Check-in support system and check-in support method

Abstract

To provide a check-in support system and a method thereof capable of achieving labor-saving check-in procedures by face authentication without increasing the effort of customers.SOLUTION: A headquarters system 2 includes a reservation management server 4 that manages accommodation reservations, a facial image management server 5 that stores facial image data of a customer, and a headquarters-side authentication data server 6 that creates feature point data for face authentication from the facial image data stored in the server 5. A store system 3 includes a store-side authentication data server 7 that stores the feature point data for face authentication provided from the headquarters system 2, a check-in device 8 equipped with a camera that takes a facial image, and a face authentication server 9 that performs facial authentication of a check-in applicant using the feature point data stored in the store-side authentication data server 7. The store system supports simplification of check-in procedures by sharing face authentication results with the check-in device 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a check-in support system and a check-in support method, and more particularly to a system and a method for supporting check-in at accommodation facilities using face recognition technology. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, hotels and other accommodation facilities have increasingly mechanized check-in procedures by introducing check-in machines. While mechanizing check-in procedures brings many benefits to the establishments that provide accommodation (for example, it reduces the number of staff at the check-in counter and eliminates the need to store accommodation cards), it also creates additional work for customers who use the accommodation facility, as they must enter their name and other information into the check-in machine instead of filling out their accommodation card.

[0003] As a way to reduce this hassle, the applicant is considering equipping check-in machines with a facial recognition function. Recently, facial recognition has become available through cloud services (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and so it is being considered that by using a cloud service to equip check-in machines with a facial recognition function, customers who have completed facial recognition will be able to reduce the amount of information they need to enter (for example, omitting the entry of their name or address), thereby reducing the hassle of entering information into the check-in machine. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-126338 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, using cloud services for facial recognition at check-in machines had the following problems:

[0006] In other words, when using a cloud service for facial recognition, personal information such as a facial image, name, and address must be registered (membership registration) with the cloud service provider before using the check-in machine. Therefore, for example, a customer who makes a hotel reservation over the Internet must register as a member both for the reservation and for facial recognition at check-in, which could be more troublesome than it actually is.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a check-in support system and method that can reduce the labor required for check-in procedures through facial recognition without increasing the customer's workload. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the check-in support system according to the present invention comprises: The system comprises a headquarters system having a reservation management server that manages reservations for a plurality of accommodation facilities in association with customer membership information, and a store system provided in each of the accommodation facilities, The headquarters system includes the reservation management server, a face image management server that stores face image data of customers in association with the member information, and a headquarters authentication data server that creates feature point data for face authentication to be provided to the store system from the face image data stored in the face image management server. Tenari , The reservation management server extracts guests for each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations it manages, The headquarters authentication data server creates feature point data for facial authentication of customers corresponding to each accommodation facility for the guests scheduled to stay at each accommodation facility extracted by the reservation management server, and transmits the created feature point data for facial authentication to the corresponding accommodation facility, The store system includes a store-side authentication data server that stores feature point data for facial authentication provided by the headquarters-side authentication data server, a check-in device equipped with an imaging means that captures a facial image of the check-in applicant, and a face authentication server that performs face authentication of the facial image of the check-in applicant using the feature point data for facial authentication stored in the store-side authentication data server, and supports the check-in of the check-in applicant by sharing the results of face authentication by the face authentication server with the check-in device. It is characterized by:

[0009] The present invention has the following configuration as a preferred embodiment.

[0010] ( 1 The reservation management server extracts guests who plan to stay at the hotel for a predetermined period of time.

[0011] ( 2 ) The store-side authentication data server is characterized in that when a customer who has stored feature point data for facial authentication checks out of the accommodation facility, the feature point data for facial authentication stored for that customer is deleted.

