Monitoring support device, system, method, and program

Abstract

In the present invention, when a monitored person not carrying a portable terminal or the like leaves for a prescribed location, a suitable message corresponding to the circumstances is transmitted from a monitoring party to a monitored party. A monitoring assistance device (1) registers biometric information about a monitored party and contact information for a monitoring party in association with a plurality of messages pertaining to individual authentication circumstances, acquires a first captured image of the monitored party captured by a first authentication terminal installed in a prescribed location, and controls a first biometrics authentication of the first captured image. When the first biometrics authentication is successful, said monitoring assistance device (1) determines the authentication circumstances, identifies from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that caused the first biometrics authentication to be successful a message corresponding to the determined authentication circumstances, and sends the identified message to the first authentication terminal as notification.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a watching support device, system, method, and program, and more particularly to a watching support device, system, method, and program that supports a watcher in watching over a person being watched. [Background technology]

[0002] With the widespread use of portable information terminals (mobile terminals) such as smartphones, if the person being watched (the person being watched), such as a child or elderly person, carries a mobile terminal, it has become easy for the watcher to watch over the person being watched over even if they are in a different location, using the mobile terminal's location information, etc. However, it is not always possible for the person being watched over to carry a mobile terminal with them at all times.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses technology relating to a user management system that can automatically detect when a child gets lost in an amusement facility, etc. Patent Document 2 discloses technology relating to a unit for an outdoor installation device that enables monitoring of a person being monitored without using GPS. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-060528 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-040575 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the problem that when a person being watched over who does not carry a mobile terminal or the like goes out to a designated location, it is difficult for the watcher to convey an appropriate message to the person being watched over according to the situation.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a monitoring support device, system, method, and program that allows a monitor to transmit an appropriate message according to the situation to a monitored person when the monitored person goes out to a specified location without carrying a mobile device or the like. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A watching support device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes: a first registration unit that registers biometric information of the person being watched and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration unit that, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, registers the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition unit that acquires a first captured image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control unit that controls first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination unit that determines an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification unit that identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification unit that notifies the first authentication terminal of the specified message; Equipped with.

[0008] A monitoring support system according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes: a user terminal corresponding to the contact information of the watcher; a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; A monitoring support device, The watching support device includes: a first registration unit that registers biometric information of the person being watched over and the contact information in association with each other; a second registration unit that, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from the user terminal, registers the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with the biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition unit that acquires a first captured image of the person being watched over by the first authentication terminal; an authentication control unit that controls first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination unit that determines an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification unit that identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification unit that notifies the first authentication terminal of the specified message; Equipped with.

[0009] A monitoring support method according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes: The computer Registering the biometric information of the person being watched and the contact information of the watcher in association with each other; When a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status are associated with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registered; A first photographed image of the person being watched is acquired by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; Controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; If the first biometric authentication is successful, determine the authentication status; Identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; The identified message is notified to the first authentication terminal.

[0010] A monitoring support program according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure includes: a first registration process for registering biometric information of the person being watched over and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration process for registering, when a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition process for acquiring a first photographed image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control process for controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination process for determining an authentication status if the first biometric authentication is successful; a process of identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification process of notifying the first authentication terminal of the identified message; to be executed by the computer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The present disclosure provides a monitoring support device, system, method, and program that allows a monitor to transmit an appropriate message according to the situation to a monitored person when the monitored person goes out to a designated location without carrying a mobile device or the like. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a watching support device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of a monitoring support method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a watching support system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an authentication terminal according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a watching support device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an authentication device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a first registration process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a face information registration process performed by the authentication device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a second registration process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of authentication control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of face authentication processing by the authentication device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a flow of a processing example from face authentication to message registration according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen for a watcher according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and for clarity of explanation, duplicate explanations will be omitted as necessary.

[0014] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a watching support device 1 according to the first embodiment. The watching support device 1 is an information processing device that supports a watcher in remotely watching over a person being watched over. Here, the person being watched over is a person being watched over, such as a child or an elderly person. For example, if the person being watched over is a child, the watcher may be a guardian such as a parent. Also, if the person being watched over is an elderly person or a person requiring care, the watcher may be a relative, a care worker, an adult guardian, etc. of the person being watched over. Here, the watching support device 1 is assumed to be connected to a user terminal and an authentication terminal via a communication network (not shown; hereinafter, the communication network may also be simply referred to as a network) or predetermined wireless communication. It does not matter whether the network is wired or wireless, and it does not matter what type of communication protocol is used.

[0015] The user terminal is an information terminal corresponding to the contact information of the watcher. The contact information may be an email address, a user ID of an application corresponding to the watching support device 1, a terminal ID, etc. The user terminal is assumed to be able to receive information addressed to the contact information when the watching support device 1 sends the information. The user terminal also transmits a registration request for specific information to the watching support device 1 via the network. At this time, the registration request is assumed to include the contact information. Therefore, the watching support device 1 is assumed to be able to identify the contact information from the source of the registration request from the user terminal.

[0016] The authentication terminal transmits the captured image of the person being watched over to the watching support device 1 via the network. The authentication terminal also receives a message notification from the watching support device 1.

[0017] The watching support device 1 includes a first registration unit 11, a second registration unit 12, an acquisition unit 13, an authentication control unit 14, a determination unit 15, an identification unit 16, and a notification unit 17. The first registration unit 11 registers biometric information of the person being watched and contact information of the watcher in association with each other. The biometric information is data (features) calculated from physical characteristics unique to an individual, such as a user's fingerprint, voiceprint, veins, retina, and iris pattern. For example, the first registration unit 11 may receive the biometric information of the person being watched and the contact information of the watcher from a user terminal or an authentication terminal. The first registration unit 11 stores registration information, in which the biometric information of the person being watched and the contact information of the watcher are associated with each other, in an internal or external storage device (not shown) of the watching support device 1. Note that the registration information is not limited to a case in which the biometric information and the contact information are directly associated with each other, and may also be a case in which the biometric information and the contact information are indirectly associated with each other. For example, the first storage device may store information in which contact information and a user ID are associated with each other, and the second storage device may store information in which the user ID and biometric information are associated with each other. In this case, the registration information may be said to be the biometric information and contact information associated with each other in a storage system that combines the first storage device and the second storage device.

[0018] When the second registration unit 12 receives multiple messages for each authentication status from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the second registration unit 12 associates the multiple messages for each authentication status with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registers them. The authentication status is a situation when biometric authentication is performed on an image captured by an authentication terminal. For example, the authentication status may include, but is not limited to, the location of the authentication terminal, the time period during which biometric authentication was performed, the number of authentication successes, etc. Here, "multiple messages for each authentication status" indicates that there are multiple pairs of authentication status and messages (response information). Therefore, the second registration unit 12 receives multiple pieces of response information from the user terminal and identifies contact information corresponding to the user terminal. Then, the second registration unit 12 associates the biometric information associated with the identified contact information with the multiple pieces of response information and registers them. Note that the second registration unit 12 may update the registration information registered by the first registration unit 11. Similarly to the first registration unit 11, the second registration unit 12 stores registration information in which biometric information is associated with a plurality of pieces of response information in an internal or external storage device of the watching support device 1.

[0019] The acquisition unit 13 acquires a first captured image of the person being watched over taken by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location. The first captured image contains biometric information of the person being watched over.

