Identity verification system

• US 20030215114A1
• Filed: 05/13/2003
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biocom LLC
• Original Assignee: Biocom LLC
• Inventors: Kyle, Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 6,853,739 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/115
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/94 Hardware or software architectures specially adapted for image or video understanding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/10 Comprising means for protocol conversion, i.e. format conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/38 with central registration

Abstract

The present invention is a security system that utilizes an identity verification system having a biometrics component, such as but not limited to a face, fingerprint, or iris recognition system. The system connects a biometric data entry device such as a standard analogue or digital camera to a communication control device which captures, compresses and digitizes the biometric data as well as converts data from data input devices and sends the compressed and digitized biometric data along with the data from a data input device to a central processing unit for processing by a biometric recognition system and comparison to stored biometric data.

Claims

1. An identity verification system, the verification system comprising:

(a) entry means for recording biometric data;

(b) a data input device;

(c) display means for displaying information to a system operator;

(d) a communication control device remote from said entry means, data input device and display means, said communication control device having

(i) receiving means for receiving a set of biometric data from the entry means and a set of input data from the data input device,

(ii) a first conversion means for selectably capturing a portion of the set of biometric data received from the entry means and converting said portion of captured biometric data into a compressed digital file of the captured biometric data,

(iii) a second conversion means for formatting the set of input data into a network protocol standard,

(iv) transmitting means for transmitting data from the communication control device to the display means, and

(v) connecting means for connecting the first conversion means to the entry means, the second conversion means to the data input device, the transmitting means to the display means, and the communication control device to a computer network;

(e) a system central processing unit remote from the communication control device and in direct communication with the communication control device having

(i) an installed biometric recognition system,

(ii) a first processor means for generating a biometric template from the captured biometric data using the installed biometric recognition system,

(iii) a second processor means for comparing and scoring the correspondence of two biometric templates using the installed biometric recognition system;

(iv) storage means for storing a set of biometric templates generated by the biometric recognition system in a biometric database,

(iv) searching means for searching the biometric database for a stored biometric template linked with an identifying parameter, and

(v) communication means for bi-directional communication with the communication control device.

2. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the entry means is a camera.

3. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the entry means is a camera, a fingerprint scanner, a hand geometry reader, a microphone, or an iris scanner.

4. The identity verification system of claim 1 having a plurality of entry means.

5. The identity verification system of claim 2 having a plurality of cameras.

6. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the data input device is a digital reading device that reads and transmits digital data recorded on a customer identification mechanism.

7. The identity verification system of claim 6, wherein the customer identification mechanism is a passport, a credit card, a bankcard, an authorized employee card, or an authorized entry token.

8. The identity verification system of claim 1 having a plurality of data input devices.

9. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the display means is a liquid crystal display, a monitor, or a status indicator.

10. The identity verification system of claim 2, wherein first conversion means converts the portion of captured biometric data into a set of JPEG image formatted files.

11. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the network protocol standard is a TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP, or ARP protocol standard.

12. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the installed biometric recognition system is a face recognition system.

13. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the system central processing unit is in direct communication with a plurality of communication control devices.

14. The identity verification system of claim 1, wherein the entry means, the data input device and the display means are incorporated into a data input station, the data input station in direct communication with the communication control device.

15. The identity verification system of claim 14, wherein the entry means is a camera.

16. The identity verification system of claim 15, wherein the data input station has two cameras mounted in opposed directions.

17. The identity verification system of claim 14, wherein a plurality of the data input stations are in direct communication with the communication control device.

18. The identity verification system of claim 1, further comprising a keycatcher in direct communication with the communication control device.

19. The identity verification system of claim 18, wherein the keycatcher is in direct communication with a local CPU and a keyboard.

20. The communication control device of claim 1, wherein the entry means is linked to a first identification code, said first identification code linked to the compressed digital file of the captured biometric data originating from the entry means, and wherein the data input device is linked to a second identification code, the set of input data linked to the formatted input data.