[0012] Further, the check-in assistance method according to the present invention comprises: A system having a headquarters system having a reservation management server that manages accommodation reservations at a plurality of accommodation facilities in association with customer membership information, and a store system provided in each of the accommodation facilities whose accommodation reservations are managed by the reservation management server, The above headquarters system is storing the customer's facial image data in association with the member information; extracting guests planning to stay at each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations managed by the reservation management server; and a step of creating feature point data for face authentication from face image data of customers corresponding to each of the extracted guests for each of the accommodation facilities, and transmitting the data to the corresponding accommodation facilities; The above store system is a step of storing the feature point data for face authentication transmitted from the headquarters system; and a step of using the stored feature point data for face authentication to perform face authentication of a face image of the person wishing to check in that is photographed by a check-in device equipped with an imaging means, and sharing the result of the face authentication with the check-in device. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the results of facial authentication by the store system's facial authentication server are shared with the check-in device. For example, if the result of facial authentication is authentication approval, the check-in device can use the membership information of the facially authenticated customer as information on the person wishing to check in to perform the check-in process. This eliminates some of the input operations of the person wishing to check in (for example, name, address, telephone number, etc.), simplifying the check-in procedure.

[0014] Furthermore, the facial image data that forms the basis of the feature point data for facial recognition is associated with the customer's membership information and managed by the facial image management server of the headquarters system, that is, it is managed by a server in the same system as the reservation management server that manages hotel reservations, so once facial image data is registered on the headquarters system, that facial image data can be used for facial recognition both for hotel reservations and check-in. This means that customers do not need to register as members on another system just for facial recognition at check-in, eliminating unnecessary hassle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a check-in support system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a check-in device in the check-in support system. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a menu screen of the check-in device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same reference numerals denote the same components or elements throughout the drawings.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a check-in support system 1 according to the present invention. The check-in support system 1 is a system that supports the check-in procedures of customers at accommodation facilities such as hotels and inns, and is mainly composed of a headquarters system 2 having a reservation management server 4 that manages reservations for multiple accommodation facilities, and a store system 3 that is installed in each accommodation facility, and these headquarters system 2 and store system 3 are connected to each other via the Internet N.

[0018] The headquarters system 2 is a computer system managed by a business entity that operates multiple accommodation facilities, and accommodation reservations for the multiple accommodation facilities operated by the business entity are managed collectively by the headquarters system 2 (specifically, the reservation management server 4). This headquarters system 2 is installed, for example, in a facility that functions as the business entity's headquarters (headquarters) or in a server center where many server computers are installed.

[0019] The headquarters system 2 comprises a reservation management server 4, a face image management server 5, and a headquarters authentication data server 6, which are communicatively connected via a network (for example, a LAN) not shown.

[0020] The reservation management server 4 is a server computer that manages reservations for multiple accommodation facilities as described above, and stores and manages information related to reservations for each accommodation facility. Examples of information related to reservations include the availability of each room (availability for a specified period (for example, up to one year in advance) linked to a calendar), as well as, when a reservation is made, the reservation number, room number, planned dates of stay (including the number of nights), and information about the person planning to stay (such as name, address, phone number, and customer ID).

[0021] Furthermore, the reservation management server 4 manages accommodation reservations by associating prospective guests with customer membership information. Here, customer membership information is, for example, personal information about the customer obtained when the customer registers their name, address, etc. as a member (member registration), and includes the customer's name, address, telephone number, and a customer ID set by the accommodation facility. In this embodiment, the reservation management server 4 manages accommodation reservations by associating them with customer IDs. While customer membership information can be stored and managed by the reservation management server 4, it is also possible to provide a dedicated server (not shown) other than the reservation management server 4 and store and manage the membership information.

[0022] Furthermore, the reservation management server 4 has a function for extracting prospective guests for each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations it manages in relation to the creation of feature point data for facial authentication, which will be described later. This function is configured to classify and extract prospective guests for each accommodation facility in units of a predetermined period (for example, in units of one day), and information on the extracted prospective guests (for example, a list of customer IDs) is sent to the headquarters authentication data server 6. For example, the reservation management server 4 extracts prospective guests for that day at midnight when the date changes and sends it to the headquarters authentication data server 6. Note that, although the present embodiment has shown a case in which prospective guests are extracted in units of one day, the extraction period can be changed as appropriate, for example, to two-day units, one-week units, or half-day units.

[0023] The facial image management server 5 is a server that stores and manages facial image data of customers. When storing the facial image data of customers, the facial image management server 5 stores the facial image data in association with the customer's membership information (e.g., customer ID).