[0020] The authentication control unit 14 controls the first biometric authentication for the first captured image. The authentication control unit 14 controls the biometric authentication using the biometric information acquired by the acquisition unit 13 and the biometric information included in the above-mentioned registration information. If the watching support device 1 has the above-mentioned storage device built in, the authentication control unit 14 performs the biometric authentication process by matching the biometric information. Alternatively, if the biometric information is stored in an external authentication device, the authentication control unit 14 causes the authentication device to perform the biometric authentication process and acquires the authentication result.

[0021] If the first biometric authentication is successful, the determination unit 15 determines the authentication status. For example, the determination unit 15 determines the authentication status based on the location of the first authentication terminal, the capture time of the first captured image, the current time, the number of past successful authentications of the watched person who has succeeded in the first biometric authentication, etc.

[0022] The identifying unit 16 identifies a message corresponding to the authentication status determined by the determining unit 15 from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has been successfully subjected to the first biometric authentication.

[0023] The notification unit 17 notifies the first authentication terminal of the message identified by the identification unit 16.

[0024] 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the watching support method according to the present embodiment 1. First, the first registration unit 11 registers the biometric information of the person being watched over and the contact information of the watcher in association with each other (S11). For example, the first registration unit 11 receives the biometric information of the person being watched over and the contact information of the watcher from a user terminal or an authentication terminal, and registers the biometric information and the contact information in association with each other in a storage device.

[0025] Next, the second registration unit 12 receives a plurality of messages for each authentication status from the user terminal corresponding to the contact information (S12). For example, the second registration unit 12 receives a plurality of pieces of response information from the user terminal. Then, the second registration unit 12 associates the plurality of messages for each authentication status with the biometric information associated with the contact information corresponding to the user terminal and registers them (S13). For example, the second registration unit 12 associates the plurality of pieces of response information with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registers them in the storage device.

[0026] Thereafter, it is assumed that the person being watched over arrives near the first authentication terminal. At this time, the first authentication terminal takes an image of the person being watched over and transmits the first captured image to the watching support device 1. In response to this, the acquisition unit 13 acquires the first captured image of the person being watched over taken by the first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location (S14). In other words, the acquisition unit 13 receives the first captured image from the first authentication terminal via the network.

[0027] Then, the authentication control unit 14 controls the first biometric authentication for the first captured image (S15). The authentication control unit 14 determines whether the first biometric authentication is successful (S16).

[0028] If the first biometric authentication is successful, the determination unit 15 determines the authentication status (S17). Then, the identification unit 16 identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among multiple messages associated with the biometric information for which the first biometric authentication was successful (S18). Then, the notification unit 17 notifies the first authentication terminal of the message identified in step S18 (S19). That is, the notification unit 17 transmits a message to the first authentication terminal via the network. In response to this, the first authentication terminal displays the message received from the watching support device 1 on its screen. Then, the person being watched over can check the message corresponding to the authentication status, which has been registered in advance by the user terminal of the watcher, via the first authentication terminal.

[0029] If it is determined in step S16 that the first biometric authentication has failed, the process ends. Alternatively, in this case, the notification unit 17 may transmit a message to the first authentication terminal indicating that the biometric authentication has failed.

[0030] As described above, in this embodiment, when a person being watched over without a mobile device or the like leaves a predetermined location, the watcher can transmit an appropriate message to the person being watched over according to the situation. Specifically, the watcher associates contact information corresponding to the user's user device with the biometric information of the person being watched over and registers the associated information in advance in the watching support device 1. The watcher then registers different messages to be notified to the watcher according to each of multiple authentication situations in the watching support device 1 using the user device. After that, the watcher leaves a predetermined location where an authentication terminal is installed without a mobile device or the like. At this time, the authentication terminal captures an image containing the watcher's biometric information and transmits a biometric authentication request including the captured image to the watching support device 1 via the network. In response, the watching support device 1 controls biometric authentication between the biometric information contained in the received captured image and the pre-registered biometric information. Then, the watching support device 1 notifies the authentication terminal of a message according to the authentication situation when biometric authentication is successful. As a result, the person being watched over can view, via the authentication terminal, a message appropriate to the authentication situation from among the multiple messages pre-registered by the watcher.

[0031] The watching support device 1 includes a processor, a memory, and a storage device (not shown). The storage device stores a computer program that implements the processing of the watching support method according to this embodiment. The processor then loads the computer program from the storage device into the memory and executes the computer program. As a result, the processor realizes the functions of a first registration unit 11, a second registration unit 12, an acquisition unit 13, an authentication control unit 14, a determination unit 15, an identification unit 16, and a notification unit 17.

[0032] Alternatively, the first registration unit 11, the second registration unit 12, the acquisition unit 13, the authentication control unit 14, the determination unit 15, the identification unit 16, and the notification unit 17 may each be realized by dedicated hardware. Furthermore, some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a general-purpose or dedicated circuit, processor, etc., or a combination thereof. These may be configured by a single chip, or by multiple chips connected via a bus. Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the above-mentioned circuits, etc., and a program. Furthermore, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a quantum processor (quantum computer control chip), etc., may be used as the processor.

[0033] Furthermore, when some or all of the components of the watching support device 1 are realized by multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc., the multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be centrally or decentralized. For example, the information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized as a client-server system, a cloud computing system, or the like, in a form in which each is connected via a communication network. Furthermore, the functions of the watching support device 1 may be provided in a SaaS (Software as a Service) format.

[0034] <Embodiment 2> The second embodiment is a specific example of the first embodiment described above. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a watching support system 1000 according to the second embodiment. The watching support system 1000 is an information system for supporting a watcher U2 in watching over a watched person U1 by performing facial recognition of the authenticator (watched person U1) at multiple authentication terminals installed in a predetermined area. In particular, in the watching support system 1000, a park 100 is exemplified as the predetermined area. However, the predetermined area is not limited to a specific facility and may include multiple facilities. For example, the predetermined area may be within a predetermined range from the home of the watched person U1. In this case, each authentication terminal may be installed on a sidewalk, a public facility, or the like.

[0035] In the following description, the authentication for personal identification will be referred to as face authentication, which is an example of biometric authentication, and the personal identification information will be referred to as facial feature information, which is an example of biometric information. However, other technologies that use captured images can be applied to biometric authentication and biometric information. For example, biometric information may be data (features) calculated from physical features unique to an individual, such as fingerprints, voiceprints, veins, retina, or iris patterns.

[0036] The watching support system 1000 includes authentication terminals 110 to 140, a toilet 150, play equipment 160, an authentication device 200, a watching support device 300, and a user terminal 500. The authentication terminals 110 to 140, the authentication device 200, the watching support device 300, and the user terminal 500 are connected via a network N. Here, the network N is a wired or wireless communication line, for example, the Internet. The authentication terminals 110 to 140, the toilet 150, and the play equipment 160 are assumed to be installed within a park 100. The authentication device 200 and the watching support device 300 may be installed anywhere. Furthermore, the toilet 150 and the play equipment 160 are merely examples of facilities within the park 100. The user terminal 500 is an information terminal carried by a watcher U2 who is outside the park 100.

[0037] The watching support system 1000 is used, for example, as follows. First, it is assumed that the watcher U2 wants the watched person U1 to play safely in the park 100 without the watcher U2's accompaniment and return home by evening. For example, it is assumed that the watched person U1 is a child from an infant to a child in the early elementary school years, and the watcher U2 is the guardian of the watched person U1. As mentioned above, the watched person U1 may be a person to be watched over, such as an elderly person or a person requiring care, and the watcher U2 may be a relative of the watched person U1.

