Facial recognition method, facial recognition system, program, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide a face authentication method having high convenience by effectively using face authentication and automatically notifying an office employee pf a fact that a visitor arrives at the office, a face authentication system, a program and a recording medium.SOLUTION: When a face authentication system 10 receives information relating to a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device 40 installed at an entrance of an office, the face authentication system 10 compares information relating to the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 with information relating to a recorded visitor's face image and compares time and date when the face image of the visitor is captured by the imaging device with preregistered time and date when the visitor visits the office, to authenticate the visitor and, when the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system 10, the face authentication system 10 transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal 20 of an office employee.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a face authentication method, a face authentication system, a program, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a face authentication system that performs authentication based on face data, a face authentication system that performs identity authentication by comparing input face data with pre-registered face data is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] The face authentication system described in Patent Document 1 authenticates a target person using an image of the face portion in an image captured by a camera. In addition, the face authentication system described in Patent Document 2, for example, when four face images are registered, two are face patterns for ensuring accuracy, one is a face pattern for absorbing disturbance components, and one is a face pattern to be updated. When a new face pattern is registered, the face pattern to be updated that has the second lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern is deleted from the four previously registered face patterns. In other words, by leaving the face pattern for absorbing disturbance components that has the lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern, face authentication is performed while adapting to environmental variations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-197426 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-72540 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It would be convenient if, after a visitor makes an appointment to visit an office staff member in the office, the visitor actually arrives at the office and facial recognition could be used to automatically notify the office staff member that the visitor has arrived at the office, but until now, such a system has not existed.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a highly convenient facial recognition method, facial recognition system, program, and recording medium that utilize facial recognition to automatically notify office staff that a visitor has arrived at the office. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The face authentication method of the present invention includes: A face recognition method performed by a face recognition system, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, and the visitor information includes at least information related to the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, the face authentication system sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information about the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; When the facial authentication system receives information about a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; It is equipped with:

[0008] The face authentication system of the present invention comprises: a visitor information receiving means for receiving visitor information including at least information relating to the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor registers the visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time; an initial registration setting information sending means for sending an email containing initial registration setting information to the email address of the visitor included in the visitor information received by the visitor information receiving means; a visitor registration information receiving means for receiving visitor registration information including information relating to a face image of the visitor; a face recognition cloud that records the visitor registration information received by the visitor registration information receiving means; a registration completion information sending means for sending registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee when the visitor's registration information is recorded in the face recognition cloud; an authentication means for receiving information about a visitor's face image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, and for authenticating the visitor by comparing the information about the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device with information about the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud, and by comparing the date and time when the visitor's face image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance; a visitor notification information transmitting means for transmitting visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee when the visitor has been authenticated; It is equipped with:

[0009] The program of the present invention is A program executed by a processor of a face authentication system, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, and the visitor information includes at least information related to the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, the face authentication system sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information about the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; When the facial authentication system receives information about a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; will be carried out.

[0010] The recording medium of the present invention comprises: A recording medium on which a program executed by a processor of a face authentication system is recorded, When the processor executes the program, When the visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, and the visitor information includes at least information related to the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, the face authentication system sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information; When the face authentication system receives visitor registration information including information about the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to a user terminal of an office employee; When the facial authentication system receives information about a face image of a visitor captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the face image of the visitor, and also compares the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; When the visitor is authenticated by the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmits visitor notification information to a user terminal of an office employee; will be carried out. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the facial recognition method, program, recording medium, and facial recognition system of the present invention, facial recognition can be used to automatically notify office staff that a visitor has arrived at the office, thereby increasing convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a face authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the exchange of information when visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing information exchange when a visitor visits the office for the first time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing information exchange when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time in the face authentication system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 4 are diagrams showing a face authentication system according to this embodiment and a face authentication method using such a face authentication system.

[0014] The face authentication system 10 and face authentication method according to this embodiment authenticate the face of a visitor when the visitor arrives at the office, and then automatically notifies an office employee that the visitor has arrived at the office entrance. Note that in this invention, the office entrance is not limited to the entrance of the office itself on each floor of the building, but is a concept that includes the general reception desk of the building in which the office is located (generally a reception desk located on the first floor or a lower floor of the building).