[0024] Here, the facial image data stored in the facial image management server 5 is updated as appropriate. For example, the data is updated when a customer registers as a new member, or when new facial image data is registered or registered facial image data is replaced with new facial image data after member registration. The registration and updating of facial image data is performed, for example, by the customer using a terminal device (smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc.) 100 to upload facial image data to the facial image management server 5 via the Internet N.

[0025] The headquarters authentication data server 6 is a server that creates feature point data for facial authentication from facial image data, and is configured to create feature point data for facial authentication from the facial image data stored in the facial image management server 5.

[0026] In this embodiment, the reservation management server 4 extracts prospective guests for each accommodation facility, and the headquarters authentication data server 6 creates feature point data for facial authentication for the extracted prospective guests for each accommodation facility. Specifically, the headquarters authentication data server 6 reads facial image data corresponding to the member information (customer ID in this embodiment) of the extracted prospective guests from the facial image management server 5, and creates feature point data for facial authentication from the read facial image data. The created feature point data for facial authentication is then provided to the corresponding accommodation facility for each accommodation facility. In other words, the created feature point data for facial authentication is transmitted to the store system 3 of the corresponding accommodation facility via the Internet N. Note that, when transmitting the feature point data, each feature point data is associated with the respective member information (for example, customer ID).

[0027] The store system 3 is a computer system installed in each of multiple accommodation facilities where accommodation reservations are managed by a reservation management server 4, and is composed mainly of a store-side authentication data server 7, a check-in device 8, and a face authentication server 9, which are connected for communication via a network (e.g., a LAN) not shown.

[0028] The store-side authentication data server 7 is a server computer that stores facial authentication feature point data provided from the headquarters-side authentication data server 6, and stores the received facial authentication feature point data in association with member information (e.g., customer ID). When a customer whose facial authentication feature point data has been stored checks out of the accommodation facility, the store-side authentication data server 7 deletes the stored facial authentication feature point data for that customer. For example, the store-side authentication data server 7 may be linked to a server in the store system 3 that manages the checkout of guests (customers), and when the server is notified of a customer's checkout, the server automatically deletes the customer's feature point data in conjunction with the notification. Therefore, in this embodiment, the store-side authentication data server 7 only stores facial authentication feature point data for guests who will check in on that day.

[0029] The check-in device 8 is a device used by a person (check-in applicant) wishing to check into an accommodation facility to carry out check-in procedures. Typically, multiple check-in devices 8 are provided for one accommodation facility, and these multiple check-in devices 8 are located near the check-in counter, etc.

[0030] In this embodiment, check-in device 8 is a check-in machine configured to allow a person wishing to check in to complete the check-in procedure while standing, and has a touch panel 81 that serves as both a display means and an input means disposed in a position corresponding to the front of the customer who is standing, and a camera (imaging means) 82 that captures a facial image of the person wishing to check in provided near touch panel 81. Therefore, the person wishing to check in can operate touch panel 81 and have their facial image captured while remaining in the same position (standing) as when they arrived at check-in device 8.

[0031] Both the touch panel 81 and the camera 82 are controlled by the control unit 83. Therefore, for example, when taking a facial image with the camera 82, the zoom of the camera 82 can be adjusted by operating the touch panel 81. In addition, the control unit 83 is communicatively connected to the store-side authentication data server 7 and the face authentication server 9, so that it is possible to transmit information entered on the touch panel 81 to another server, or to import facial image data taken by the camera 82 into the face authentication server 9. In addition, in Figure 2, 84 denotes a card reader for reading a credit card, and 85 denotes code reading means for reading a QR code (registered trademark).

[0032] The facial authentication server 9 is a server computer that performs facial authentication using feature point data for facial authentication. When a facial image is captured by the camera 82, it is configured to perform facial authentication of the captured facial image using the feature point data for facial authentication stored in the store-side authentication data server 7. In this embodiment, the results of facial authentication by the facial authentication server 9 are shared with the check-in device 8 (details will be described later).

[0033] Next, the check-in procedure using the check-in support system 1 configured as above will be described.

[0034] A. Registration of facial image data In the check-in support system 1 according to the present invention, customers who use the system register their own facial image data in advance in the facial image management server 5 of the headquarters system 2. Facial image data is registered by logging in to the facial image management server 5 and uploading the facial image data when registering as a member or when changing a profile after registering as a member.

