing unit 132, which will be described later). The processor 1020 loads each of these program modules into the memory 1030 and executes them, thereby realizing each function corresponding to the program module. The storage device 1040 may also store each data of the storage device 150 of the information processing device 100.

[0060] The program module may be recorded on a recording medium. The recording medium on which the program module is recorded may include a non-transitory, tangible medium usable by the computer 1000, and the program code readable by the computer 1000 (processor 1020) may be embedded in the medium.

[0061] The input / output interface 1050 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 with various input / output devices. The input / output interface 1050 also functions as a communication interface for performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0062] The network interface 1060 is an interface for connecting the computer 1000 to a communication network. This communication network is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). The method for connecting the network interface 1060 to the communication network may be a wireless connection or a wired connection.

[0063] The computer 1000 is connected to necessary devices (for example, a display, a touch panel, operation buttons, a speaker, a microphone, etc. of the user terminal 40) via the input / output interface 1050 or the network interface 1060.

[0064] The components of the information processing device 100 of each embodiment shown in Figures 1, 3, and 5, and in Figures 15, 19, 22, 24, and 27 described below, are realized by any combination of hardware and software of the computer 1000 of Figure 9. Those skilled in the art will understand that there are various variations in the realization methods and devices. The functional block diagrams showing the information processing device 100 of each embodiment show logical functional blocks rather than a hardware-based configuration.

[0065] <Example of functional configuration> An example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. The information processing device 100 of this embodiment performs fare payment processing when a user 30 who is paying the remaining balance passes through gate 14 of the ticket gate control device 50 using facial recognition, and also confirms with the user 30 that they will be using public transportation.If the user 30 does not approve of using public transportation, it performs a refund processing.

[0066] In this embodiment, a ticket gate 10 exclusively for users 30 who pay by the remaining balance of the deposit and a ticket gate 10 exclusively for users 30 who pay by a commuter pass may be installed separately. The information processing device 100 of this embodiment executes a fare settlement process for users 30 who use a ticket gate 10 exclusively for users 30 who pay by the remaining balance of the deposit.

[0067] The information processing device 100 includes an identification unit 102, a payment processing unit 104, a transmission unit 106, and a refund processing unit 108. The identification unit 102 identifies a person (user 30) who has passed through the gate 14 of the transportation facility ticket gate (ticket gate 10) by face authentication. As described above, face authentication is performed by comparing feature information extracted from the facial image of user 30 captured by camera 5 with authentication information of user 30 pre-registered in a database. Anyone whose matching result is above a threshold can pass through gate 14.

[0068] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the master authentication information 160. As shown in FIG. The master authentication information 160 stores, for multiple users 30, identification information that uniquely identifies each user 30 and authentication information, which is feature information extracted from a facial image of the user 30, in association with each other. The master authentication information 160 is stored in the storage device 150. The authentication information is at least one of facial feature information or other biometric information (iris, veins, auricle, fingerprint, gait, physique (height, shoulder width, body length, bone structure, etc.)). The master authentication information 160 may also store, in association with a facial image of the user 30.

[0069] The matching result (face authentication result) includes a score indicating the degree of match (or similarity) between the feature information extracted from the face image of the user 30 and the pre-registered authentication information of the user 30. The score may be expressed as a value between 0 and 100, or between 0 and 1, for example.

[0070] The higher the degree of match in the matching result, the more likely it is that the person is the user 30, and the lower the degree of match, the more likely it is that the person is someone other than user 30. Therefore, among at least one person (registered person) whose score indicating the matching result is equal to or exceeds the threshold, the person (registered person) with the highest score is determined to be the user 30, and can pass through gate 14 as a person who has been successfully authenticated.

[0071] Here, the threshold value If the threshold value is set high (large), it is possible to strictly determine whether the person is the actual person, which reduces the success rate of authentication and the rate of erroneous recognition in which a different person is identified as user 30. On the other hand, if the threshold value is set low (small), it is possible to be lax in the discrimination, which increases the success rate of authentication and increases the rate of erroneous recognition in which a different person is identified as user 30.

[0072] In this way, threshold value By changing the threshold, it is possible to adjust the authentication success rate and the rate of false recognition. In particular, in the authentication process when passing through a ticket gate 10 of a transportation facility, it may be preferable to be able to adjust the pass rate of the ticket gate 10 depending on the congestion of users 30 of the transportation facility. This is because setting a high threshold and lowering the pass rate during commuting hours when there are many users 30 may increase congestion, which is undesirable. For this reason, the threshold may be changeable depending on each station, each location (ticket gate), time period, etc. of the transportation facility from the setting menu of the information processing device 100.

[0073] The payment processing unit 104 performs a fare payment process for the identified person. The fare payment process may be performed by a payment device (not shown). The payment processing unit 104 instructs the payment device to perform the fare payment process. The payment device may be an external system. The payment process instruction includes identification information for the user 30 and information for identifying the fare. The information for identifying the fare may be the fare itself, or may be information about the boarding and disembarking stations of the transportation facility where the user 30 passed through the ticket gate 10.

[0074] Examples of timing at which the determination of the payment process is made include, but are not limited to, the following. (1) After the user 30 passes through the gate 14 to board the transportation (for example, in the case of a flat-rate fare system or a system in which a minimum fare is collected at once), (2) After the user 30 passes through gate 14 to get off the transportation (in cases where the fare is collected according to the section of use, or when an additional fare is required, such as when the user boards the transportation within the section of use of the commuter pass and then gets off outside the section of use of the commuter pass),

[0075] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the transportation usage information 170. The transportation usage information 170 stores information indicating the details of transportation usage by the user 30. The transportation usage information 170 is stored in the memory 1030 included in the user terminal 40 of the user 30, and also in the storage device 150.

[0076] The public transport usage information 170 includes the user ID of the user 30, and information related to the use of public transport, such as the boarding date and time, boarding station, disembarking date and time, disembarking station, and paid fare, in association with the user ID. The boarding station and disembarking station may include information that identifies the public transport, and are not particularly limited as long as the information can identify the station. If the public transport usage information 170 is stored in the memory 1030 of the user terminal 40, the public transport usage information 170 does not need to include the user ID.

[0077] The user terminal 40 of the user 30 includes an IC card that holds information about the amount (so-called electronic money) that has been pre-charged for use in paying the remaining balance. In this system, information about the electronic money held in the IC card of the user terminal 40 of the user 30 is pre-registered for payment processing so that the user 30 can pay the fare for using transportation from the remaining balance.

[0078] The transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that the user has used public transportation to the user terminal 40 of the identified person. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of user information 180. The user information 180 includes identification information (also referred to as a user ID) of the user 30 and information (indicated as terminal information in the figure) related to the user terminal 40 of the user 30, in association with each other. The terminal information includes, for example, information that serves as a destination for receiving messages from the information processing device 100 at the user terminal 40 used by the user 30, such as a mobile phone number or email address that serves as destination information for SMS (Short Message Service) messages. The message includes a uniform resource locator (URL) for displaying, on the user terminal 40, a notification screen 200 notifying the user of the use of public transportation, which will be described later.

[0079] If the application of the user terminal 40 of the user 30 is registered, the transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the user 30 has used the public transport to the user terminal 40 via the application by various notification methods, for example, badge Information indicating that the transportation facility has been used may be displayed in various ways, such as by displaying a banner or displaying a notification on the standby screen, and the notification screen 200 may be displayed from the notification display.