[0038] Therefore, the watcher U2 uses the user terminal 500 to register the facial image of the watched person U1 and the contact information of the user terminal 500 in the watching support device 300. Alternatively, the watcher U2 may perform a similar registration using the authentication terminal 110 or the like when visiting the park 100 with the watched person U1. For example, for a park 100 that the watcher U2 has visited several times with the watched person U1, the watcher U2 may allow the watched person U1 to visit the park 100 without being accompanied by the watcher U2 in the future.

[0039] Then, the watcher U2 uses the user terminal 500 to register messages corresponding to each of the multiple authentication statuses in the watching support device 300. At this time, the watching support device 300 can identify that the registration is from the watcher U2 based on the contact information of the user terminal 500 that is the registration source. Then, the watching support device 300 registers response information, which is a pair of an authentication status and a message, in association with the face image (or user ID) of the watched person U1.

[0040] Thereafter, the watched person U1 visits the park 100, for example, alone or with a friend, without being accompanied by the watcher U2. The watched person U1 then performs facial authentication using the watching support device 300 by photographing his or her face in front of the authentication terminal 110 installed at the entrance to the park 100. If the watched person U1's face is successfully authenticated, the authentication terminal 110 displays the message received from the watching support device 300. This allows the watched person U1 to play in the park 100 after confirming the appropriate message corresponding to the authentication status registered by the watcher U2. Furthermore, when using the restroom 150 or playground equipment 160, the watched person U1 can similarly confirm the appropriate message corresponding to the authentication status by photographing his or her face in front of the authentication terminal 120 or 130. Thereafter, the watched person U1 can similarly confirm the appropriate message corresponding to the authentication status by photographing his or her face in front of the authentication terminal 140 installed at the exit of the park 100.

[0041] Furthermore, when the watched person U1 is successful in face authentication at each authentication terminal, the watching support device 300 notifies the user terminal 500 of information including the location of the authentication terminal. This allows the watcher U2 to know where the watched person U1 is located within the park 100. Furthermore, in response to the notification, the watcher U2 uses the user terminal 500 to register a pair of the authentication status and a message in the watching support device 300. For example, the watcher U2 can additionally register an appropriate message taking into consideration the timing (time) of the notification, the location of the authentication terminal, the schedule for the day, etc. Thereafter, when the watched person U1 performs face authentication at any authentication terminal within the park 100, the authentication terminal can display the additionally registered message. This allows the watcher U2 to convey an appropriate message to the watched person U1 according to the situation.

[0042] 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a user terminal 500 according to the second embodiment. The user terminal 500 is, for example, an information processing device such as a mobile phone terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a laptop computer with a camera. The user terminal 500 is an example of a registration terminal. The user terminal 500 includes a camera 51, a storage unit 54, a memory 55, a communication unit 56, an input / output unit 57, and a control unit 58.

[0043] The camera 51 is an imaging device that takes pictures under the control of the control unit 58. The memory unit 54 is a storage device that stores a program 541 for realizing each function of the user terminal 500 and contact information 542. The program 541 is a computer program that implements at least the first to third registration processes, etc. The program 541 includes a client application for the watching support device 300 according to this embodiment. The contact information 542 is information indicating a contact point for communicating predetermined information from the watching support device 300 to the watcher U2. The contact information 542 is, as described above, an email address, a user ID of the client application, a terminal ID of the user terminal 500, a mobile phone number of the user terminal 500, etc.

[0044] The memory 55 is a volatile storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and is a storage area for temporarily storing information when the control unit 58 is operating. The communication unit 56 is a communication interface with the network N. The input / output unit 57 includes a display device and an input device. The input / output unit 57 is, for example, a touch panel. The control unit 58 is a processor that controls the hardware of the user terminal 500. The control unit 58 loads a program 541 from the storage unit 54 into the memory 55 and executes it. In this way, the control unit 58 realizes the functions of a reception unit 581, a registration unit 582, and a display control unit 583.

[0045] The reception unit 581 receives a photographing operation of the watched person U1 by the watcher U2, controls the camera 51 to photograph an area including the face of the watched person U1, and acquires the photograph as a facial image. The reception unit 581 then receives a first registration operation by the watcher U2. The reception unit 581 also receives an input operation of multiple authentication statuses and messages for each authentication status from the watcher U2, and then receives a second registration operation. The reception unit 581 also receives an input operation of one or more authentication statuses and messages from the watcher U2 in response to a notification from the watching support device 300, and then receives a third registration operation.

[0046] When the receiving unit 581 receives a first registration operation, the registration unit 582 transmits a first registration request including the face image (of the watched person U1) acquired by the receiving unit 581 and the contact information 542 stored in the memory unit 54 to the watching support device 300 via the network N. When the receiving unit 581 receives a second registration operation, the registration unit 582 transmits a second registration request including the contact information 542 and multiple pieces of response information, which are pairs of authentication statuses and messages received by the receiving unit 581, to the watching support device 300 via the network N.

[0047] For example, when the authentication status is the terminal location, the following messages can be given for each terminal location: When the terminal location is the entrance to the park 100 (authentication terminal 110), the message may be, "Play carefully." When the terminal location is the playground equipment 160 in the park 100 (authentication terminal 130), the message may be, "Play in harmony with everyone." When the terminal location is the exit of the park 100 (authentication terminal 140), the message may be, "Make sure you haven't left anything behind," or (because the road is nearby) "Watch out for cars."

[0048] Furthermore, if the authentication status is time zone, the following messages can be given for each time zone: If the time zone is daytime (9:00 to 16:00), the message should be "Please come home by 5:00 (17:00)." If the time zone is evening (16:00 to 18:00), the message should be "Please come home early."

[0049] Furthermore, when the authentication status is the number of successful authentications, the following messages can be displayed for each successful authentication. If the successful authentication is the first time (first time visiting park 100 alone), the message may be, "Make sure you know where the restrooms are." If the successful authentication is five or more times, the message may be, "Don't go to dangerous places!"

[0050] The authentication status may be a combination of multiple authentication statuses. For example, the authentication status may be a combination of a terminal location and a time period, a combination of a terminal location and the number of successful authentication attempts, a combination of a time period and the number of successful authentication attempts, a combination of all of these, or a combination of other authentication statuses.

[0051] In addition, when the reception unit 581 receives a third registration operation, the registration unit 582 transmits a third registration request including one or more response information pairs, which are pairs of the authentication status and message received by the reception unit 581, and contact information 542 to the monitoring support device 300 via the network N.

[0052] The display control unit 583 displays a reception screen for receiving a photographing operation, first to third registration operations, and an input operation of an authentication status and a message on the input / output unit 57. The display control unit 583 also displays notification information received from the watching support device 300 via the network N on the input / output unit 57. The notification information includes, for example, the location of the authentication terminal where the watched-over person U1 performed face authentication, the time of authentication, and the like.

[0053] Returning to Figure 3, the explanation will continue. Authentication terminal 110 is an information terminal installed at the entrance of park 100. Authentication terminal 120 is an information terminal installed at the entrance of restroom 150. Authentication terminal 130 is an information terminal installed near playground equipment 160. Authentication terminal 140 is an information terminal installed at the exit of park 100.

[0054] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the authentication terminal 110 according to the present embodiment 2. The authentication terminals 120 to 140 are omitted from the illustration because they have the same configuration as in Fig. 5. The authentication terminal 110 includes a camera 41, a storage unit 44, a memory 45, a communication unit 46, an input / output unit 47, and a control unit 48.