[0035] B. Accommodation Reservations Accommodation reservations are managed by the reservation management server 4. The procedure for setting accommodation reservations is not directly related to the present invention, so a detailed explanation will be omitted, but for example, a customer who has registered as a member can set up accommodation reservations by logging in to the reservation management server 4 from the terminal device 100 via the Internet N.

[0036] C. Check-in Procedures Check-in procedures for accommodation can be carried out using the check-in device 8. Fig. 3 shows an example of the menu screen of the check-in device 8. On the menu screen shown in Fig. 3, language selection buttons for selecting a language (in the illustrated example, buttons such as "Japanese" and "English") are displayed in the upper row, and buttons for selecting options (in the illustrated example, buttons for "Exchange" and "Cashback") are displayed in the lower row. Then, three large buttons (inquiry buttons) are displayed in the middle row: "Query by Name," "Query by QR Code," and "Query by Face Recognition."

[0037] These inquiry buttons are buttons for selecting a method of inquiring about the check-in applicant (customer) in member information. "Inquire by name" is a button for inquiring using name (full name). When this button is selected, the check-in applicant enters their name using the touch panel 81 to inquire about member information. "Inquiry by QR code" is a button for inquiring using a QR code (two-dimensional barcode). When this button is selected, the check-in applicant has the check-in device 8 read their own QR code displayed on the terminal device 100 to inquire about member information. And "Inquiry by face recognition" is a button for inquiring using the face recognition function of the face recognition server 9. When this button is selected, the check-in applicant takes a facial image with the camera 82 and inquires about member information.

[0038] Here, the "query from face recognition" will be explained in detail. When the "Query from face authentication" button is selected, the control unit 83 of the check-in device 8 activates the camera 82 to enable shooting. At this time, the control unit 83 displays the image being captured by the camera 82 on the touch panel 81. In this case, for example, by displaying a human-shaped frame on the screen of the touch panel 81 as a guide for shooting, it is possible to reliably obtain face image data of a size suitable for face authentication.

[0039] When the control unit 83 acquires the facial image data in this way, the control unit 83 transmits the acquired facial image data to the facial authentication server 9. When the facial authentication server 9 receives the facial image data transmitted from the check-in device 8, it reads out feature point data for facial authentication from the store-side authentication data server 7 and performs facial authentication on the captured facial image data using the read out feature point data.

[0040] As a result of the facial authentication, if there is feature point data for facial authentication that matches the facial image data captured by the check-in device 8 (if authentication is permitted by the facial authentication), the facial authentication server 9 shares the authentication result with the check-in device 8. Specifically, the facial authentication server 9 shares with the check-in device 8 the member information (customer ID in this embodiment) associated with the feature point data that matches the facial image data, along with the result that authentication is permitted.

[0041] In this embodiment, the store-side authentication data server 7 only stores feature point data of guests who have reservations for the day, so the result of face authentication indicating authentication permission means that there is a reservation for the day, which means that the state in which check-in is acceptable (check-in is permitted) is shared with the check-in device 8 (controller 83). Therefore, if the result of face authentication indicates authentication permission, the check-in device 8 proceeds with the check-in procedure.

[0042] Furthermore, because member information is associated with the feature point data that matches the facial image data, the check-in device 8 (controller 83) can obtain the information necessary for the check-in procedure using the member information associated with the feature point data (if the customer ID is known, it can be used to retrieve information from a server that manages member information). By reflecting the information obtained from the member information in the check-in procedure, it becomes possible to omit items that should be input into the check-in device 8 (for example, the name, address, telephone number, etc. of the person wishing to check in), thereby reducing the effort required to input information about the person wishing to check in.

[0043] Furthermore, even if the result of facial authentication is that there is no feature point data for facial authentication that matches the facial image data captured by the check-in device 8 (when authentication is not permitted by facial authentication), the facial authentication server 9 shares the authentication result with the check-in device 8. In this case, the check-in device 8 cannot obtain the member information of the person wishing to check in through facial authentication, so the user is prompted to select another method of inquiring about member information, for example, by returning to the menu screen of FIG.