[0080] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen 200. The notification screen 200 includes a usage date / time display section 202 showing the date and time of transportation usage, a usage section display section 204 showing the usage section, and a fare display section 206 showing the paid fare. The notification screen 200 also includes a message display section 210, an agreement button 212, and a refund request button 214. The message display section 210 displays a message prompting the user to confirm the details of the transportation usage and respond whether they agree to the details of the usage or request a refund. The agreement button 212 is an operation button that the user 30 presses when they agree to the details of the usage, and consent to the details of the usage is accepted in response to pressing the agreement button 212. The refund request button 214 is an operation button that the user 30 presses when they do not agree to the details of the usage and request a refund of the fare, and a refund request is accepted in response to pressing the refund request button 214.

[0081] When the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the terminal, it executes a refund process for the paid fare. Here, the predetermined information is information indicating that the user 30 has not used the public transport. In other words, the user 30 can return information indicating that he or she has no recollection of using the public transport to the ticket gate system 1, and can request a refund of the paid fare.

[0082] <Example of operation> An example of the operation of the information processing device 100 of the embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the operation of the information processing device 100 and the user terminal 40 in step S105 of Fig. 2 in the ticket gate system 1 of the embodiment.

[0083] First, the identification unit 102 identifies a person who has passed through a ticket gate of a transportation facility by face recognition (step S101 in FIG. 2). The payment processing unit 104 performs a payment process for the fare for the identified person (step S103 in FIG. 2). The transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the identified person has used the transportation facility to the terminal of the identified person (step S105 in FIGS. 2 and 14).

[0084] 14, the user terminal 40 displays the notification screen 200 of FIG. 13 on the display based on the information received from the information processing device 100 (step S111). If the user 30 presses the consent button 212, consent to the details of the transportation use is accepted (YES in step S113), and the user terminal 40 bypasses the processing of step S115 and ends the processing (for example, closes the notification screen 200).

[0085] On the other hand, if the user 30 presses the refund request button 214, the user 30 does not agree with the details of the transportation use and requests a refund (NO in step S113), so information indicating that the transportation was not used is sent from the user terminal 40 to the information processing device 100 as specified information (step S115).

[0086] In the information processing device 100, the refund processing unit 108 acquires information indicating that the person has not used public transportation as predetermined information from the terminal (YES in step S107 of Figure 2), and then executes the refund process for the fare that has already been paid for the person (step S109), and ends this process.

[0087] In addition, the criteria for determining not to acquire the specified information in step S113 above may include not accepting the pressing of the refund request button 214 on the notification screen 200, as well as not accepting the pressing of the consent button 212 on the notification screen 200.

[0088] When the fare payment method is a ticket gate 10 dedicated to commuter pass users 30, the information processing device 100 bypasses all of the processes in steps S103 to S109 for the person identified in step S101 of FIG.

[0089] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 includes an identification unit 102, a payment processing unit 104, a transmission unit 106, and a refund processing unit 108. The identification unit 102 identifies a person who has passed through the ticket gate 14 of a transportation facility by facial recognition. The payment processing unit 104 performs a fare payment process for the identified person. The transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the identified person has used transportation to the user terminal 40 of the identified person. If the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the user terminal 40 indicating that the person has not used transportation, it executes a refund process for the paid fare.

[0090] This configuration can solve the problems of an increased incidence of erroneous fare charges and a reduced gate pass rate at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates. Specifically, a system is provided that appropriately processes refunds when an erroneous fare is charged at a facial recognition gate at a transportation facility without reducing the gate pass rate or compromising the convenience of using the transportation facility.

[0091] (Second embodiment) FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This embodiment is similar to the above-described embodiments, except that it has a configuration in which processing is performed to narrow down the persons who will undergo face authentication using position information of the user 30. This embodiment has the same configuration as the information processing device 100 in Fig. 1, and further has an authentication unit 110. However, the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of the other embodiments to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

[0092] <Example of functional configuration> The authentication unit 110 uses the location information of the transportation users 30 to narrow down the people for whom face authentication is to be performed, and performs face authentication on the narrowed down people.

[0093] As described above, the information processing device 100 may be configured by a plurality of computers 1000, and therefore the authentication unit 110 may be realized by a computer 1000 different from the information processing device 100 of FIG.

[0094] In the face authentication process by the authentication unit 110, the person to be authenticated is matched with the authentication information of many registrants (so-called 1:N matching process), and among at least one person (registrant) whose score is equal to or greater than a threshold, the person (registrant) with the highest score is identified as the user 30. Therefore, by narrowing down the number of registrants (N people) to be matched, it is possible to improve authentication accuracy.

[0095] The authentication unit 110 acquires location information of the user terminal 40 of the user 30. For example, by detecting communication by NFC (Near Field Communication) such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) of the user terminal 40, it is possible to identify the user terminal 40 that is within a communication range and identify the user 30 of that user terminal 40. Alternatively, by acquiring location information acquired by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving function of the user terminal 40, the identification unit 102 can identify that the user terminal 40 is within a predetermined range.

[0096] By activating an application on the user terminal 40 in advance, the user 30 can provide the location information to the information processing device 100. For example, the user 30 may be prompted to activate the application by displaying a message on the user terminal 40 prompting the user to activate the application when using a predetermined service within the station. As an example, by completing a check-in procedure at a station or a store within the station, an incentive (points, discounts, etc.) that can be used for services within the station may be awarded.

[0097] The authentication unit 110 identifies the user 30 of the user terminal 40 that is within the communication range, reads the authentication information of the user 30 from the master authentication information 160, and performs a matching process.

[0098] Furthermore, the ticket gate system 1 may include a database that registers authentication information of persons who are not permitted to pass through the ticket gate, in addition to the database of registered persons for which the authentication unit 110 performs the matching process. If the matching result indicates that the person is a person registered in the database, the person may be prohibited from passing through the gate 14.

[0099] <Example of operation> Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing device 100 according to the embodiment. The process in this figure is executed before step S101 in Fig. 2. The authentication unit 110 acquires location information of the user 30 and narrows down the persons to be subjected to face authentication (step S121). Then, the authentication unit 110 performs face authentication processing on the narrowed down persons (step S123).

[0100] Specifically, for example, the authentication unit 110 acquires location information from the user terminal 40 of at least one user 30 present in the vicinity of the ticket gate control device 50, along with the user ID of the user 30. Then, the authentication unit 110 reads out authentication information associated with the user ID of the user 30 from the master authentication information 160, and compares it with feature information extracted from the facial image of the user 30 captured by the camera 5 to perform facial authentication.

[0101] A user 30 whose face has been successfully authenticated by the authentication unit 110 can pass through the gate 14 of the ticket gate control device 50. The identification unit 102 acquires the user ID of the user 30 whose authentication has been successfully performed from the authentication unit 110, thereby identifying the person who has passed through the gate 14 of the ticket gate control device 50 (step S101 in FIG. 2). Thereafter, the information processing device 100 operates according to the procedure described in the flowchart of FIG. 2.

[0102] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 has the authentication unit 110. The authentication unit 110 uses the location information of the transportation users 30 to narrow down the persons for whom face authentication is to be performed, and performs face authentication on the narrowed down persons.