[0055] The camera 41 is an imaging device that takes pictures under the control of the control unit 48. The memory unit 44 is a storage device that stores a program 441 for implementing each function of the authentication terminal 110. The program 441 is a computer program that implements at least a facial authentication request process, a display process of received content, etc. It is assumed that the program 441 also implements a facial information registration process. The memory 45 is a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and is a storage area for temporarily storing information when the control unit 48 is operating. The communication unit 46 is a communication interface with the network N. The input / output unit 47 includes a display device and an input device. The input / output unit 47 is, for example, a touch panel. The control unit 48 is a processor that controls the hardware of the authentication terminal 110. The control unit 48 loads the program 441 from the memory unit 44 into the memory 45 and executes it. As a result, the control unit 48 implements the functions of an acquisition unit 481, a registration unit 482, a display control unit 483, and an authentication control unit 484.

[0056] The acquisition unit 481 receives a facial authentication operation from the watched-over person U1, controls the camera 41 to capture an image of an area including the face of the watched-over person U1, and acquires the image as a captured image. The acquisition unit 481 may periodically acquire images captured by the camera 41 regardless of an operation. The acquisition unit 481 may also cause the camera 41 to capture an image and acquire the captured image when a person is detected by a human presence sensor (not shown). This allows facial authentication to be performed when the watched-over person U1 is an infant or the like and unable to operate the authentication terminal 110 by simply standing in front of the authentication terminal 110. The acquisition unit 481 may detect a facial area from the captured image and extract it as a facial image.

[0057] When the authentication terminal 110 performs the first to third registration processes described above, the acquisition unit 481 accepts the first to third registration operations and the input operation of a set of authentication status and message, just like the reception unit 581. In this case, the acquisition unit 481 further acquires contact information input by the watcher U2.

[0058] When the registration unit 482 receives the first registration operation, it transmits a first registration request including the captured image (face image) and contact information to the watching support device 300 via the network N. When the registration unit 482 receives the second or third registration operation, it transmits the second or third registration request described above to the watching support device 300 via the network N.

[0059] The display control unit 483 displays a reception screen for receiving a face authentication operation on the input / output unit 47. Furthermore, the display control unit 483 displays a message received from the watching support device 300 via the network N, depending on the face authentication result, on the input / output unit 47. Furthermore, the display control unit 483 may display the above-mentioned reception screen on the input / output unit 47, similar to the user terminal 500.

[0060] The authentication control unit 484 transmits a face authentication request including the captured image (face image) acquired by the acquisition unit 481 to the authentication information management device 300 or the authentication device 200 via the network N. That is, the authentication control unit 484 controls face authentication of the watched person U1. The authentication control unit 484 includes information indicating the location of the authentication terminal 110 (terminal ID and location information) in the face authentication request. Furthermore, the authentication control unit 484 may include the shooting time of the captured image in the face authentication request.

[0061] Returning to FIG. 3, the explanation continues. The watching support device 300 is an example of the above-mentioned watching support device 1. The watching support device 300 is an information processing device that performs first to third registration processes, authentication control processes, etc. The watching support device 300 may be redundantly configured with multiple servers, and each functional block may be realized by multiple computers.

[0062] Next, the watching support device 300 will be described in detail. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the watching support device 300 according to the second embodiment. The watching support device 300 includes a storage unit 310, a memory 320, a communication unit 330, and a control unit 340. The storage unit 310 is an example of a storage device such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The storage unit 310 stores a program 311, registration information 312, and an authentication history 315. The program 311 is a computer program that implements processes including the first to third registration processes, authentication control process, etc. according to the second embodiment.

[0063] The registration information 312 is information that associates a watched person ID 3121, contact information 3122, and multiple pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2). The watched person ID 3121 is user identification information that is managed in association with facial feature information managed in the authentication device 200 described below. Here, the watched person ID 3121 is identification information for the watched person U1. The contact information 3122 is contact information for the watcher U2. The response information 31231, etc. is definition information for a message according to the authentication status that is to be notified to the authentication terminal when face authentication is successful. Each of the response information 31231 to 3123n is a pair of an authentication status and a message. Specifically, the response information 31231 is information that associates an authentication status 3131 with a message 3141. The same applies to the following, and response information 3123n is information that associates authentication status 313n with message 314n.

[0064] The authentication history 315 is an authentication history for each user. The authentication history 315 is, for example, a set of a watched person ID 3121, authentication date and time, and the location of the authenticated terminal. Alternatively, the authentication history 315 may be the number of successful authentications for each watched person ID 3121.

[0065] The memory 320 is a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and is a storage area for temporarily storing information during operation of the control unit 340. The communication unit 330 is a communication interface with the network N.

[0066] The control unit 340 is a processor, that is, a control device, that controls each component of the watching support device 300. The control unit 340 loads the program 311 from the storage unit 310 into the memory 320 and executes the program 311. As a result, the control unit 340 realizes the functions of a first registration unit 341, a second registration unit 342, an acquisition unit 343, an authentication control unit 344, a determination unit 345, an identification unit 346, and a notification unit 347.

[0067] The first registration unit 341 is an example of the above-mentioned first registration unit 11. The first registration unit 341 accepts a first registration request from the user terminal 500 or the authentication terminals 110 to 140, and transmits a face information registration request including a face image included in the first registration request to the authentication device 200. Then, the first registration unit 341 acquires a user ID issued in response to the registration of face information from the authentication device 200. Then, the first registration unit 341 generates registration information 312 by associating the acquired user ID (watched person ID 3121) with contact information 3122 included in the first registration request. Then, the first registration unit 341 registers the generated registration information 312 in the storage unit 310.

[0068] The second registration unit 342 is an example of the second registration unit 12 described above. The second registration unit 342 receives a second registration request from the user terminal 500 or the authentication terminals 110 to 140, and identifies the watched person ID 3121 associated with the contact information 3122 included in the second registration request. The second registration unit 342 then updates the registration information 312 by associating the identified watched person ID 3121 with a plurality of pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n included in the second registration request. The second registration unit 342 may also update the registration information 312 by associating a set of the watched person ID 3121 and the contact information 3122 with a plurality of pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n. The second registration unit 342 further receives a first message corresponding to the first authentication status from the user terminal 500 in response to notification of the location of the authentication terminal, which will be described later. In this case, the second registration unit 342 further associates and registers a first message according to the first authentication status with the biometric information (corresponding to the watched person ID 3121) associated with the contact information 3122 corresponding to the user terminal 500.

[0069] The acquisition unit 343 is an example of the above-mentioned acquisition unit 13. The acquisition unit 343 acquires a face authentication request from the authentication terminals 110-140.

[0070] The authentication control unit 344 is an example of the above-mentioned authentication control unit 14. When the acquisition unit 343 acquires a face authentication request, the authentication control unit 344 controls face authentication for the face image included in the face authentication request. Specifically, the authentication control unit 344 transmits the acquired face authentication request to the authentication device 200 and receives a face authentication result from the authentication device 200. Note that the authentication control unit 344 may detect the user's face area from the face image and include an image of the face area in the face authentication request. Alternatively, the authentication control unit 344 may extract facial feature information from the face area and include the facial feature information in the face authentication request.