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, a face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment includes an office reception system 12 and a face authentication cloud 14. An imaging device 40, such as a PC tablet, is installed at the office entrance, allowing the imaging device 40 to capture a facial image of a visitor. The office reception system 12 performs authentication using the facial image of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40, thereby notifying an office employee that the visitor has arrived at the office. The face authentication cloud 14 stores visitor registration information, including information related to the features of the pre-registered facial image of the visitor. The face authentication system 10 and the imaging device 40 are communicatively connected via a network such as the Internet. A user terminal 30, such as a smartphone carried by the visitor, and a user terminal 20, such as a smartphone carried by the office employee, are communicatively connected to the face authentication system 10 via a network such as the Internet. While FIG. 1 illustrates smartphones as the office employee's user terminal 20 and the visitor's user terminal 30, the present invention is not limited to such an example. Other devices such as laptops or desktop computers may be used as the office employee's user terminal 20 and the visitor's user terminal 30. The office employee's user terminal 20 and the visitor's user terminal 30 may be smartphones or other devices that are personally owned or provided by the company.

[0016] The office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 is configured, for example, with a computer or the like, and has a processor 12a such as a CPU and a memory 12b (recording medium) that stores programs. The processor 12a executes the programs stored in the memory 12b to perform various processes described below. Note that the programs executed by the processor 12a are not limited to those stored in the memory 12b. The various processes described below may be performed by the processor 12a executing a program transmitted to the face authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the face authentication system 10.

[0017] Next, the processing contents when authenticating a visitor using the face authentication system 10 configured as above will be explained with reference to FIGS.

[0018] First, the processing contents when visitor information is registered in advance before a visitor visits the office for the first time in the face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The office employee installs an office reception service program or application on the user terminal 20 in advance. The office employee can register the visitor using such a program or application. Specifically, once the date, time, number of visitors, etc., of the visitor are confirmed between the office employee and the visitor via telephone, email, chat, conversation app, etc., the office employee executes the office reception service program or application on his / her user terminal 20 and enters the visitor information. Note that the office employee may register the visitor when reserving a conference room using the company's conference room reservation system, rather than using the installed office reception service program or application. Specifically, the functions of accepting visitor visits, registering attendees from within the company, and reserving a conference room are linked to a calendar tool used in a system such as Microsoft Office (registered trademark). The calendar tool can be Outlook (registered trademark) or Gmail. (registered trademark), etc. are possible. The visitor information input by the office staff into the user terminal 20 includes information such as the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, the name of the visitor's company, the name of the visitor, the email address of the visitor, and the number of people visiting the office. In the present invention, the visitor information only needs to include information relating to at least the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, the name of the visitor, and the email address of the visitor.

[0019] When an office employee inputs visitor information into the user terminal 20, the input visitor information is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 ((1) in FIG. 2). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the visitor information from the user terminal 20 using the visitor information receiving means 50 and stores identification information using an email address or the like as a key. The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 then automatically sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the email address of the visitor included in the visitor information using the initial registration setting information sending means 52 ((2) in FIG. 2). The initial registration setting information included in the email includes download information such as a URL for downloading the face authentication app or a two-dimensional barcode. The email automatically transmitted by the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 may also include an explanation of the process leading up to the day of the office visit. In addition, when an office employee reserves a conference room using the company's conference room reservation system, when sending an email to a visitor, the employee also notifies the visitor and other co-workers of the schedule by email or other means and reserves the conference room using the conference room reservation system.

[0020] When a visitor receives the email automatically sent by the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 on the user terminal 30, the visitor installs the facial recognition app on the user terminal 30 based on the initial registration setup information contained in the email, specifically, the URL information for downloading the facial recognition app. Alternatively, if the email contains a two-dimensional barcode for downloading, the visitor installs the facial recognition app on the user terminal 30 by scanning the two-dimensional barcode displayed on the computer screen with a smartphone camera. Once such a facial recognition app is installed on the user terminal 30, the visitor can enter registration information using the facial recognition app. Specifically, the visitor can set up use of the office reception service using the facial recognition app. When setting up use of the office reception service, the visitor enters registration information such as their name, date of birth, gender, email address, phone number, and password into the user terminal 30. When setting up use of the office reception service, the visitor also enters information indicating their agreement to the terms of use of the office reception service. Note that the setting up of use of the office reception service described above may be performed using the facial recognition app or separately from the facial recognition app. Furthermore, the visitor uses the face authentication application to capture an image of his or her own face with the camera of the user terminal 30. As a result, the user terminal 30 obtains face image data of the visitor.