[0103] As described above, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment not only achieves the same effects as the above-described embodiment, but also narrows down the registered users who are subjected to the matching process based on the location information of the person to be authenticated, thereby improving authentication accuracy. The number of matching processes can also be reduced, reducing the processing load and improving the authentication processing speed.

[0104] (Third embodiment) This embodiment is similar to any of the above embodiments except that it has a configuration in which information indicating whether or not the user 30 is using a commuter pass is stored in advance, and if the commuter pass is not available, a settlement process is performed by paying the remaining balance. This embodiment has the same configuration as the information processing device 100 in FIG. 2, and will be described using FIG. 2. However, the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of an embodiment other than the information processing device 100 in the embodiment of FIG. 2 to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

[0105] In this embodiment, the ticket gate 10 can be used by both users 30 who pay their fares by paying the remaining balance on the deposit and users 30 who pay their fares by using a commuter pass.

[0106] <Example of functional configuration> The master authentication information (master face information) 160 used for face authentication or the specific information linked to the master authentication information 160 is stored in the storage device 150 in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person. The payment processing unit 104 executes the fare payment process when the memory device 150 does not contain commuter pass information for the person identified by facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass area.

[0107] 17(a) and 17(b) are diagrams showing example data structures of master authentication information 160 and user information 180, respectively. In addition to the master authentication information 160 of FIG. 10, commuter pass information is also associated with master authentication information 160. In addition to the user information 180 of FIG. 12, commuter pass information is also associated with user information 180. The specific information linked to master authentication information 160 is the user ID of user information 180 of FIG. 12, and this user ID is linked to the user ID of master authentication information 160 of FIG. 10. The user ID of user information 180 and the user ID of master authentication information 160 may be different identification information or may be the same identification information, as long as they are linked to each other. The commuter pass information includes at least one of a flag indicating whether or not a commuter pass is available and information indicating the section of the commuter pass that is available for use. The commuter pass information may also include information such as the validity period, and the payment processing unit 104 will still process the fare even if the date and time of use of the transportation facility is outside the validity period.

[0108] For example, the master authentication information 160 is stored in a storage device 1040 (storage device 150) of a computer 1000 installed at a center that manages multiple stations. The user information 180 is stored in a storage device 1040 (storage device 150) of a computer 1000 installed at each station. Commuter pass information may be stored in at least one of the master authentication information 160 and the user information 180.

[0109] If there is no commuter pass information for user 30, or if the flag indicating whether user 30 has a commuter pass indicates that there is no commuter pass, the fare for user 30 is settled by paying the remaining balance. Furthermore, even if there is commuter pass information for user 30, if the use of the transportation facility is outside the commuter pass area based on the information indicating the commuter pass area included in the commuter pass information, the fare for user 30 is settled by paying the remaining balance.

[0110] If commuter pass information for the user 30 is available and the transportation means is used within the commuter pass's zone, the payment processing unit 104 does not perform the payment process for the fare.

[0111] <Example of operation> FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This flow is executed after step S101 and before the fare payment processing in step S103. The payment processing unit 104 refers to the master authentication information 160 or the transportation usage information 170, and determines whether or not there is commuter pass information for the user 30 identified in step S101 (step S131). If there is no commuter pass information (YES in step S131), the process proceeds to step S103 in FIG. 2, where the payment processing unit 104 performs fare payment processing for the user 30.

[0112] On the other hand, if there is commuter pass information (NO in step S131), the payment processing unit 104 determines whether the use of the transportation means is outside the commuter pass's designated area based on the information indicating the commuter pass's designated area included in the commuter pass information (step S133). If it is outside the commuter pass's designated area (YES in step S133), the process proceeds to step S103 in FIG. 2, where the payment processing unit 104 performs a fare payment process for the user 30.

[0113] If the journey is within the commuter pass zone (NO in step S133), the process is bypassed from step S103 onwards in FIG. 2, and the process is terminated without carrying out the fare settlement process.

[0114] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 has a payment processing unit 104. Master authentication information (master face information) 160 used for facial recognition or specific information linked to the master authentication information 160 is associated with the presence or absence of commuter pass information for the person and stored in the storage device 150. The payment processing unit 104 executes fare payment processing when there is no commuter pass information for the person identified by facial recognition in the storage device 150, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass section.

[0115] In this way, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the above embodiment, and furthermore, by having a configuration in which commuter pass information of the user 30 is registered in advance, it is possible to determine whether or not a commuter pass is being used, and if the fare payment method is not a commuter pass, it is possible to perform a configuration in which the fare payment process is carried out. Therefore, there is no need to distinguish between ticket gates 10 based on payment method, and users 30 using either payment method can use a common ticket gate 10.

[0116] (Fourth embodiment) FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The information processing device 100 of this embodiment has a configuration that changes the criteria for face authentication depending on the fare payment method. Note that the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of other embodiments to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

[0117] In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which a ticket gate 10 is used that can be used by both users 30 who pay their fares by paying the remaining balance on the deposit and users 30 who pay their fares by using a commuter pass.

[0118] The information processing device 100 includes a gate control unit 120, a payment processing unit 104, and an authentication unit 110. If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through the ticket gate of the transportation facility. If the master authentication information 160 or user information 180 described in the above embodiment contains commuter pass information, or if the flag indicating whether or not a commuter pass is present in the commuter pass information indicates that a commuter pass is present, or if the user 30's journey is within the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the gate control unit 120 can determine that the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass.

[0119] The gate control unit 120 causes the ticket gate control device 50 to control the opening and closing of the gate 14. When allowing passage through the gate 14, the gate control unit 120 causes the ticket gate control device 50 to control the gate 14 to open. When not allowing passage through the gate 14, the gate control unit 120 causes the ticket gate control device 50 to control the gate 14 to close.

[0120] The authentication unit 110 compares the authentication information extracted from the face image of the person to be authenticated with the authentication information of multiple registrants. The gate control unit 120 and the payment processing unit 104 obtain the face authentication result from the authentication unit 110.

[0121] If the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare for a person whose face authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard. If it is not determined that a commuter pass is being used as described above, or if there is no commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or user information 180 described in the above embodiment, or if the flag indicating the presence or absence of a commuter pass included in the commuter pass information indicates that there is no commuter pass, or if the user 30's ride is outside the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the payment processing unit 104 can determine that the payment method for the transportation fare is payment by the remaining balance.

[0122] The second standard is stricter than the first standard, so that the facial recognition matching process can be performed with stricter standards when the payment method is balance payment than when the payment method is a commuter pass. In other words, in order to pass through gate 14, the payment method is required to match or be more similar to the registered authentication information than when the payment method is a commuter pass. In the case of a commuter pass, the authentication information can pass through gate 14 even if it does not match or resemble the registered authentication information, compared to when the payment method is balance payment.

[0123] The first criterion is that the score indicating the face recognition result is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and the second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than the first threshold and is the person with the highest score among multiple people whose face recognition was successful.

[0124] The score indicating the facial authentication result is, for example, a value indicating the degree of match (or similarity) when authentication information extracted from the facial image of user 30 is compared with authentication information registered in master authentication information 160. For example, the larger the score, the more the authentication information of user 30 matches or is similar to the registered authentication information.

[0125] The second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold.