[0071] The determination unit 345 is an example of the determination unit 15 described above. The determination unit 345 determines whether face authentication has been successful based on the received face authentication result. If the face authentication result indicates success, the determination unit 345 determines that face authentication has been successful and identifies the user ID included in the face authentication result. Furthermore, if the determination unit 345 determines that face authentication has been successful, it determines the authentication status. For example, the determination unit 345 determines the location of the authentication terminal that has requested face authentication as the authentication status. Furthermore, the determination unit 345 determines time information (or time zone) related to authentication, which is the capture time of the face image included in the face authentication request or the current time, as the authentication status. Furthermore, the determination unit 345 determines the number of times authentication has been successful when the identified user ID is used as the watched person ID from the authentication history 315 as the authentication status.

[0072] The identification unit 346 is an example of the above-mentioned identification unit 16. The identification unit 346 identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from the registration information 312. Specifically, the identification unit 346 sets the identified user ID as the watched person ID 3121, and identifies the authentication status 3131, etc. of the multiple pieces of response information 31231, etc. associated with the watched person ID 3121, including the determined authentication status. For example, if the authentication status 3131, etc. is a time period, the identification unit 346 identifies the authentication status 3131, etc. of the time period including time information, which is one of the determined authentication statuses. Then, the identification unit 346 identifies a message that is a combination of the identified authentication status. In addition, the identification unit 346 identifies the contact information 3122 associated with the user ID (watched person ID 3121) of the watched person U1 whose face authentication was successful.

[0073] The notification unit 347 is an example of the above-mentioned notification unit 17. The notification unit 347 notifies (transmits) the identified message to the authentication terminal that is the requestor via the network N. The notification unit 347 also notifies (transmits) information including the determined location of the authentication terminal, addressed to the identified contact information.

[0074] Returning to FIG. 3, the explanation continues. The authentication device 200 is an information processing device that stores facial feature information of users. In response to a facial authentication request received from the outside, the authentication device 200 compares the facial image or facial feature information included in the request with the facial feature information of each user, and returns the comparison result (authentication result) to the request source.

[0075] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an authentication device 200 according to the second embodiment. The authentication device 200 includes a face information database (DB) 210, a face detection unit 220, a feature point extraction unit 230, a registration unit 240, and an authentication unit 250. The face information DB 210 stores a user ID 211 and facial feature information 212 for the user ID in association with each other. The facial feature information 212 is a collection of feature points extracted from a facial image. The authentication device 200 may delete the facial feature information 212 from the facial feature DB 210 in response to a request from a watcher U2 or the like of the facial feature information 212. Alternatively, the authentication device 200 may delete the facial feature information 212 after a certain period of time has elapsed since the main registration.

[0076] The face detection unit 220 detects a face area included in a registration image for registering face information, and outputs the detected face area to the feature point extraction unit 230. The feature point extraction unit 230 extracts feature points from the face area detected by the face detection unit 220, and outputs face feature information to the registration unit 240. The feature point extraction unit 230 also extracts feature points included in a face image received from the authentication terminal 110 or the watching support device 300, and outputs the face feature information to the authentication unit 250.

[0077] The registration unit 240 issues a new user ID 211 when registering facial feature information. The registration unit 240 associates the issued user ID 211 with facial feature information 212 extracted from the registered image and registers the associated user ID 211 in the facial information DB 210. The authentication unit 250 performs facial authentication using the facial feature information 212. Specifically, the authentication unit 250 compares the facial feature information extracted from the facial image with the facial feature information 212 in the facial information DB 210. If the comparison is successful, the authentication unit 250 identifies the user ID 211 associated with the compared facial feature information 212. The authentication unit 250 returns a match of the facial feature information to the request source as a facial authentication result. The match of the facial feature information corresponds to the success or failure of authentication. Note that the facial feature information matches (matches) when the degree of match is equal to or greater than a threshold. If the facial authentication is successful, the facial authentication result includes the identified user ID.

[0078] 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the first registration process according to the second embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the watcher U2 uses the user terminal 500 to register a facial image of the watched person U1 and the contact information of the watcher U2. First, the user terminal 500 takes a picture of the watched person U1 using the camera 51 in response to a shooting operation from the watcher U2, and accepts a first registration operation from the watcher U2. Then, the user terminal 500 transmits a first registration request including the facial image of the watched person U1 and the contact information 542 stored in the memory unit 54 to the watching support device 300 via the network N.

[0079] In response to this, the first registration unit 341 of the watching support device 300 receives a first registration request including a face image of the watched person U1 and contact information of the watcher U2 (S111). For example, the first registration unit 341 receives the first registration request from the user terminal 500 via the network N.

[0080] Next, the first registration unit 341 transmits a face information registration request including the face image included in the first registration request to the authentication device 200 via the network N (S112). Then, the first registration unit 341 acquires a user ID issued in response to the registration of the face information from the authentication device 200 via the network N (S113). Then, the first registration unit 341 registers in the storage unit 310 registration information 312 that associates the acquired user ID (watched person ID 3121) with contact information 3122 included in the first registration request (S114).

[0081] 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of face information registration processing by the authentication device 200 according to the second embodiment. Here, an information registration terminal (not shown) photographs the body including the face of a user, and transmits a face information registration request including the photographed image (registration image) to the authentication device 200 via the network N. The information registration terminal is, for example, an information processing device such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. For example, the information registration terminal may be the authentication terminal 110 or the like. Here, the information registration terminal is assumed to be the authentication information management device 300 that has accepted the face information registration request from the authentication terminal 110 or the like.

[0082] First, the authentication device 200 receives a face information registration request (S201). For example, the authentication device 200 receives the face information registration request from the authentication information management device 300 via the network N. Next, the face detection unit 220 detects a face area from a face image included in the face information registration request (S202). Then, the feature point extraction unit 230 extracts feature points (facial feature information) from the face area detected in step S202 (S203). Then, the registration unit 240 issues a user ID 211 (S204). Then, the registration unit 240 associates the extracted facial feature information 212 with the issued user ID 211 and registers them in the face information DB 210 (S205). Thereafter, the registration unit 240 returns the issued user ID 211 to the request source (an information registration terminal, for example, the watching support device 300) (S206).

[0083] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the second registration process according to the second embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the watcher U2 uses the user terminal 500 to register a message for each authentication status of the watched person U1. First, the user terminal 500 accepts an input operation of multiple authentication statuses and messages for each authentication status from the watcher U2, and accepts a second registration operation. Then, the user terminal 500 uses pairs of the authentication status and the messages as response information, and transmits a second registration request including the multiple pieces of response information and contact information 542 to the watching support device 300 via the network N.

[0084] In response, the second registration unit 342 of the watching support device 300 receives a second registration request including multiple pieces of response information and contact information for the watcher U2 (S121). For example, the second registration unit 342 receives the second registration request from the user terminal 500 via the network N. Note that if one watcher U2 has registered registration information 312 for multiple watched persons U1 in the watching support device 300, the user terminal 500 may specify the watched person U1 for whom the response information is to be registered. For example, the user terminal 500 may further include identification information and a facial image of the watched person U1 in the second registration request in response to the watcher U2's designation of the watched person U1. Therefore, for example, if there are two watched persons (children), a different message can be registered and displayed for each of the specified watched persons.

[0085] Next, the second registration unit 342 identifies the watched person ID 3121 associated with the contact information 3122 included in the received second registration request from the registration information 312 (S122). If the received second registration request includes a facial image of the watched person U1, the second registration unit 342 may transmit a facial recognition request including the facial image to the authentication device 200 and receive a facial recognition result from the authentication device 200, thereby identifying the watched person ID 3121 of the watched person U1.

[0086] Then, the second registration unit 342 associates the specified watched person ID 3121 with the plurality of pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n included in the second registration request, and registers (updates) the association in the registration information 312 (S123). Note that the second registration unit 342 may also update the registration information 312 by associating the plurality of pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n with the pair of the watched person ID 3121 and the contact information 3122.