[0021] When a visitor registers for the office reception service using the user terminal 30, the registration information entered by the visitor is transmitted from the user terminal 30 to the face authentication cloud 14 of the face authentication system 10 ((3) in FIG. 2). At this time, identification information is associated with the registration information. Specifically, information entered by the visitor, such as the visitor's name, date of birth, gender, email address, telephone number, password, and facial image data, is transmitted from the user terminal 30 to the face authentication cloud 14 of the face authentication system 10. The face authentication cloud 14 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data transmitted from the user terminal 30. This hash value is used as a feature of the visitor's facial image. The face authentication cloud 14 also assigns identification information (e.g., an identification number) to the visitor. The visitor's name, date of birth, gender, email address, telephone number, password, and other information, as well as information related to the feature of the visitor's facial image, are associated with the visitor's identification information and recorded in the face authentication cloud 14.

[0022] Additionally, the visitor's identification information assigned by the facial recognition cloud 14, information related to the visitor's name, and other information are sent to the office reception system 12 ((4) in FIG. 2). At this time, the identification information is used as a key to match and update the visitor information sent in (1) in FIG. 2. In memory 12b of the office reception system 12, information such as the name of the office employee who registered, the name of the visitor, and the date and time the visitor will visit the office is associated with the visitor's identification information and recorded by recording means 56. Thereafter, registration completion information is sent from the office reception system 12 to the office employee's user terminal 20 by registration completion information sending means 58 ((5) in FIG. 2). As a result, information indicating that the visitor's face registration has been completed is displayed on the office employee's user terminal 20 (for example, a push notification is displayed if the user terminal 20 is a smartphone).

[0023] Thereafter, the office employee runs the program or application for the office reception service on the user terminal 20 and taps the date and time when the visitor they registered will visit the office. The visitor's name is then displayed on the user terminal 20. When the office employee then further taps the visitor's name displayed on the user terminal 20, confirmation information is sent from the office employee's user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 ((6) in FIG. 2). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the confirmation information from the office employee's user terminal 20 via the confirmation information receiving means 60. The processor 12a then sends reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30 via the reservation completion information sending means 62 ((7) in FIG. 2). As a result, a reservation completion message and information regarding the date and time when the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30. In this way, the process for pre-registering visitor information before the visitor visits the office for the first time is completed. After the reservation completion message and information regarding the date and time the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30, the visitor may be able to input a receipt confirmation of the reservation completion message by running a facial recognition app on the user terminal 30. In this case, information regarding the receipt confirmation of the reservation completion message is sent from the visitor's user terminal 30 to the facial recognition system 10. Then, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 of the facial recognition system 10 sends information to the office employee's user terminal 20 that the visitor has confirmed receipt of the reservation completion message. This allows the office employee to confirm that the visitor has received the reservation completion message.

[0024] Next, the processing performed by the face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment when a visitor visits the office for the first time will be described with reference to FIG. 3. When the visitor arrives at the office entrance, the visitor taps the face authentication button on the screen of an imaging device 40, such as a PC tablet, located at the entrance. Then, when the visitor holds his / her face over the imaging device 40, the camera of the imaging device 40 captures an image of the visitor's face. Note that the visitor may be configured to capture an image of the visitor's face simply by holding his / her face over the imaging device 40 without having to operate the imaging device 40. The imaging device 40 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor captured by the camera. This hash value is used as a feature of the visitor's facial image.

[0025] As described above, when the face of a visitor is captured by the camera of the imaging device 40, information relating to the feature quantities of the visitor's facial image is transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 ((1) in FIG. 3). Information relating to the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 (hereinafter also referred to as the image capture date and time) is also transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10.