[0126] <Example of operation> FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. If there is commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or the user information 180, or if the flag indicating whether or not there is a commuter pass included in the commuter pass information indicates that there is no commuter pass, or if the user 30's journey is within the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the gate control unit 120 determines that the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass (commuter pass in step S201), and proceeds to step S203.

[0127] The gate control unit 120 acquires the facial authentication result of the user 30 from the authentication unit 110 and determines whether the facial authentication result satisfies a first criterion (step S203). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 determines whether the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold. If the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the first threshold (YES in step S203), the gate control unit 120 permits the user 30 to pass through the transportation ticket gate 14 (step S205). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to open the gate 14.

[0128] On the other hand, if the score indicating the face authentication result is not equal to or greater than the first threshold (NO in step S203), the gate control unit 120 prohibits the user 30 from passing through the transportation ticket gate 14 (step S211). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to close the gate 14.

[0129] If there is no commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or the user information 180, or if the user 30's ride is outside the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the payment processing unit 104 determines that the payment method is payment by remaining balance (payment by remaining balance in step S201) and proceeds to step S207.

[0130] The payment processing unit 104 acquires the facial authentication result of the user 30 from the authentication unit 110 and determines whether the facial authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard (step S207). Specifically, the payment processing unit 104 determines whether the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold. Furthermore, the payment processing unit 104 performs fare payment processing (step S103) for the person whose score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the first threshold and who has the highest score among multiple people whose facial authentication was successful (YES in step S207).

[0131] Alternatively, if the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the second threshold (YES in step S207), the payment processing unit 104 performs fare payment processing (step S103). At this time, if the score indicating the facial authentication result is not equal to or greater than the second threshold (NO in step S207), step S103 is bypassed, and the payment processing unit 104 ends the process without performing fare payment processing. However, in this case, the gate control unit 120 may proceed to step S211 and prohibit the user 30 from passing through the transportation facility ticket gate 14. In other words, the gate control unit 120 may cause the ticket gate control device 50 to control the gate 14 to close.

[0132] Furthermore, separate ticket gates 10 may be installed for dedicated use by users 30 who pay their fares by the remaining balance of their deposits, and for dedicated use by users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass. In this example, when the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to dedicated use by users 30 who pay their fares by the remaining balance of their deposits, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S207 and S103 in Fig. 20. When the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to dedicated use by users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S203, S205, and S211 in Fig. 20.

[0133] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 has a gate control unit 120, a payment processing unit 104, and an authentication unit 110. When the payment method for transportation fares is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows a person whose facial authentication results satisfy a first criterion to pass through the transportation ticket gate. When the payment method is balance payment, the payment processing unit 104 performs fare payment processing for a person whose facial authentication results satisfy a second criterion that is stricter than the first criterion.

[0134] This information processing device 100 can solve the problems of an increase in the incidence of erroneous fare charges and a decrease in the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use face recognition gates.

[0135] More specifically, according to the information processing device 100, at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates, tightening the standards for facial recognition reduces the rate of false recognition and the rate of incorrect fare charges, but reduces the rate of passage through the gate and reduces convenience, while loosening the standards for facial recognition improves the rate of passage through the gate but increases the rate of false recognition and the rate of incorrect fare charges. These problems can be solved by changing the standards for facial recognition results depending on the fare payment method.

[0136] Specifically, if the payment method is a commuter pass, the gate pass rate can be improved by setting lenient authentication standards. Since no fare is charged for a commuter pass, there is no risk of the fare being mistakenly collected from someone else's account, and no erroneous charges occur. On the other hand, if the payment method is balance payment, the rate of mistakenly collecting fares from someone else's account can be reduced by setting strict authentication standards.

[0137] (Fifth embodiment) The information processing device 100 of this embodiment is configured to determine the payment method of the fare and perform payment processing according to the payment method. Here, the configuration of this embodiment will be explained using Fig. 5. Note that the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of other embodiments to the extent that no contradiction occurs.

[0138] The information processing device 100 includes a determination unit 130, an authentication unit 110, a gate control unit 120, and a payment processing unit 104. The determination unit 130 determines whether the fare payment method used by the user of the means of transport is a commuter pass or payment by remaining balance. If the master authentication information 160 or user information 180 described in the above embodiment contains commuter pass information, or if the flag indicating whether or not a commuter pass is present in the commuter pass information indicates that a commuter pass is present, or if the user 30's journey is within the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the judgment unit 130 can determine that the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass.

[0139] Furthermore, if it is not determined that a commuter pass is being used as described above, or if there is no commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or user information 180 described in the above embodiment, or if the flag indicating whether or not a commuter pass is present in the commuter pass information indicates that there is no commuter pass, or if the user 30's ride is outside the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the judgment unit 130 can determine that the payment method for the transportation fare is payment by the remaining balance.

[0140] The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold for facial authentication according to the determined payment method and performs facial authentication of the user using the threshold. For the person to be authenticated, a process of matching authentication information extracted from the face image of the person with the authentication information of multiple registered people is performed. If a score indicating the matching result (face authentication result) is equal to or greater than the threshold, the person has been successfully authenticated.

[0141] For example, the authentication unit 110 sets a first threshold value when the payment method is a commuter pass, and sets a second threshold value higher than the first threshold value when the payment method is payment by remaining balance.

[0142] If the payment method is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows the user to pass through the transportation facility ticket gate if facial authentication is successful. In other words, if the payment method is a commuter pass and the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold, facial authentication is successful and the user 30 is allowed to pass through the gate 14. Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to open the gate 14.

[0143] If the score indicating the facial authentication result is not equal to or greater than the first threshold, the facial authentication has failed, and the user 30 is not permitted to pass through the gate 14. Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to close the gate 14.

[0144] If the payment method is the remaining balance payment, the payment processing unit 104 performs the fare payment process for the user 30 who has successfully passed face authentication. Note that if the payment method is a commuter pass, the payment processing unit 104 does not perform the fare payment process.

[0145] <Example of operation> FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The determination unit 130 determines whether the fare payment method used by the user of the means of transport is a commuter pass or payment by remaining balance (step S301).

[0146] In detail, if there is commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or the user information 180, or if the flag indicating the presence or absence of a commuter pass included in the commuter pass information indicates that there is no commuter pass, or if the ride of user 30 is within the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the determination unit 130 determines that the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass.If there is no commuter pass information in the master authentication information 160 or the user information 180, or if the flag indicating the presence or absence of a commuter pass included in the commuter pass information indicates that there is no commuter pass, or if the ride of user 30 is outside the commuter pass area based on the commuter pass information, the determination unit 130 determines that the payment method for the transportation fare is payment by remaining balance.

[0147] The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold value for face authentication according to the determined payment method (step S303), and performs face authentication of the user 30 using the threshold value (step S305). The authentication unit 110 sets a first threshold when the payment method is a commuter pass, and sets a second threshold higher than the first threshold when the payment method is balance payment. For a person to be authenticated, the authentication unit 110 performs a process of matching authentication information extracted from the face image of that person with authentication information of multiple registered people. If the score indicating the matching result (face authentication result) is equal to or greater than the threshold, face authentication is considered to have been successful.