[0087] The first registration request and the second registration request may be combined into one registration request (third registration request). For example, the registration unit 582 of the user terminal 500 transmits a third registration request including a facial image of the watched person U1, contact information 542, and multiple pieces of response information to the watching support device 300 via the network N. Then, the first registration unit 341 (or the second registration unit 342) of the watching support device 300 transmits a face information registration request including the facial image included in the received third registration request to the authentication device 200 and receives a user ID from the authentication device 200. Thereafter, the first registration unit 341 generates registration information 312 by associating the received user ID (watched person ID 3121) with the contact information 3122 and multiple pieces of response information 31231, etc., included in the third registration request. Then, the first registration unit 341 registers the generated registration information 312 in the storage unit 310.

[0088] 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of authentication control processing according to the present embodiment 2. For example, first, the acquisition unit 343 of the watching support device 300 receives a face authentication request including a face image of the watched-over person U1 and the position of the authentication terminal 110 from the authentication terminal 110 via the network N (S131). Next, the authentication control unit 344 extracts the face image from the received face authentication request, and transmits the face authentication request including the face image to the authentication device 200 via the network N (S132).

[0089] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of face authentication processing by the authentication device 200 according to the second embodiment. First, the authentication device 200 receives a face authentication request from the watching support device 300 via the network N (S211). The authentication device 200 may also receive the face authentication request from the authentication terminal 110 or the like. Next, the authentication device 200 extracts face feature information from the face image included in the face authentication request, similar to steps S202 and S203 described above. Then, the authentication unit 250 of the authentication device 200 compares the face feature information extracted from the face image included in the face authentication request with the face feature information 212 in the face information DB 210 (S212) and calculates a degree of match. Then, the authentication unit 250 determines whether the degree of match is equal to or greater than a threshold (S213). If the face feature information matches, that is, if the degree of match of the face feature information is equal to or greater than a threshold, the authentication unit 250 identifies the user ID 211 associated with the face feature information 212 (S214). Then, the authentication unit 250 returns the face authentication result, including the fact that the face authentication was successful and the identified user ID 211, to the watching support device 300 via the network N (S215). If the degree of match is less than the threshold in step S213, the authentication unit 250 returns the face authentication result, including the fact that the face authentication was unsuccessful, to the watching support device 300 via the network N (S216).

[0090] The description will continue by returning to Figure 11. The authentication control unit 344 of the watching support apparatus 300 receives the face authentication result from the authentication apparatus 200 via the network N (S133).

[0091] Next, the determination unit 345 determines whether or not face authentication was successful based on the received face authentication result (S134). If it is determined that face authentication was successful, the determination unit 345 identifies the user ID included in the face authentication result and determines the authentication status (S135). Specifically, the determination unit 345 includes the location of the authentication terminal 110 included in the received face authentication request in the determination result of the authentication status. The determination unit 345 also includes the capture time of the face image or the current time as the time related to authentication in the determination result of the authentication status. Furthermore, the determination unit 345 refers to the authentication history 315 and includes the number of times authentication was successful when the identified user ID was used as the watched person ID in the determination result of the authentication status.

[0092] Then, the identification unit 346 identifies a message corresponding to the authentication status determined in step S135 from the registration information 312 (S136). Specifically, first, the identification unit 346 identifies a plurality of pieces of response information 31231 to 3123n associated with the identified watched person ID 3121. Then, the identification unit 346 identifies one of the authentication statuses included in the identified response information 31231 to 3123n that satisfies the authentication status determined in step S135. For example, the identification unit 346 identifies an authentication status that matches the location of the authentication terminal 110 and includes a time period related to authentication. Then, the identification unit 346 identifies a message associated with the identified authentication status. Thereafter, the notification unit 347 notifies the authentication terminal 110 of the identified message via the network N (S137).

[0093] After step S135, the identification unit 346 identifies the contact information 3122 associated with the identified watched person ID 3121 (S138). Then, the notification unit 347 notifies the identified contact information of the determined authentication terminal 110, including the location of the determined authentication terminal 110 and the time of authentication (S139).

[0094] If it is determined in step S134 that the face authentication has failed, the notification unit 347 notifies the authentication terminal 110 via the network N of the fact that the authentication has failed (S140).

[0095] FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing from face authentication to message registration (third registration processing) according to the second embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the watching support device 300 has registered the registration information 312 in advance. First, the watched-over person U1 arrives alone at the park 100 around 2 p.m. and performs face authentication operation on the authentication terminal 110 installed at the entrance. The authentication terminal 110 controls the camera 41 to capture an image of the watched-over person U1 (S301). As described above, the authentication terminal 110 may also use the camera 41 to capture an image of the surroundings of the authentication terminal 110 when a person is detected by a human sensor or the like, regardless of the face authentication operation.

[0096] Then, the authentication terminal 110 transmits a face authentication request including the captured image (face image) and the position of the authentication terminal 110 to the authentication information management device 300 via the network N (S302). In response, the watching support device 300 receives the face authentication request from the authentication terminal 110 via the network N. Next, the watching support device 300 transmits a face authentication request including the face image included in the received face authentication request to the authentication device 200 via the network N (S303). The authentication device 200 performs face authentication processing on the face image included in the face authentication request received from the watching support device 300 via the network N (S304). Here, it is assumed that the face authentication is successful, and the user ID of the watched person U1 is identified. Then, the authentication device 200 returns a face authentication result including the fact that the face authentication was successful and the identified user ID to the watching support device 300 via the network N (S305).

[0097] In response, the watching support device 300 determines that face authentication was successful based on the received face authentication result, and identifies the user ID of the watched person U1. Then, the watching support device 300 determines the authentication status (S306). Then, the watching support device 300 identifies a message corresponding to the authentication status, and identifies contact information 3122 corresponding to the identified user ID (watched person ID 3121) (S307). For example, because the terminal location in the authentication status indicates the entrance to the park 100, the watching support device 300 identifies the message "Play carefully" associated with the authentication status. Furthermore, the watching support device 300 identifies contact information of the watcher U2 of the watched person U1.

[0098] Then, the watching support device 300 notifies the authentication terminal 110 of the identified message via the network N (S308). In response, the authentication terminal 110 displays the received message "Play carefully" on the input / output unit 47 (S309). Because the watched person U1 is about to play at the entrance to the park 100, he or she can confirm the message from the watcher U2 according to the authentication status (the installation location of the authentication terminal).

[0099] After step S307, the watching support device 300 notifies the identified contact information of information including the determined location of the authentication terminal 110 and the time of authentication (S310). The watching support device 300 may include a facial image of the watched person U1 whose face authentication was successful in the notified information. In response, the user terminal 500 receives the notification information to the contact information and displays it on the input / output unit 57 (S311). The notification information here includes, for example, information such as 2:00 p.m. and the entrance to the park 100. Furthermore, if the notification information includes a facial image of the watched person U1, the user terminal 500 also displays the facial image. This allows the watcher U2 to know that the watched person U1 arrived at the entrance to the park 100 at 2:00 p.m.

[0100] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen 7 for a watcher according to the second embodiment. The notification screen 7 includes a face image 71, an authentication time 72, and an authentication location 73. The face image 71 is a face image included in the notification information, and is a face image of the watched person U1 who has successfully passed face authentication in the authentication terminal 110. The authentication time 72 is a time related to authentication included in the notification information. The authentication location 73 is an example of information indicating the location of the authentication terminal 110 included in the notification information.