21. The communication control device of claim 20, wherein the set of input data is reference to the compressed digital file of the captured biometric data.

22. An identity verification system, the verification system comprising:

(a) a plurality of referenced data input devices wherein each referenced data input device is associated with a data identification code;

(b) a plurality of entry means for recording biometric data, wherein each entry means is associated with a biometric identification code;

(c) a plurality of display means for displaying information to a system operator;

(d) a communication control device remote from the entry means, the data input devices and the display means, said communication control device having

(i) receiving means for receiving a set of biometric data from the entry means linked to the biometric identification code and a set of input data from the data input device linked to the data identification code,

(ii) a first conversion means for selectably capturing a portion of the set of biometric data received from the entry means and converting said portion of captured biometric data into a compressed digital file of the captured biometric data linked to the biometric identification code,

(iii) a second conversion means for formatting the set of input data into a network protocol standard linked to the data identification code,

(iv) transmitting means for transmitting data from the communication control device to the display means, and

(v) connecting means for connecting the first conversion means to the entry means, the second conversion means to the data input device, the transmitting means to the display means, and the communication control device to a computer network; and

(e) at least one system central processing unit remote from the communication control device and in direct communication with the communication control device having

(i) an installed biometric recognition system,

(ii) a first processor means for generating a biometric template from the captured biometric data using the installed biometric recognition system,

(iii) storage means for storing a set of biometric templates generated by the biometric recognition system in a biometric database,

(iv) searching means for searching the biometric database for a stored biometric template linked with an identifying parameter,

(v) a second processor means for comparing and scoring the correspondence of two biometric templates using the installed biometric recognition system; and

(vi) communication means for bi-directional communication with the communication control device.

23. An identity verification system, the verification system comprising:

(a) a plurality of data input stations, each data input station comprising

(i) a referenced data input device associated with a data identification code,

(ii) at least one entry means for recording a set of biometric data, wherein each entry means is associated with a biometric identification code, and

(iii) display means for displaying information to a system operator;

(b) a communication control device remote from said data input stations, said communication control device having

(i) receiving means for receiving the set of biometric data linked with the biometric identification code and a set of input data from the data input device linked with the data identification code,

(ii) a first conversion means for selectably capturing a portion of the set of biometric data received from the entry means and converting said portion of captured biometric data into a compressed digital file of the captured biometric data linked to the biometric identification code,

(iii) a second conversion means for formatting the set of input data into a network protocol standard linked to the data identification code, and

(iv) transmitting means for transmitting data from the communication control device to the display;

(c) a plurality of keycatcher units;

(d) a plurality of interactive local communication stations, each communication station comprising

(i) a local central processing unit,

(ii) a keyboard,

(iii) a monitor, and

(iv) a data input apparatus; and

(e) at least one system central processing unit remote from the communication control device and in direct communication with the communication control device having

(i) an installed biometric recognition system,

(ii) a first processor means for generating a biometric template from the captured biometric data using the installed biometric recognition system,

(iii) a second processor means for comparing and scoring the correspondence of two biometric templates using the installed biometric recognition system;

(iv) storage means for storing a set of biometric templates generated by the biometric recognition system in a biometric database,

(iv) searching means for searching the biometric database for a stored biometric template linked with an identifying parameter, and

(v) communication means for bi-directional communication with the communication control device.

24. An identity verification system, the verification system comprising:

(a) a plurality of referenced data input devices wherein each referenced data input device is associated with a data identification code;

(b) a plurality of cameras for recording photographic images, wherein each camera is associated with a camera identification code;

(c) a display means for displaying information to a system operator;

(d) a communication control device remote from the data input devices, the cameras and the display means, said communication control device including

(i) a camera server having

a video engine in communication with at least one camera, wherein the video engine selectably captures a set of photographic images taken with the camera and converts the images into a compressed digital file linked to the camera identification code,

a first data conversion engine in communication with at least one data input device, wherein the first data conversion engine captures a set of input data from the data input device and formats the captured data into a network protocol standard linked to the data identification code, and

a second data conversion engine, wherein the second data conversion engine formats a set of output data for communication with the display means; and

(ii) a main board that connects the camera server to the camera, the data input device, the display means and a computer network.