[0148] If the payment method is a commuter pass (commuter pass in step S307), and if facial authentication is successful, that is, if the score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the first threshold (YES in step S309), the gate control unit 120 allows the user 30 to pass through the gate 14 of the transportation facility ticket gate (step S205). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to open the gate 14. On the other hand, if facial authentication is unsuccessful, that is, if the score indicating the facial authentication result is not equal to or greater than the first threshold (NO in step S309), the gate control unit 120 does not allow the user 30 to pass through the gate 14 of the transportation facility ticket gate (step S211). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to close the gate 14.

[0149] If the payment method is "payment by remaining balance" ("payment by remaining balance" in step S307), the payment processing unit 104 performs fare payment processing (step S103) for a user 30 whose facial authentication was successful, i.e., a user 30 whose score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the second threshold (YES in step S311). At this time, for a user 30 whose facial authentication was not successful, i.e., a user whose score indicating the facial authentication result is not equal to or greater than the second threshold (NO in step S311), step S103 is bypassed, and the payment processing unit 104 terminates the process without performing fare payment processing. However, in this case, the gate control unit 120 may proceed to step S211 and prohibit the user 30 from passing through the transportation facility ticket gate 14. In other words, the gate control unit 120 may cause the ticket gate control device 50 to control the gate 14 to close.

[0150] Furthermore, separate ticket gates 10 may be installed for users 30 who pay their fares by deposit balance payment and for users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass payment. In this example, when the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to users 30 who pay their fares by deposit balance payment, the information processing device 100 sets a second threshold as the threshold for facial authentication. Then, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S305 and S311 to S103 in FIG. 21. When the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass payment, the information processing device 100 sets a first threshold as the threshold for facial authentication. Then, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S305, S309, S205, and S211 in FIG. 21.

[0151] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 includes the determination unit 130, the authentication unit 110, the gate control unit 120, and the payment processing unit 104. The gate control unit 120 determines whether the fare payment method used by a public transport user is a commuter pass or payment by remaining balance. The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performs facial authentication of the user using the threshold. If the payment method is a commuter pass, the gate control unit 120 allows the user to pass through the public transport ticket gate if facial authentication is successful. If the payment method is payment by remaining balance, the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the user whose facial authentication is successful.

[0152] This information processing device 100 can solve the problems of an increase in the incidence of erroneous fare charges and a decrease in the gate passage rate at ticket gates that use face recognition gates.

[0153] More specifically, according to the information processing device 100, at ticket gates that use facial recognition gates, tightening the standards for facial recognition reduces the rate of false recognition and the rate of incorrect fare charges, but reduces the rate of passage through the gate and reduces convenience, while loosening the standards for facial recognition improves the rate of passage through the gate but increases the rate of false recognition and the rate of incorrect fare charges. These problems can be solved by setting thresholds for facial recognition according to the fare payment method.

[0154] Specifically, if the payment method is a commuter pass, if facial authentication is successful, the fare settlement process is not performed, so the fare is not mistakenly collected from another person's account and erroneous charges do not occur. If the payment method is balance payment, the fare settlement process is performed for the user 30 whose facial authentication is successful, so the rate of mistakenly collecting fares from another person's account can be reduced.

[0155] Furthermore, since the device has a configuration for determining the payment method of the user 30, it is no longer necessary to distinguish between ticket gates 10 according to the payment method, and users 30 of either payment method can use the same ticket gate 10.

[0156] (Sixth embodiment) FIG. 22 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This embodiment has a configuration in which the configuration of the information processing device 100 of the fifth embodiment shown in Fig. 5 is combined with the transmitting unit 106 and the refund processing unit 108 of the information processing device 100 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2. However, the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of embodiments other than the first embodiment to the extent that no further contradiction occurs.

[0157] In this embodiment, a configuration will be described in which a ticket gate 10 is used that can be used by both users 30 who pay their fares by paying the remaining balance on the deposit and users 30 who pay their fares by using a commuter pass.

[0158] The information processing device 100 includes a determination unit 130, an authentication unit 110, a gate control unit 120, a payment processing unit 104, a transmission unit 106, and a refund processing unit 108. If the payment method of the fare is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit, the settlement processing unit 104 performs the settlement processing of the fare after passing through the gate 14. The transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that the person who performed the payment process has used the public transport to the user terminal 40 of the person who performed the payment process. When the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the user terminal 40, it executes the refund processing for the fare that has already been paid. The predetermined information indicates that the user is not using public transportation.

[0159] <Example of operation> 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The following will be described with reference to FIGS. 23, 21, 2, and 14. The flow in FIG. 23 is executed after it is determined in step S307 of the flow chart in FIG. 21 in the above embodiment that the payment method is to pay the remaining balance.

[0160] 21, the determination unit 130 determines whether the transportation user's fare payment method is a commuter pass or a balance payment (step S301). The authentication unit 110 sets a threshold for facial authentication according to the determined payment method (step S303), and performs facial authentication of the user 30 using the threshold (step S305).

[0161] The authentication unit 110 sets a first threshold when the payment method is a commuter pass, and sets a second threshold higher than the first threshold when the payment method is balance payment. For a person to be authenticated, the authentication unit 110 performs a process of matching authentication information extracted from the face image of that person with authentication information of multiple registered people. If the score indicating the matching result (face authentication result) is equal to or greater than the threshold, face authentication is considered to have been successful.

[0162] If the payment method is deposit balance payment (deposit balance payment in step S307), the payment processing unit 104 allows the user 30 who has successfully passed facial authentication, that is, the user 30 whose score indicating the facial authentication result is equal to or greater than the second threshold (YES in step S311), to pass through the transportation facility ticket gate 14 (step S205). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 causes the ticket gate control device 50 to control the gate 14 to open, thereby allowing the user 30 to pass through the gate 14. The payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare of the user 30 who has passed through the gate 14 (step S103). Then, the process proceeds to step S105 in FIG. 2.

[0163] The transmitter 106 transmits information indicating that the user 30 has used the public transport to the user terminal 40 of the user 30 who has passed through the gate 14 (step S105). In the process of step S105, as shown in FIG. 14 above, the user terminal 40 displays the notification screen 200 of FIG. 13 on the display based on the information received from the information processing device 100 (step S111). If the user 30 presses the consent button 212, consent to the use of the public transport is accepted (YES in step S113), and the process of step S115 is bypassed, and the user terminal 40 ends the process (for example, closes the notification screen 200).

[0164] On the other hand, if the user 30 presses the refund request button 214, the user 30 does not agree with the details of the transportation use and requests a refund (NO in step S113), so information indicating that the transportation was not used is sent from the user terminal 40 to the information processing device 100 as specified information (step S115).

[0165] Returning to Figure 2, if the refund processing unit 108 obtains specified information from the user terminal 40 (YES in step S107), that is, if the person (user 30) who owns the user terminal 40 that received information indicating that he or she used public transportation replies with information indicating that he or she did not use public transportation, the refund processing unit 108 executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid for that person (step S109) and terminates this process.

[0166] On the other hand, if the user 30 does not pass face authentication successfully, that is, if the score indicating the face authentication result is not equal to or greater than the second threshold (NO in step S311), the gate control unit 120 prohibits the user 30 from passing through the gate 14 of the transportation facility ticket gate (step S211). That is, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to close the gate 14. This prevents the user 30 from passing through the gate 14. Therefore, the processes from step S103 onward (for example, fare payment processing, predetermined information transmission processing, etc.) are bypassed, and this process ends.