[0044] Thus, according to the check-in support system 1 of the present invention, the headquarters system 2 has the steps of storing customer facial image data in association with membership information, extracting prospective guests for each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations managed by the reservation management server 4, and creating feature point data for facial authentication from the customer facial image data corresponding to each accommodation facility for the extracted prospective guests for each accommodation facility, and transmitting the data to the corresponding accommodation facility. The store system 3 also has the steps of storing the feature point data for facial authentication transmitted from the headquarters system 2 and using the stored feature point data for facial authentication to perform facial authentication on facial images of check-in applicants photographed by the check-in device 8 and sharing the results of the facial authentication with the check-in device 8. Therefore, for example, if the result of the facial authentication is authentication approval, the check-in device 8 can perform check-in processing using the membership information of the face-authenticated customer as information on the check-in applicant. As a result, some of the input operations of the check-in applicant can be omitted, simplifying the check-in procedure.

[0045] Furthermore, in the check-in assistance system 1 according to the present invention, facial image data that is the basis of feature point data for facial authentication is associated with customer membership information and managed by the facial image management server 5 of the headquarters system 2, so once a customer has registered their facial image data on the headquarters system 2, they do not need to register their facial image data again when checking in. This eliminates the need to register as a member on another system just for facial authentication at check-in, eliminating unnecessary effort.

[0046] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these, and various design modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0047] For example, in the above-described embodiment, a customer ID is used as member information associated with facial image data or feature point data for facial authentication created from facial image data, but it is also possible to use member information such as the customer's name and address instead of or in addition to the customer ID.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, three buttons, "Query by name," "Query by QR code," and "Query by facial recognition," were given as examples of buttons for selecting the method of querying member information on the menu screen of the check-in device 8, but as long as there is at least the button "Query by facial recognition," it may be combined with other query methods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Check-in support system 2. Headquarters System 3 store system 4. Reservation management server 5. Facial image management server 6. Headquarters authentication data server 7. Store authentication data server 8 Check-in device 9. Face Recognition Server 81 Touch Panel 82 Camera 100 Terminal Device N Internet

Claims

1. The system comprises a headquarters system having a reservation management server that manages reservations for a plurality of accommodation facilities in association with customer membership information, and a store system provided in each of the accommodation facilities, the headquarters system comprises the reservation management server, a face image management server that stores face image data of customers in association with the member information, and a headquarters authentication data server that creates feature point data for face authentication to be provided to the store system from the face image data stored in the face image management server; The reservation management server extracts guests planning to stay at each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations it manages, the headquarters-side authentication data server creates feature point data for facial authentication of customers corresponding to each accommodation facility for the guests scheduled to stay at each accommodation facility extracted by the reservation management server, and transmits the created feature point data for facial authentication to each corresponding accommodation facility; The store system includes a store-side authentication data server that stores feature point data for facial authentication provided by the headquarters-side authentication data server, a check-in device equipped with an imaging means that captures a facial image of a person wishing to check in, and a face authentication server that performs face authentication of the facial image of the person wishing to check in using the feature point data for facial authentication stored in the store-side authentication data server, and supports the check-in of the person wishing to check in by sharing the results of face authentication by the face authentication server with the check-in device. A check-in support system characterized by the above.

2. 2. The check-in support system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation management server extracts guests who plan to stay at the hotel for a predetermined period of time.

3. The check-in support system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when a customer who has stored feature point data for facial authentication checks out of the accommodation facility, the store-side authentication data server deletes the feature point data for facial authentication stored for that customer.

4. A system having a headquarters system having a reservation management server that manages accommodation reservations at a plurality of accommodation facilities in association with customer membership information, and a store system provided in each of the accommodation facilities whose accommodation reservations are managed by the reservation management server, The headquarters system storing the customer's facial image data in association with the member information; extracting guests planning to stay at each accommodation facility from the accommodation reservations managed by the reservation management server; and a step of creating feature point data for face authentication from face image data of customers corresponding to each of the extracted guests for each of the accommodation facilities, and transmitting the data to the corresponding accommodation facilities; The store system includes: storing the feature point data for face authentication transmitted from the headquarters system; and a step of using the stored feature point data for face authentication to perform face authentication of a face image of the person wishing to check in that is photographed by a check-in device equipped with an imaging means, and sharing the result of the face authentication with the check-in device. A check-in support method characterized by:

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