Face identification verification using 3 dimensional modeling

• US 20040240711A1
• Filed: 05/27/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Bazakos, Michael E., Hamza, Rida M., Cooper, Murray J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,421,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification

Abstract

A checkpoint screening system uses multiple cameras to provide images at different angles of a person to be screened. Different features extracted from the images at different angles are compared to a profile associated with the person to be screened. In one embodiment, the person first provides an ID, such as a drivers license or other identification, and the profile is retrieved. If a match is detected, the person may continue through the checkpoint. If no match is detected, the person may be directed to a different path through the checkpoint for further verification of identity. A registration process is used to enroll members and obtain a member profile. Three camera angles are utilized to provide a three dimensional image. Each image is independently compared against the profile and the decisions from such comparisons are weighted. The profile is regressively updated and weighted if a match is detected.

Claims

1. A method of matching faces, the method comprising:

obtaining a front view image of a face to be matched;

obtaining a view image of the face to be matched from an angle off the front view;

generating image features from each of the view images;

comparing image features of each view image to a profile; and

determining a match based on the compared image features.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein front view image and the image from an angle off the front view comprise different features.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the profile is updated if a match is determined.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the profile comprises a set of features, and wherein such features are updated based on features identified in the view images.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein a feature comprises multiple weighted data points.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein one feature of the image from an angle comprises distance measurements of nose, ear and other landmarks to a relative nodal point in the face landscape.

8. The method of claim 1 and further comprising obtaining a further view image of the face to be matched from an angle off the front view in the other direction from the other angled view.

6. The method of claim 6 wherein most recent data points are more heavily weighted.

9. A method of matching faces, the method comprising:

obtaining multiple front view images of a face to be matched;

obtaining a view image of the face to be matched from an angle off the front view;

selecting one of the multiple front view images;

generating image features from each of the view images;

comparing image features of each view image to a profile; and

determining a match based on the compared image features.

10. A system for matching faces, the system comprising:

means for obtaining a front view image of a face to be matched;

means for obtaining a view image of the face to be matched from an angle off the front view;

means for generating image features from each of the view images;

means for comparing image features of each view image to a profile; and

means for determining a match based on the compared image features.

11. A method of checking identity at a security checkpoint, the method comprising:

reading an ID for a person desiring to proceed through the checkpoint;

obtaining multiple laterally spaced views of the person;

deriving feature sets from each of the views;

retrieving pre-existing feature sets corresponding to information on the ID; and

comparing the derived feature sets to the pre-existing feature sets to determine whether they match.

12. The method of claim 11 and further comprising directing the person to a manual security station if there is no match.

13. The method of claim 11 and further comprising enrolling a person to create the pre-existing feature set.

14. The method of claim 13 and further comprising determining whether a person is an expired member.

15. The method of claim 11 and further comprising updating the pre-existing feature set upon detecting a match.

16. The method of claim 15 and further comprising temporally weighting feature sets.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the views is a profile view.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the laterally spaced views comprise a frontal view and two profile views on opposite sides from the frontal view.

20. The method of claim 11 and further comprising detecting motion between features.

19. The method of claim 19 wherein the profile views are spaced between approximately 20 and 90 degrees from the frontal view.

21. A security checkpoint system, the method comprising:

means for reading an ID for a person desiring to proceed through the checkpoint;

multiple laterally spaced sensor for obtaining multiple laterally spaced views of the person; and

a verification engine that derives feature sets from each of the views, retrieves pre-existing feature sets corresponding to information on the ID and compares the derived feature sets to the pre-existing feature sets to determine whether they match.