[0167] Furthermore, separate ticket gates 10 may be installed for users 30 who pay their fares by deposit balance payment and for users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass payment. In this example, when the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to users 30 who pay their fares by deposit balance payment, the information processing device 100 sets a second threshold as the threshold for facial authentication. Then, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S305, S311, and S103 in FIG. 21. When the ticket gate 10 is dedicated to users 30 who pay their fares by commuter pass payment, the information processing device 100 sets a first threshold as the threshold for facial authentication. Then, the information processing device 100 executes the processes of steps S305, S309, S205, and S211 in FIG. 21.

[0168] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 comprises the determination unit 130, the authentication unit 110, the gate control unit 120, the payment processing unit 104, the transmission unit 106, and the refund processing unit 108. If the fare payment method is payment by remaining balance, the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare after passing through the gate 14. The transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the public transport facility has been used to the user terminal 40 of the person who performed the payment processing. If the refund processing unit 108 acquires predetermined information from the user terminal 40, it executes refund processing for the paid fare. The predetermined information indicates that the public transport facility has not been used.

[0169] In this way, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment not only achieves the same effects as the above-described embodiment, but also provides a mechanism for appropriately processing refunds in the event of an incorrect fare being charged at a facial recognition gate at a transportation facility, without reducing the gate pass-through rate or reducing the convenience of using the transportation facility.

[0170] Seventh embodiment FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This embodiment differs from the sixth embodiment in that it has a configuration in which, when the fare payment method is payment by remaining balance, the fare is settled after confirming with the user 30 that they have used the transportation facility, i.e., it has a configuration in which the fare can be paid later. Note that the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of the other embodiments to the extent that no further contradictions arise.

[0171] <Example of functional configuration> The information processing device 100 has the same components as the information processing device 100 in FIG. 22, including a determination unit 130, an authentication unit 110, a gate control unit 120, a payment processing unit 104, and a transmission unit 106. If the payment method for the fare is payment of the remaining balance, after passing through the gate 14, the transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility to the user terminal 40 of the person. The payment processing unit 104 acquires predetermined information from the user terminal 40 and then performs payment processing for the fare. The predetermined information includes information indicating that the user 30 has consented to using the transportation facility.

[0172] Fig. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen 200. This notification screen 200 includes the same elements as the notification screen 200 in Fig. 13, such as a usage date and time display section 202, a usage section display section 204, a message display section 210, and an agree button 212, and also includes a fare billing amount display section 220 and a reject button 222. The reject button 222 is an operation button that the user 30 presses when they do not agree to the usage details and refuse to pay the fare bill, and pressing the reject button 222 results in the user 30 refusing to consent to use of the transportation facility.

[0173] <Example of operation> FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The flow in Fig. 26 is executed after it is determined that the payment method is the remaining balance payment in step S307 of the flowchart in Fig. 21 in the above embodiment. The following will be explained with reference to Figs. 24 and 14.

[0174] If the payment method is deposit balance payment (deposit balance payment in step S307), the gate control unit 120 allows the user 30 whose face authentication has been successful, that is, the user 30 whose score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than the second threshold (YES in step S311), to pass through the transportation facility ticket gate 14 (step S205). Specifically, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to open the gate 14.

[0175] The transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that the person (user 30) who has passed through the gate 14 has used the transportation facility to the user terminal 40 (step S105).

[0176] 14, the user terminal 40 displays the notification screen 200 of FIG. 25 on the display based on the information received from the information processing device 100 (step S111). When the user 30 presses the consent button 212, consent to the details of the transportation use is accepted (YES in step S113), and the processing of step S115 is bypassed, and the user terminal 40 ends the processing (for example, closes the notification screen 200).

[0177] On the other hand, if the user 30 presses the reject button 222, the user 30 does not agree with the details of the transportation use and refuses to pay the fare bill (NO in step S113), and information indicating that the transportation was not used is sent from the user terminal 40 to the information processing device 100 as specified information (step S115).

[0178] 26, the payment processing unit 104 determines whether or not information indicating that public transportation has been used has been acquired as predetermined information from the user terminal 40 (step S107). When the user 30 presses the consent button 212 on the notification screen 200 on the user terminal 40, that is, when information indicating that public transportation has been used has been acquired from the user terminal 40 (YES in step S107), the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare (step S103).

[0179] On the other hand, if the specified information is not received (if the user 30 does not press either the consent button 212 or the rejection button 222 even when viewing the notification screen 200), or if the user 30 presses the refund request button 214 on the notification screen 200 on the user terminal 40, that is, if information indicating that the transportation facility was not used is obtained from the user terminal 40 (NO in step S107), the fare payment process in step S103 is bypassed and this process is terminated.

[0180] Furthermore, if the user 30 does not pass face authentication successfully, that is, if the score indicating the face authentication result is not equal to or greater than the second threshold (NO in step S311), the gate control unit 120 prohibits the user 30 from passing through the transportation ticket gate 14 (step S211). That is, the gate control unit 120 controls the ticket gate control device 50 to close the gate 14. This prevents the user 30 from passing through the gate 14. Then, all processing related to the payment process is bypassed, and this process ends.

[0181] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 has the determination unit 130, the authentication unit 110, the gate control unit 120, the payment processing unit 104, and the transmission unit 106. When the fare payment method is payment by the remaining balance of the deposit, the transmission unit 106 transmits information indicating that the person has used the public transport to the user terminal 40 of the person after passing through the gate 14. The payment processing unit 104 performs a fare payment process after acquiring predetermined information from the user terminal 40. The predetermined information includes information indicating that the user 30 has agreed to use the public transport.

[0182] In this way, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment achieves the same effects as the above embodiment, and furthermore, when the fare payment method is the remaining balance payment, the fare settlement process is carried out only when the user 30 returns information indicating that the user 30 has agreed to use the transportation facility, thereby reducing the incidence of incorrect charges and the effort required for refund processing.

[0183] (Eighth embodiment) FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This embodiment is the same as the seventh embodiment except that it has a configuration in which a predetermined process is executed for a user 30 who does not receive predetermined information indicating consent to using the transportation facility of the seventh embodiment a certain number of times or more. However, the configuration of this embodiment may be combined with at least one of the configurations of the other embodiments to the extent that no further contradiction occurs.

[0184] <Example of functional configuration> The information processing device 100 has the same configuration as the information processing device 100 in FIG. The countermeasure processing unit 132 executes a predetermined process for a person who does not perform the settlement process a certain number of times or more.

[0185] A person who does not perform the payment process is a user 30 who does not acquire predetermined information indicating that he or she has consented to using the transportation facility of the seventh embodiment. In other words, a user 30 who does not press the consent button 212 on the notification screen 200.

[0186] The countermeasure processing unit 132 counts the number of times that the user 30 of the user terminal 40, to which the transmission unit 106 has sent information indicating that the user has used public transportation, does not press the consent button 212 on the notification screen 200 displayed on the user terminal 40, or presses the rejection button 222, that is, the number of times that the user does not receive the specified information agreeing to have used public transportation, or the number of times that the user does not agree to have used public transportation.

[0187] When the counted number of times reaches a certain number or more, the countermeasure processing unit 132 executes a predetermined process for the user 30 in question.