[0101] Returning to FIG. 13, the explanation will be continued. Here, it is assumed that the watched person U1 has an after-school class starting at 4:00 PM that day. Therefore, the watcher U2 sets the first authentication status to the time period from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, sets the first message to "Be home by 3:30 PM because you have an after-school class today," and inputs a pair of the first authentication status and the first message into the user terminal 500. In response, the user terminal 500 accepts an input operation of the first message according to the first authentication status (S312). Then, when the user terminal 500 accepts a third registration operation from the watcher U2, it transmits a third registration request including the response information and contact information 542, which are a pair of the first authentication status and the first message, to the watching support device 300 via the network N (S313). Note that if multiple watched people watched by the watcher U2 are registered in the watching support device 300, the watcher U2 may specify one or more watched people to be notified of the response information. For example, the user terminal 500 may receive from the watcher U2 a designation of a face image (such as one stored in the user terminal 500) or name of the person being watched over to be notified. In this case, the user terminal 500 includes the face image of the designated person being watched over in the third registration request. Alternatively, the user terminal 500 may include the face image included in the notification information in the third registration request.

[0102] Thereafter, the watching support device 300 receives a third registration request from the user terminal 500 via the network N and performs registration similarly to the second registration process of FIG. 10 (S314). Specifically, the watching support device 300 identifies the watched person ID 3121 associated with the contact information 3122 included in the third registration request. If the third registration request includes a facial image, the watching support device 300 may identify the watched person ID 3121 by performing facial recognition on the facial image. The watching support device 300 adds and registers a pair of the first authentication status and the first message included in the third registration request (response information) to the identified pair of the watched person ID 3121 and the contact information 3122. This allows the watcher U2 to add and register an appropriate message in addition to the multiple pieces of response information registered in advance, taking into consideration the timing (time) of the notification, the location of the authentication terminal, the schedule for that day, and the like.

[0103] Thereafter, for example, at about 15:15, the watched person U1 performs face authentication using the authentication terminal 120. In this case, the processes of steps S301 to S309 in FIG. 13 are performed. At this time, since the time related to the authentication (15:15) falls within the time period of the first authentication situation, the watching support device 300 identifies the first message registered in step S314 and notifies the authentication terminal 120 of the first message. That is, the acquisition unit 343 of the watching support device 300 acquires a second captured image of the watched person U1 using the authentication terminal 120 (second authentication terminal). Then, the authentication control unit 344 controls the second biometric authentication for the second captured image. If the authentication situation when the second biometric authentication is successful is the first authentication situation, the identification unit 346 identifies the first message. Then, the notification unit 347 notifies the second authentication terminal of the first message. Therefore, the authentication terminal 120 displays "You have lessons today, so be home by 3:30 pm." Therefore, the watched person U1 can check the message from the watcher U2 according to the schedule for the day.

[0104] As described above, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the second embodiment provides the following effects. First, for example, a parent can register in advance messages to be sent to their child for each of multiple authentication situations. Therefore, when a child goes to a park alone without a mobile device and arrives there, and facial authentication is performed at the first authentication terminal, a message corresponding to the time of day and the location of the authentication terminal is displayed on the authentication terminal. In addition, the parent can receive and check on their own user terminal 500 a notification of the time and location within the park when the child performed facial authentication. In other words, the watcher U2 receives a notification when the watched person U1 performs facial authentication at a predetermined location, and can therefore ascertain the current location of the watched person U1.

[0105] Furthermore, parents can register additional pairs of authentication status and messages for notifications based on facial recognition. Therefore, even if a child normally plays in the park until 5 PM, when they perform facial recognition on one of the authentication devices after 3 PM, they can check the messages registered that day. This allows for flexible message registration and notifications based on the authentication status.

[0106] Therefore, for example, parents can send their children who do not have smartphones out without worry. Children can also play safely when they are out. Furthermore, elderly people who do not have smartphones can go out to a designated location without worry. The elderly person's relatives can also watch over the elderly when they go out without worry. Furthermore, in response to a notification sent to the user terminal 500 of the watcher U2 based on the facial recognition of the watched person U1, the watcher U2 can register an additional message. Therefore, even if the watched person U1 and the watcher U2 are in different locations, customized messages can be sent, enabling near real-time communication.

[0107] The watching support device 300 may also have the functions of the authentication terminal 110. In other words, any one of the authentication terminals 110 to 140 may have the configuration of the watching support device 300.

[0108] The authentication terminal 110 may detect that the watched person U1 has confirmed the message to be displayed after authentication, and notify the user terminal 500 via the watching support device 300. For example, in step S309 of FIG. 13 , the authentication terminal 110 may display a confirmation button for the displayed message. Then, the authentication terminal 110 detects that the message has been confirmed when it receives an operation on the confirmation button by the watched person U1. Alternatively, the authentication terminal 110 may detect that the message has been confirmed by a gesture of the watched person U1. Alternatively, the authentication terminal 110 may detect that the message has been confirmed by the watched person U1 using gaze estimation technology. When the authentication terminal 110 detects that the message has been confirmed, it transmits a message confirmation notification to the watching support device 300 via the network N. When the watching support device 300 receives the message confirmation notification from the authentication terminal 110 via the network N, it transmits the message confirmation notification to the contact information identified in step S307. This allows the watcher U2 to confirm that the message has been confirmed by the watched person U1, in addition to the time and location of the authentication of the watched person U1.

[0109] Note that the message input by the watcher U2 in step S312 of FIG. 13 may be transmitted to the authentication terminal 110 in real time and displayed. For example, the watching support device 300 acquires the first message from the response information included in the third registration request received in step S313. Subsequently, the watching support device 300 notifies the authentication terminal 110 of the acquired first message via the network N, as in step S308. In response, the authentication terminal 110 displays the received message, "I have an after-school activity today, so please be home by 3:30 PM," on the input / output unit 47. Therefore, the watched person U1 can continuously check the first message registered by the watcher U2 in accordance with the authentication status on the authentication terminal 110, whose face has been authenticated by the authentication terminal 110. Therefore, the watched person U1 can check the message from the watcher U2 in roughly real time.

[0110] <Other embodiments> In the above-described second embodiment, the watching support device 300 and the authentication device 200 are described as separate information processing devices, but they may be the same. For example, the watching support device 300 may register facial feature information in association with the watched person ID 3121 of the registration information 312. In this case, the control unit 340 may be provided with the face detection unit 220, feature point extraction unit 230, registration unit 240, and authentication unit 250 of FIG. 7.

[0111] Although the above-described embodiment has been described as a hardware configuration, the present disclosure is not limited to this. Any processing in the present disclosure can also be realized by causing a CPU to execute a computer program.

[0112] In the above example, the program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic storage media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical storage media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be supplied to a computer by various types of transitory computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable media can be supplied to a computer via wired communication paths such as electrical wires and optical fibers, or via wireless communication paths.

[0113] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure may be implemented by appropriately combining the respective embodiments.