[0026] When the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 receives information related to the feature amounts of the visitor's face image from the imaging device 40, it compares the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 with the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. Then, if the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 sends information related to the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time to the office reception system 12. ((2) in FIG. 3). Note that if the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image received from the imaging device 40 do not substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, no further processing is performed. Furthermore, if the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image do not substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 even after the imaging device 40 has captured the visitor's facial image a certain number of times, a notification may be sent to a designated department of the company (for example, the general affairs department), or a normal call operation may be performed using a call phone installed at the entrance. This makes it possible to handle cases where a visitor visits the office for a job interview or a delivery person visits the office.

[0027] The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 compares the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 with the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office recorded in the memory 12b. If the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 substantially match the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office recorded in the memory 12b, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 authenticates the visitor using the authentication means 64. Once the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 transmits visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 using the visitor notification information transmission means 66 ((3) in FIG. 3). Once the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the visitor's name and a message such as "Welcome, Mr. / Ms. XX" may be displayed on the monitor of the image capture device 40.

[0028] Note that "the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image approximately match" refers to, for example, a case where the match rate between the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image received from the imaging device 40 and the feature amounts of the visitor's facial image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%). Furthermore, "the date and time of image capture by the imaging device 40 approximately matches the date and time the visitor visits the office" refers to a case where the difference between the date and time the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 and the date and time the visitor visits the office recorded in memory 12b of the office reception system 12 is within a predetermined time (e.g., 3 hours).

[0029] When the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 sends the visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 via the visitor notification information sending means 66, an email containing the visitor notification information may be sent to the office employee's user terminal 20. Alternatively, the visitor notification information may be displayed by a program or application for an office reception service installed on the office employee's user terminal 20. When the office employee receives the visitor notification information from the office reception system 12, they go to the office entrance to greet the visitor. In this way, the processing for the visitor's first visit to the office is completed in the face authentication system 10. Note that if the office employee has reserved a conference room in the office for a meeting with the visitor, entry to the conference room may be permitted by performing face authentication of the office employee or the visitor at a specified time (specifically, a time within a predetermined range from the time the visitor visits the office, which is recorded in the memory 12b of the office reception system 12).

[0030] Next, the processing contents when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time in the face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0031] Once the date, time, and number of visitors are confirmed between the office employee and the visitor via telephone, email, chat, conversation app, or the like, the office employee executes an office reception service program or application on their user terminal 20 and enters visitor information. The visitor information entered by the office employee into the user terminal 20 includes information such as the date and time the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's company name, the visitor's name, the number of people visiting the office, and previously set visitor identification information. Note that if the office employee has registered visitor information for the first time, the registered visitor may be called using a call function without having to enter the company name or name. Specifically, a list of visitor names from previously registered visitor information is displayed, allowing the user to select a name by tapping it. Furthermore, when the office employee enters part of the visitor's name, a suggestion function may be used to display previously registered visitor names.

[0032] When an office employee inputs visitor information into the user terminal 20, the input visitor information is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the office reception system 12 of the face authentication system 10 ((1) in FIG. 4). The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 receives the visitor information from the office employee's user terminal 20 using the visitor information receiving means 50. The received visitor information is recorded in the memory 12b of the office reception system 12. The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 then transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30 using the reservation completion information transmitting means 62 ((2) in FIG. 4). As a result, a reservation completion message and information regarding the date and time the visitor will visit the office are push-notified to the visitor's user terminal 30.

[0033] When the visitor then arrives at the office entrance, he or she taps the face recognition button on the screen of an imaging device 40, such as a PC tablet, located at the entrance. Then, when the visitor holds his or her face over the imaging device 40, the camera of the imaging device 40 captures an image of the visitor's face. As described above, the visitor may be able to capture an image of the visitor's face simply by holding his or her face over the imaging device 40, without having to operate the imaging device 40. The imaging device 40 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor captured by the camera. This hash value is used as a feature of the visitor's facial image.

[0034] When the face of a visitor is captured by the camera of the imaging device 40, information relating to the feature quantities of the visitor's facial image is transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 ((3) in FIG. 4). Information relating to the date and time of the image capture is also transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10.