[0188] The predetermined processing includes processing to disable the IC card of the user terminal 40 registered for payment of the remaining balance, processing to calculate interest on the unpaid portion of the invoiced fare and add it to the invoiced amount, processing to issue an invoice (which may include information indicating a transfer destination) to the user 30 requesting payment of the fare, etc. The countermeasure processing unit 132 may send an invoice to the user terminal 40. For example, the countermeasure processing unit 132 may notify the content of the invoice using an application, may send the invoice to the user terminal 40 by email or SMS message, or may send an email or SMS message including the URL of a website containing the content of the invoice.

[0189] <Example of operation> FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. This flow is executed after step S105 in Fig. 26. That is, after the transmitting unit 106 transmits information indicating that a person (user 30) who has passed through the gate 14 has used public transportation to the user terminal 40 of the person (user 30) (step S105), the countermeasure processing unit 132 increments the counter of the user 30 by 1 (step S321).

[0190] The payment processing unit 104 determines whether or not information indicating that public transportation has been used has been acquired as predetermined information from the user terminal 40 (step S107). When the user 30 presses the consent button 212 on the notification screen 200 on the user terminal 40, that is, when information indicating that public transportation has been used has been acquired from the user terminal 40 (YES in step S107), the payment processing unit 104 performs payment processing for the fare (step S103).

[0191] Then, the countermeasure processing unit 132 subtracts 1 from the counter of the user 30 (step S323). On the other hand, if the predetermined information is not received (if the user 30 does not press either the agree button 212 or the reject button 222 even when viewing the notification screen 200), or if the user 30 presses the reject button 222 on the notification screen 200 at the user terminal 40, that is, if information indicating that the user has not used the transportation facility is obtained from the user terminal 40 (NO in step S107), the fare payment process in step S103 is bypassed and the process proceeds to step S325.

[0192] Then, the countermeasure processing unit 132 detects whether the counter of the user 30 has reached a certain number of times or more. mosquito If the counter is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times (YES in step S325), that is, if the use of public transport has not been approved for the predetermined number of times or more, the countermeasure processing unit 132 executes a predetermined process for the user 30 (step S327). If the counter is not equal to or greater than the predetermined number of times (NO in step S325), step S327 is bypassed and this process ends.

[0193] As described above, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 100 further includes the countermeasure processing unit 132. The countermeasure processing unit 132 executes a predetermined process for a person who does not perform payment processing a certain number of times or more.

[0194] As described above, the information processing device 100 of this embodiment not only produces the same effects as the above-described embodiment, but also makes it possible to take some kind of measure against users 30 who have refused to consent to use public transport a certain number of times or more. This makes it possible to take measures against users 30 who fraudulently avoid paying fares, which is expected to have the effect of curbing fraudulent behavior.

[0195] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples of the present invention, and various other configurations can also be adopted. For example, in the above embodiment, the remaining balance payment has been described as an example of a method of paying fares other than commuter passes, but other examples, such as paying fares by bank transfer at a convenience store, are also possible. In this case, when transmitting information indicating that a means of transportation has been used, the transmitting unit 106 transmits the information necessary to transfer the billed fare amount to the user terminal 40. The user 30 can then carry out the procedure for transferring the fare based on that information.

[0196] In addition, in the flowcharts used in the above description, multiple steps (processes) are described in order, but the order of execution of the steps performed in each embodiment is not limited to the order described. In each embodiment, the order of the steps shown in the drawings can be changed to the extent that the content is not affected. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined to the extent that the content is not contradictory.

[0197] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. In the present invention, when information about a user is acquired and used, it shall be done lawfully.

[0198] Some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. 1. A means for identifying a person who has passed through a transportation ticket gate by facial recognition; a payment processing means for performing a payment process for the fare to the identified person; a transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A ticket gate system comprising a refund processing means that, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid. 2. In the ticket gate system described in 1., A ticket gate system comprising an authentication means for narrowing down the persons to be subjected to the facial authentication using location information of users of the transportation facility and performing facial authentication processing on the narrowed down persons. 3. In the ticket gate system described in 1. or 2., the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; A ticket gate system in which the payment processing means executes the fare payment process when the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass area. 4. When the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, a gate control means allows a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; A ticket gate system comprising: a payment processing means for performing payment processing of the fare for a person whose facial authentication result meets a second standard that is stricter than the first standard, when the payment method is payment by remaining balance. 5. In the ticket gate system described in 4., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; A ticket gate system, wherein the second criterion is a person whose score is equal to or greater than the first threshold and whose score is the highest among a plurality of people whose facial recognition has been successful. 6. In the ticket gate system described in 4. or 5., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; A ticket gate system, wherein the second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold. 7. A means for determining whether the fare payment method used by the user of the transport facility is a commuter pass or a balance payment; an authentication means for setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; a gate control means for permitting the user to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the face authentication is successful, if the payment method is a commuter pass; A ticket gate system comprising: a payment processing means for performing payment processing of the fare for the user who has successfully passed the facial authentication, if the payment method is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit. 8. In the ticket gate system described in 7., the settlement processing means, when the payment method of the fare is payment by the remaining balance of the deposit, performs a settlement process of the fare after passing through the gate; a transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that the person who performed the payment process has used the means of transportation; a refund processing means for executing a refund process for the fare that has already been paid when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal; A ticket gate system comprising: 9. In the ticket gate system described in 7. or 8., and a second transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility to the terminal of the person after passing through the gate, if the fare payment method is payment by the remaining balance of the deposit; The payment processing means performs payment processing for the fare after acquiring predetermined information from the terminal. 10. In the ticket gate system described in 9., The ticket gate system further comprises a processing means for executing a predetermined process for a person who does not perform the payment process a certain number of times or more.

[0199] 11. One or more computers Facial recognition is used to identify people passing through the ticket gates of public transport. Performing a fare payment process for the identified person; transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to the terminal of the identified person; An information processing method that, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid. 12. In the information processing method described in 11, the one or more computers: An information processing method that uses location information of users of the transportation facility to narrow down the people who will undergo the face authentication, and performs face authentication processing on the narrowed down people. 13. In the information processing method according to 11. or 12., the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; the one or more computers: An information processing method that executes a payment process for the fare if the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or if it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass area. 14. One or more computers If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, permitting a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; An information processing method in which, when the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, payment processing of the fare is performed for a person whose facial authentication result satisfies a second standard that is stricter than the first standard. 15. In the information processing method described in 14., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; An information processing method, wherein the second criterion is a person whose score is equal to or greater than the first threshold and whose score is the highest among a plurality of people whose face authentication has been successful. 16. In the information processing method according to 14. or 15., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; An information processing method, wherein the second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold. 17. One or more computers Determine whether the transportation user's fare payment method is a commuter pass or a balance payment; setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; If the payment method is a commuter pass, when the face authentication is successful, the user is permitted to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; An information processing method in which, when the payment method is payment of the remaining balance, payment processing of the fare is performed for the user who has successfully passed the facial authentication. 18. In the information processing method described in 17., the one or more computers: If the payment method for the fare is payment by remaining balance, the fare is settled after passing through the gate, transmitting information indicating that the person who performed the payment process has used the means of transportation to the terminal of the person who performed the payment process; An information processing method that, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid. 19. In the information processing method according to 17. or 18., the one or more computers: If the payment method of the fare is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit, after passing through the gate, information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility is transmitted to the terminal of the person, An information processing method for processing the payment of the fare after obtaining predetermined information from the terminal. 20. In the information processing method described in 19., the one or more computers further An information processing method that executes a predetermined process for a person who does not perform the payment process a certain number of times.