(e) a plurality of keycatcher units;

(f) a plurality of interactive local communication stations, each communication station comprising

(i) a local central processing unit,

(ii) a keyboard, and

(iii) a monitor; and

(g) at least one system central processing unit remote from the communication control device and in direct communication with the communication control device having

(i) an installed biometric recognition system,

(ii) a first processor means for generating a biometric template from the captured biometric data using the installed biometric recognition system,

(iii) a second processor means for comparing and scoring the correspondence of two biometric templates using the biometric recognition system;

(iv) storage means for storing a set of biometric templates in a biometric database, and

(iv) searching means for searching the biometric database for a stored biometric template linked with an identifying parameter.

25. A method for image capture and verification comprising:

sending a live video stream of an individual taken with a camera to a communication control device;

capturing a photographic frame out of the video stream;

converting the photographic frame into a compressed digital file;

capturing a set of input data in a common protocol format from at least one data input device;

converting the common protocol formatted data into a network standard protocol;

sending the compressed digital file and converted input data to a central processing unit for image verification or identification; and

providing feedback on the status of the verification process to a visual output device.

26. A method for verifying a user'"'"'s identity and authorizing a transaction, the method comprising the steps of:

entering a user'"'"'s authorization identifier through a referenced data input device into a communication control device, said communication control device in communication with a CPU;

searching a database of authorized users residing on the CPU for the user'"'"'s authorization identifier, wherein said database of authorized users links a digitized biometric data file previously obtained from each authorized user with each authorized user'"'"'s authorization identifier;

activating a biometric data entry mechanism reference-linked to the referenced data input device;

gathering biometric data from the user using the biometric data entry mechanism;

capturing selected biometric data with the communication control device and generating a compressed digitized file from the selected biometric data;

processing the compressed digitized file of selected biometric data though a biometric recognition system residing on the CPU to form a test biometric data file, wherein the test biometric data file is in a comparable format as the previously obtained biometric file linked with the user'"'"'s authorization identifier in the authorized user database;

comparing the test biometric data file with the previously obtained biometric file linked with the user'"'"'s authorization identifier in the authorized user database;

providing feedback on the result of the comparison of the test biometric data file with the previously obtained biometric file linked with the user'"'"'s authorization identifier in the authorized user database to a visual output device associated with the biometric data entry mechanism; and

authorizing the transaction if a correspondence in the test biometric data file and the previously obtained biometric file linked with the user'"'"'s authorization identifier in the authorized user database is detected.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the user'"'"'s authorization identifier is a passport number.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the biometric data entry mechanism is a camera.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the biometric recognition system is a face recognition system.

30. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of alerting security if the test biometric data file and the previously obtained biometric file linked with the user'"'"'s authorization identifier in the authorized user database do not correspond to each other.

31. A face recognition based method for verifying the identity of an individual, the method comprising the steps of:

entering an identifier associated with a person through a referenced data input device into a communication control device, said communication control device in communication with a CPU;

searching an enrolled face database residing on the CPU for the person'"'"'s identifier, wherein said enrolled face database links a set of stored digitized facial template files of a number of individuals with a set of identifiers of the individuals;

activating a camera reference-linked to the referenced data input device;

gathering a plurality of photographic images of the person;

capturing a set of selected photographic images with the communication control device and generating a compressed digitized image file from the selected photographic images;

transmitting the compressed digitized image file to the CPU;

processing the compressed digitized image file though a face recognition system residing on the CPU to form a test facial template file;

comparing the test facial template file with the stored facial template file associated with the person'"'"'s identifier in the face database; and

providing feedback on the correspondence of the test facial template file with the stored facial template file to a visual output device associated with the biometric data entry mechanism.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of alerting security if the test facial template file and the stored facial template do not correspond.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of comparing the test facial template file with each facial template file stored in a face database of unauthorized personnel.