[0035] When the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10 receives information related to the feature amounts of the visitor's face image from the imaging device 40, it compares the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 with the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. Then, if the feature amounts of the visitor's face image received from the imaging device 40 substantially match the feature amounts of the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 sends information related to the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time to the office reception system 12. (4) in Figure 4.

[0036] The processor 12a of the office reception system 12 compares the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 with the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time the visitor will visit the office recorded in the memory 12b. If the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and image capture date and time sent from the face recognition cloud 14 approximately match the visitor's name, visitor's identification information, and the date and time the visitor will visit the office recorded in the memory 12b, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 authenticates the visitor using the authentication means 64. Once the visitor is authenticated by the authentication means 64, the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 sends visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 using the visitor notification information sending means 66 ((5) in FIG. 4). Furthermore, as described above, when the authentication means 64 authenticates the visitor, the monitor of the image capture device 40 may display the visitor's name and a message such as "Welcome, Mr. / Ms."

[0037] When the processor 12a of the office reception system 12 sends the visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20 using the visitor notification information sending means 66, an email containing the visitor notification information may be sent to the office employee's user terminal 20. Alternatively, the visitor notification information may be displayed by a program or application for an office reception service installed on the office employee's user terminal 20. When the office employee receives the visitor notification information from the office reception system 12, they go to the office entrance to meet the visitor. In this way, the processing for the visitor's second or subsequent visits to the office is completed in the face authentication system 10.

[0038] According to the face authentication method performed by the face authentication system 10 of this embodiment configured as described above, when visitor information is registered in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system 10 receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address, and then sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information. Furthermore, when the face authentication system 10 receives visitor registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image, it records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system 10, and also sends registration completion information to the office employee's user terminal. When the facial authentication system 10 receives information about a visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the office entrance, the facial authentication system 10 compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 with information about the recorded visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 with the pre-registered date and time the visitor will visit the office, thereby authenticating the visitor. Once the visitor is authenticated in the facial authentication system 10, the facial authentication system 10 transmits visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20. This facial authentication method can utilize facial authentication to automatically notify the office employee that a visitor has arrived at the office, thereby improving convenience.

[0039] Furthermore, according to the face authentication method of this embodiment, when a visitor registers visitor information in advance before visiting the office for the first time, the face authentication system 10 transmits registration completion information to the office employee's user terminal 20, and then, upon receiving confirmation information, the face authentication system 10 transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30. In this case, by transmitting the reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal 30, the visitor can be sure that a reservation has been made for his or her visit to the office.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the face authentication method of the present embodiment, when the face authentication system 10 sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the email address of the visitor included in the visitor information, the initial registration setting information included in the email contains information necessary for downloading a face authentication app (for example, download URL information and two-dimensional barcode information), and the visitor's registration information, including information about the visitor's facial image, is sent by the face authentication app to the face authentication system 10. In this case, by downloading the face authentication app to the user terminal 30, the visitor can use the face authentication app to send the visitor's registration information, including information about the visitor's facial image, to the face authentication system 10.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the face recognition method of this embodiment, when a visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, if the face recognition system 10 receives visitor information including at least the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the visitor's name, the face recognition system 10 transmits reservation completion information to the visitor's user terminal. In this case, when the visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the visitor can make a reservation for a visit to the office in a simple manner.