[0200] 21. To the computer, A procedure for identifying a person passing through a transportation ticket gate using facial recognition; a step of processing a fare payment for the identified person; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a procedure for executing a refund process for the paid fare when specified information is obtained from the terminal. 22. The recording medium according to 21., A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure of narrowing down the persons to be subjected to the facial recognition using location information of users of the transportation facility, and performing facial recognition processing on the narrowed down persons. 23. The recording medium according to 21. or 22., the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for processing the fare payment when the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass area. 24. To the computer, If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, a step of allowing a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a procedure for processing the fare payment for a person whose facial recognition result meets a second standard that is stricter than the first standard, when the payment method is payment of the remaining balance. 25. The recording medium according to 24., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; The second criterion is a person who has the highest score among a plurality of people whose face has been successfully authenticated and whose score is equal to or greater than the first threshold. 26. The recording medium according to 24. or 25., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; The second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold. 27. To the computer, a procedure for determining whether a transit user is paying their fare by commuter pass or by balance payment; a step of setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; a step of permitting the user to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the face authentication is successful, in the case where the payment method is a commuter pass; A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing a procedure for performing the fare payment process for the user who has successfully completed the facial authentication, if the payment method is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit. 28. The recording medium according to 27., a step of performing a payment process for the fare after passing through the gate if the payment method for the fare is payment by remaining balance of the deposit; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person who performed the payment process has used the transportation facility; A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for processing a refund of the paid fare when specified information is obtained from the terminal. 29. The recording medium according to 27. or 28., If the payment method of the fare is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit, after passing through the gate, transmitting information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility to the terminal of the person; A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the procedure of processing the payment of the fare after obtaining specified information from the terminal. 30. The recording medium according to 29., A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for executing a predetermined process for a person who does not perform the payment process more than a certain number of times.

[0201] 31. To the computer, A procedure for identifying a person passing through a transportation ticket gate using facial recognition; a step of processing a fare payment for the identified person; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A program for executing a procedure for carrying out a refund process for the fare that has already been paid when specified information is obtained from the terminal. 32. In the program described in 31., A program for causing the computer to execute a procedure of narrowing down the persons to be subjected to the facial recognition using location information of users of the transportation facility, and performing facial recognition processing on the narrowed down persons. 33. In the program described in 31. or 32., the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; A program for causing the computer to execute a procedure for performing the fare payment process when the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's ride is outside the commuter pass area. 34. To the computer, If the payment method for the transportation fare is a commuter pass, a step of allowing a person whose face authentication result satisfies a first criterion to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility; A program for executing a procedure for processing the fare payment for a person whose facial recognition result meets a second standard that is stricter than the first standard, when the payment method is payment of the remaining balance. 35. In the program described in 34., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; The second criterion is a person whose score is equal to or greater than the first threshold and whose score is the highest among a plurality of people whose faces have been successfully authenticated. 36. In the program described in 34. or 35., the first criterion is that the score indicating the face authentication result is equal to or greater than a first threshold; The second criterion is that the score is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold. 37. To the computer, a procedure for determining whether a transit user is paying their fare by commuter pass or by balance payment; a step of setting a threshold value for facial authentication according to the determined payment method, and performing the facial authentication of the user using the threshold value; a step of permitting the user to pass through a ticket gate of the transportation facility when the face authentication is successful, in the case where the payment method is a commuter pass; A program for executing a procedure for processing the fare payment for the user who has successfully authenticated the face, if the payment method is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit. 38. In the program described in 37., a step of performing a payment process for the fare after passing through the gate if the payment method for the fare is payment by remaining balance of the deposit; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person who performed the payment process has used the transportation facility; A program for causing the computer to execute a procedure for executing a refund process for the fare that has already been paid when specified information is obtained from the terminal. 39. In the program described in 37. or 38., If the payment method of the fare is payment of the remaining balance of the deposit, after passing through the gate, transmitting information indicating that the person has used the transportation facility to the terminal of the person; A program for causing the computer to execute a procedure for processing the payment of the fare after obtaining specified information from the terminal. 40. In the program described in 39., A program for causing the computer to further execute a procedure for executing a predetermined process for a person who does not perform the payment process a certain number of times or more. [Explanation of symbols]

[0202] 1 Ticket gate system 3. Communication Network 5. Camera 10 Ticket gates 14 Gates 16 aisles 20 Display device 30 users 40 User terminals 50 Ticket gate control device 100 Information processing device 102 Specific part 104 Payment processing unit 106 Transmitter 108 Refund Processing Department 110 Authentication Department 112 Claim Notification Department 120 Gate control section 130 Judgment section 132 Countermeasures Department 150 Storage device 160 Master Credentials 170 Transportation Information 180 User Information 200 Notification screen 202 Usage date and time display section 204 Usage section display section 206 Fare display section 210 Message display section 212 Agree button 214 Refund Request Button 220 Freight billing amount display section 222 Reject button 1000 computers 1010 Bus 1020 processor 1030 memory 1040 Storage Device 1050 Input / Output Interface 1060 Network Interface

Claims

1. Implemented by one or more computers, A means for identifying a person who has passed through a ticket gate of a transportation facility by facial recognition; a payment processing means for performing a payment process for the fare to the identified person; a transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A ticket gate system comprising a refund processing means that, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid.

2. The ticket gate system according to claim 1, A ticket gate system comprising an authentication means for narrowing down the persons to be subjected to the facial authentication using location information of users of the transportation facility and performing facial authentication processing on the narrowed down persons.

3. The ticket gate system according to claim 1 or 2, the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; A ticket gate system in which the payment processing means executes the fare payment process when the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's use of the transportation means is outside the commuter pass area.

4. One or more computers Facial recognition is used to identify people passing through the ticket gates of public transport. Performing a fare payment process for the identified person; transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to the terminal of the identified person; An information processing method that, when predetermined information is acquired from the terminal, executes a refund process for the fare that has already been paid.

5. 5. The information processing method according to claim 4, the one or more computers: An information processing method that uses location information of users of the transportation facility to narrow down the people who will undergo the face authentication, and performs face authentication processing on the narrowed down people.

6. 6. The information processing method according to claim 4, the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; the one or more computers: An information processing method that executes a payment process for the fare if the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information for the person identified by the facial recognition, or if it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's use of the transportation means is outside the commuter pass area.

7. On the computer, A procedure for identifying a person passing through a transportation ticket gate using facial recognition; a step of processing a fare payment for the identified person; a step of transmitting information indicating that the person has used the means of transportation to a terminal of the identified person; A program for executing a procedure for carrying out a refund process for the fare that has already been paid when specified information is obtained from the terminal.

8. The program according to claim 7, A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for narrowing down the persons to be subjected to the facial recognition using location information of users of the transportation facility, and performing facial recognition processing on the narrowed down persons.

9. 9. The program according to claim 7 or 8, the master face information used for the face authentication or the specific information linked to the master face information is stored in a storage means in association with the presence or absence of commuter pass information of the person; A program for causing a computer to execute a procedure for executing the fare payment process when the memory means does not contain the commuter pass information of the person identified by the facial recognition, or when it is determined based on the commuter pass information that the person's use of the transportation means is outside the commuter pass area.

Images