[0114] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Appendix A1) a first registration unit that registers biometric information of the person being watched and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration unit that, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, registers the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition unit that acquires a first captured image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control unit that controls first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination unit that determines an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification unit that identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification unit that notifies the first authentication terminal of the specified message; A monitoring support device comprising: (Appendix A2) the identification unit identifies contact information associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; The notification unit notifies the location of the first authentication terminal to the specified contact information. A monitoring support device as described in Appendix A1. (Appendix A3) When the second registration unit further receives a first message corresponding to a first authentication status from the user terminal in response to the notification of the location of the first authentication terminal, the second registration unit further associates the first message corresponding to the first authentication status with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registers the first message. A monitoring support device as described in Appendix A2. (Appendix A4) the acquisition unit acquires a second captured image of the person being watched over by a second authentication terminal installed at the predetermined location; the authentication control unit controls second biometric authentication for the second captured image; the identification unit identifies the first message when the authentication status when the second biometric authentication is successful is the first authentication status; The notification unit notifies the second authentication terminal of the first message. A monitoring support device as described in Appendix A3. (Appendix A5) the authentication status includes a location of an authentication terminal installed at the predetermined location; The determination unit determines the location of the authentication terminal when the first biometric authentication is successful as the authentication status. A monitoring support device according to any one of appendices A1 to A4. (Appendix A6) The authentication status includes a time period; The identification unit determines a time period when the first biometric authentication is successful as the authentication status. A monitoring support device according to any one of appendices A1 to A5. (Appendix A7) The authentication status includes the number of authentications; The identification unit determines the number of times the first biometric authentication has been successful as the authentication status. A monitoring support device according to any one of appendices A1 to A6. (Appendix B1) a user terminal corresponding to the contact information of the watcher; a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; A monitoring support device, The watching support device includes: a first registration unit that registers biometric information of the person being watched over and the contact information in association with each other; a second registration unit that, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from the user terminal, registers the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with the biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition unit that acquires a first captured image of the person being watched over by the first authentication terminal; an authentication control unit that controls first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination unit that determines an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification unit that identifies a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification unit that notifies the first authentication terminal of the specified message; A monitoring support system equipped with: (Appendix B2) the identification unit identifies contact information associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; The notification unit notifies the location of the first authentication terminal to the specified contact information. A monitoring support system as described in Appendix B1. (Appendix C1) The computer Registering the biometric information of the person being watched and the contact information of the watcher in association with each other; When a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status are associated with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registered; A first photographed image of the person being watched is acquired by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; Controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; If the first biometric authentication is successful, determine the authentication status; Identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; notifying the first authentication terminal of the identified message; Monitoring support methods. (Appendix D1) a first registration process for registering biometric information of the person being watched over and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration process for registering, when a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition process for acquiring a first photographed image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control process for controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination process for determining an authentication status if the first biometric authentication is successful; a process of identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; a notification process of notifying the first authentication terminal of the identified message; A monitoring support program that runs on a computer.

[0115] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments (and examples), the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments (and examples). 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.

[0116] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-024355, filed on February 18, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1. Monitoring support device 11 First Registration Section 12 Second Registration Section 13 Acquisition Department 14 Authentication control section 15 Judgment section 16 Specific section 17 Notification Department 1000 Monitoring support system U1 Watched person U2 The Watcher N Network 100 parks 110 Authentication Terminal 120 Authentication Terminal 130 Authentication Terminal 140 Authentication Terminal 150 Toilet 160 playground equipment 200 Authentication Device 210 Face Information DB 211 User ID 212 Facial Feature Information 220 Face detection unit 230 Feature Point Extraction Unit 240 Registration Department 250 Authentication Department 300 Monitoring support device 310 Storage section 311 Program 312 Registration Information 3121 Watched Person ID 3122 Contact Information 31231 Response Information 3123n Response Information 3131 Certification Status 313n Certification Status 3141 Messages 314n Message 315 Certification History 320 memory 330 Communications Department 340 Control Unit 341 First Registration Section 342 Second Registry 343 Acquisition Department 344 Authentication control section 345 Judgment section 346 Specific part 347 Notification Department 41 Camera 44 Storage section 441 Programs 45 memory 46 Communications Department 47 Input / output section 48 Control Unit 481 Acquisition Department 482 Registration Department 483 Display control unit 484 Authentication control section 500 user terminals 51 Camera 54 Storage section 541 Programs 542 Contact Information 55 memory 56 Communications Department 57 Input / output section 58 Control Unit 581 Reception Department 582 Registration Department 583 Display control unit 7 Notification screen 71 Facial images 72 Authentication Time 73 Certification Location

Claims

1. a first registration means for registering biometric information of the person being watched over and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration means for registering, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with the biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition means for acquiring a first photographed image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control means for controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination means for determining an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification means for identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has been successfully passed through the first biometric authentication; a notification means for notifying the first authentication terminal of the specified message; A monitoring support device comprising:

2. the identifying means identifies contact information associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; The notification means notifies the location of the first authentication terminal to the specified contact information. The monitoring support device according to claim 1 .

3. When the second registration means further receives a first message corresponding to a first authentication status from the user terminal in response to the notification of the location of the first authentication terminal, the second registration means further associates the first message corresponding to the first authentication status with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registers the first message. The monitoring support device according to claim 2.

4. The acquisition means acquires a second photographed image of the person being watched over by a second authentication terminal installed at the predetermined location, the authentication control means controls second biometric authentication for the second captured image; the specifying means specifies the first message when the authentication status when the second biometric authentication is successful is the first authentication status; The notification means notifies the second authentication terminal of the first message. The monitoring support device according to claim 3.

5. the authentication status includes a location of a first authentication terminal installed at the predetermined location; The determining means determines the location of the first authentication terminal when the first biometric authentication is successful as the authentication status. The monitoring support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The authentication status includes a time period; The specifying means determines a time period when the first biometric authentication is successful as the authentication status. The monitoring support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The authentication status includes the number of authentications; The identification means determines the number of times the first biometric authentication has been successful as the authentication status. The monitoring support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. a user terminal corresponding to the contact information of the watcher; a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; A monitoring support device, The watching support device includes: a first registration means for registering biometric information of the person being watched over and the contact information in association with each other; a second registration means for registering, when receiving a plurality of messages for each authentication status from the user terminal, the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with the biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition means for acquiring a first captured image of the person being watched over taken by the first authentication terminal; an authentication control means for controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination means for determining an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; an identification means for identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has been successfully passed through the first biometric authentication; a notification means for notifying the first authentication terminal of the specified message; A monitoring support system equipped with:

9. the identifying means identifies contact information associated with the biometric information that has succeeded in the first biometric authentication; The notification means notifies the location of the first authentication terminal to the specified contact information. The monitoring support system according to claim 8.

10. The computer Registering the biometric information of the person being watched and the contact information of the watcher in association with each other; When a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status are associated with the biometric information associated with the contact information and registered; A first photographed image of the person being watched is acquired by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; Controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; If the first biometric authentication is successful, determine an authentication status; Identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has been successfully subjected to the first biometric authentication; notifying the first authentication terminal of the identified message; Monitoring support methods.

11. a first registration process for registering biometric information of the person being watched over and contact information of the watcher in association with each other; a second registration process for registering, when a plurality of messages for each authentication status are received from a user terminal corresponding to the contact information, the plurality of messages for each authentication status in association with biometric information associated with the contact information; an acquisition process for acquiring a first photographed image of the person being watched over by a first authentication terminal installed at a predetermined location; an authentication control process for controlling first biometric authentication for the first captured image; a determination process for determining an authentication status when the first biometric authentication is successful; a process of identifying a message corresponding to the determined authentication status from among a plurality of messages associated with the biometric information that has been successfully used in the first biometric authentication; a notification process of notifying the first authentication terminal of the specified message; A monitoring support program that runs on a computer.

Images