[0042] Furthermore, the face authentication system 10 according to this embodiment includes a visitor information receiving means 50 that receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time when the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address when the visitor registers visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time; an initial registration setting information sending means 52 that sends an email containing initial registration setting information to the visitor's email address included in the visitor information received by the visitor information receiving means 50; a visitor registration information receiving means 54 that receives visitor registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image; a face authentication cloud 14 that records the visitor registration information received by the visitor registration information receiving means 54; and a face authentication cloud 15 that stores the visitor registration information received by the visitor registration information receiving means 54. The system is equipped with a registration completion information sending means 58 that sends registration completion information to the office employee's user terminal when the visitor's face is recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, an authentication means 64 that, when receiving information about a visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the office entrance, compares the information about the visitor's face image captured by the imaging device 40 with the information about the visitor's face image recorded in the face recognition cloud 14 and authenticates the visitor by comparing the date and time the visitor's face image was captured by the imaging device 40 with the date and time the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, and a visitor notification information sending means 66 that, when the visitor is authenticated, sends visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal. Such a face recognition system 10 can utilize face recognition to automatically notify the office employee that a visitor has arrived at the office, thereby improving convenience.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a program executed by the processor 12a for performing a face authentication method by the face authentication system 10 and a recording medium on which this program is recorded are used. Here, when visitor information is registered in advance before a visitor visits the office for the first time, by executing the program, the face authentication system 10 receives visitor information including at least information related to the date and time the visitor will visit the office, the visitor's name, and the visitor's email address. When the face authentication system 10 receives visitor registration information including information related to the visitor's facial image, the face authentication system 10 records the received visitor registration information in the face authentication system 10, and also transmits registration completion information to the user terminal of the office employee. When the facial authentication system 10 receives information about a visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 installed at the office entrance, the facial authentication system 10 compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device 40 with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device 40 with the pre-registered date and time the visitor will visit the office, thereby authenticating the visitor, and once the facial authentication system 10 has authenticated the visitor, it transmits visitor notification information to the office employee's user terminal 20. Such a program and recording medium can utilize facial authentication to automatically notify the office employee that a visitor has arrived at the office, thereby improving convenience.

[0044] The face authentication method and face authentication system according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described aspects, and various modifications can be made.

[0045] For example, in the above description, the imaging device 40 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor captured by the camera, and uses this hash value as a feature of the visitor's facial image. The feature of the visitor's facial image is then transmitted from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10. However, in another aspect, the facial image data of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 may be transmitted directly from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10. In this case, the face recognition cloud 14 extracts a hash value using a predetermined hash function based on the facial image data of the visitor transmitted from the imaging device 40, and uses this hash value as a feature of the visitor's facial image.

[0046] In another embodiment, the face recognition app used in the visitor's user terminal 30 may extract a hash value as a feature using a predetermined hash function based on the visitor's face image data captured by the camera of the user terminal 30, instead of transmitting the visitor's face image data captured by the camera of the user terminal 30 to the face recognition cloud 14 of the face recognition system 10. In this case, when the face recognition cloud 14 receives registration information including the feature amounts of the visitor's face image from the user terminal 30, it assigns identification information (e.g., an identification number) to the visitor. Then, information such as the visitor's name, date of birth, gender, email address, telephone number, and password, as well as information related to the feature amounts of the visitor's face image, are associated with the visitor's identification information and recorded in the face recognition cloud 14.

[0047] In yet another embodiment, when the facial image data of the visitor captured by the imaging device 40 is transmitted as is from the imaging device 40 to the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 may compare the facial image data of the visitor transmitted from the imaging device 40 with the facial image data of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud 14. In this case, if the facial image data of the visitor received from the imaging device 40 substantially matches the facial image data of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud 14, the face recognition cloud 14 transmits information about the visitor's name, visitor identification information, and the date and time of the image capture to the office reception system 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 10. Facial Recognition System 12 Office Reception System 12a processor 12b memory 14 Facial Recognition Cloud 20 Office employee user terminals 30 Visitor's user terminal 40 Imaging device 50 Visitor information reception method 52 Initial registration setting information transmission means 54 Visitor registration information reception means 56 Recording means 58 Registration completion information transmission means 60 Confirmation information reception means 62 Reservation completion information transmission means 64 Authentication Methods 66 Visitor notification information transmission means

Claims

1. A face recognition method performed by a face recognition system, a step in which an office employee records visitor information including at least the date and time when the visitor visits the office and the name of the visitor in the face authentication system in advance; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; A face authentication method comprising:

2. A face recognition method performed by a face recognition system, a step in which an office employee causes the face authentication system to receive visitor information including at least the date and time the visitor will visit the office and the name of the visitor; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; A face authentication method comprising:

3. 3. The face authentication method according to claim 2, wherein when the face authentication system receives the visitor's registration information including information about the visitor's facial image, the received visitor's registration information is recorded in the face authentication system, and the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to the user terminal of the office employee.

4. 4. The face authentication method according to claim 1, wherein, when the visitor registers visitor information in advance before the visitor visits the office for the first time, the face authentication system transmits registration completion information to the user terminal of the office employee, and then, when the face authentication system receives confirmation information, the face authentication system transmits reservation completion information to the user terminal of the visitor.

5. 4. The face authentication method according to claim 1, wherein when the visitor visits the office for the second or subsequent time, the face authentication system receives visitor information including at least the date and time of the visitor's visit to the office and the visitor's name, and transmits reservation completion information to the user terminal of the visitor.

6. A facial recognition system comprising an office reception system and a facial recognition cloud, The office reception system includes: a recording means for recording in advance visitor information input by an office employee, the visitor information including at least the date and time when the visitor will visit the office and the name of the visitor; confirmation information receiving means for receiving confirmation information indicating that the office staff member has confirmed the visitor information in order to complete the reservation; an authentication means for receiving information about a face image of the visitor captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, and for authenticating the visitor by comparing the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with the information about the face image of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud, and by comparing the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance; a visitor notification information sending means for sending visitor notification information including the name of the visitor to the user terminal of the office staff member when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication; Equipped with A facial recognition system characterized in that the facial recognition cloud pre-records information regarding the visitor's facial image, linked to the visitor's name via identification information assigned to the visitor.

7. A facial recognition system comprising an office reception system and a facial recognition cloud, The office reception system includes: a visitor information receiving means for receiving visitor information from an office employee, the visitor information including at least the date and time when the visitor will visit the office and the name of the visitor; a visitor registration information receiving means for receiving visitor registration information including information relating to a face image of the visitor; a registration completion information sending means for sending registration completion information to the user terminal of the office employee when the registration information of the visitor is recorded in the face recognition cloud; confirmation information receiving means for receiving confirmation information indicating that the office staff member has confirmed the visitor information in order to complete the reservation; an authentication means for receiving information about a face image of the visitor captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, and for authenticating the visitor by comparing the information about the face image of the visitor captured by the imaging device with the information about the face image of the visitor recorded in the face recognition cloud, and by comparing the date and time when the face image of the visitor was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance; a visitor notification information sending means for sending visitor notification information including the name of the visitor to the user terminal of the office staff member when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication; Equipped with A facial recognition system characterized in that the facial recognition cloud pre-records information regarding the visitor's facial image, linked to the visitor's name via identification information assigned to the visitor.

8. A program executed by a processor of a face authentication system, When the processor executes the program, a step in which an office employee records visitor information including at least the date and time when the visitor visits the office and the name of the visitor in the face authentication system in advance; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; The program is carried out.

9. A program executed by a processor of a face authentication system, When the processor executes the program, a step in which an office employee causes the face authentication system to receive visitor information including at least the date and time the visitor will visit the office and the name of the visitor; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; The program is carried out.

10. A recording medium on which a program executed by a processor of a face authentication system is recorded, When the processor executes the program, a step in which an office employee records visitor information including at least the date and time when the visitor visits the office and the name of the visitor in the face authentication system in advance; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; A recording medium on which the above is performed.

11. A recording medium on which a program executed by a processor of a face authentication system is recorded, When the processor executes the program, a step in which an office employee causes the face authentication system to receive visitor information including at least the date and time the visitor will visit the office and the name of the visitor; a step of linking information about the face image of the visitor with the name of the visitor via identification information assigned to the visitor and recording the information in advance in the face authentication system; a step of the office staff confirming the visitor information and thereby completing the reservation; When the facial authentication system receives information about the visitor's facial image captured by an imaging device installed at the entrance of the office, the facial authentication system compares the information about the visitor's facial image captured by the imaging device with recorded information about the visitor's facial image, and also compares the date and time when the visitor's facial image was captured by the imaging device with the date and time when the visitor will visit the office that has been registered in advance, thereby authenticating the visitor; a step of, when the visitor's identity is confirmed by authentication in the face authentication system, the face authentication system transmitting visitor notification information including the visitor's name to the user terminal of the office employee; A recording medium on which the above is performed.

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