Iris registration method, iris registration apparatus, and iris registration program

• US 20050249385A1
• Filed: 07/01/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kondo, Kenji, Azuma, Takeo, Wakamori, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,623,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/117
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/18 Eye characteristics, e.g. of the iris

Abstract

A plurality of iris images are acquired (SA0), and aggregation of iris images of which distribution of pupil openings is uniform is acquired from the plurality of iris images by duplication and/or deletion (SA1). Features are generated from the respective iris images that belong to the aggregation (SA2), and a predetermined number of registration features are selected from the features, using authentication performance as an evaluation index.

Claims

1. An iris registration method, comprising:

a first step of acquiring aggregation of iris images of a person to be registered of which distribution of pupil openings is uniform; and

a second step of obtaining, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of registration features from the aggregation of the iris images which is obtained in the first step.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first step includes the steps of:

acquiring a plurality of iris images; and

performing at least one of duplication and deletion of at least one iris image of the plurality of iris images so that the distribution of the pupil openings becomes uniform.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first step includes the step of:

shooting a plurality of iris images while controlling illumination intensity so that the distribution of the pupil openings becomes uniform.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first step includes the step of:

shooting a plurality of iris images while changing illumination intensity and controlling shooting intervals so that the distribution of the pupil openings becomes uniform.

5. The step of claim 1, wherein the second step includes the steps of:

generating features from the respective iris images that belong to the aggregation; and

selecting a registration feature from the features with the use of authentication performance as an evaluation index.

8. The method of claim 5 or 7, wherein in the feature generation step,

when there is an iris image obtained by duplication, the feature is generated by slightly displacing a cut-out position of an iris region of the iris image from a cut-out position of an original image.

9. The method of claim 5 or 7, wherein in the feature selection step,

X registration features are selected from M features, wherein M is an integer larger than 1 and X is an integer equal to or larger than 1 and equal to or smaller M in such a manner that:

X features are temporarily selected from the M features, authentication for remaining (M-X) features is performed on the assumption that the X features are registered, and evaluation for obtaining a predetermined evaluation value indicating authentication performance is executed iteratively while temporarily selected X features are changed; and

the X registration features are determined based on the predetermined evaluation value obtained through the iteration of the evaluation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein

the predetermined evaluation value is a false rejection rate or a statistical value of distances between features at the time of authentication.

6. An iris registration method, comprising:

a first step of acquiring a plurality of iris images of a person to be registered;

a second step of setting a distribution of pupil openings in a plurality of iris images acquired under a condition that the person to be registered performs authentication;

a third step of acquiring aggregation of iris images in which the pupil openings present the distribution set in the second step by performing at least one of duplication and deletion of at least one iris image of the plurality of iris images acquired in the first step; and

a fourth step of obtaining, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of registration features from the aggregation of the iris images which is obtained in the third step.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the fourth step includes the steps of:

generating features from the respective iris images that belong to the aggregation; and

selecting registration features from the features with the use of authentication performance as an evaluation index.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein in the second step,

the distribution is set with the use of a distribution of pupil openings which is obtained from past authentication history of the person to be registered.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein in the second step,

the person to be registered sets the distribution.

13. An iris registration method, comprising:

a first step of acquiring a plurality of iris images of a person to be registered;

a second step of generating features from the respective iris images obtained in the first step; and

a third step of selecting from the features obtained in the second step a predetermined number of registration features, using authentication performance as an evaluation index,

wherein in the third step, a predetermined evaluation value indicating authentication performance is calculated by using a weight according to the number of features in each pupil opening, and the registration features are selected using the thus calculated evaluation value.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

a fourth step of setting a distribution of pupil openings in a plurality of iris images acquired under a condition that the person to be registered performs authentication,

wherein in the third step, the predetermined evaluation value is calculated taking the distribution set in the fourth step into consideration.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein in the fourth step,

the distribution is set with the use of a distribution of pupil openings which is obtained from past authentication history of the person to be registered.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein in the fourth step,

the person to be registered sets the distribution.

17. An iris registration apparatus, comprising:

an image storage section that stores a plurality of iris images of a person to be registered;

a frequency conversion section that performs at least one of duplication and deletion of at least one iris image of the plurality of iris images stored in the image storage section so that pupil openings presents a predetermined distribution; and

a registration feature generation section that generates, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of features from the plurality of iris images stored in the image storage section.

18. An iris registration apparatus, comprising:

an image storage section that stores aggregation of iris images of a person to be registered;

a feature extraction section that generates features from the respective iris images stored in the image storage section; and

a feature selection section that selects a predetermined number of registration features from the features generated by the feature extraction section, using authentication performance as an evaluation index,

wherein the feature selection section calculates a predetermined evaluation value indicating authentication performance by using a weight according to the number of features in each pupil opening, and selects the registration features using the thus calculated evaluation value.

19. An iris registration apparatus, comprising:

an image acquisition section that acquires aggregation of iris images of a person to be registered by shooting;

an image storage section that stores the aggregation of the iris images which is acquired by the image acquisition section; and

a registration feature generation section that generates, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of registration features from the aggregation of the iris images which is stored in the image storage section,

wherein the image acquisition section includes;

an illumination section of which illumination intensity is variable; and

a shooting section capable of shooting images successively, and the shooting section shoots a plurality of iris images while the illumination intensity of the illumination section is controlled so that pupil openings present a predetermined distribution.

20. An iris registration apparatus, comprising:

an image acquisition section that acquires aggregation of iris images of a person to be registered by shooting;

an image storage section that stores the aggregation of the iris images which is acquired by the image acquisition section; and

a registration feature generation section that generates, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of registration features from the aggregation of the iris images which is stored in the image storage section,

wherein the image acquisition section includes;

an illumination section of which illumination intensity is variable; and

a shooting section capable of shooing images successively, and

the shooting section shoots a plurality of iris images while the illumination intensity of the illumination section is changed chronologically and shooting intervals are controlled so that pupil openings present a predetermined distribution.

21. An iris registration program that allows a computer to execute:

a first step of acquiring aggregation of iris images in which pupil openings present a predetermined distribution by performing at least one of duplication and deletion of at least one iris image of a plurality of iris images; and

a second step of generating, while evaluating authentication performance, a predetermined number of registration features from the aggregation of the iris images which is obtained in the first step.

22. An iris registration program that allows a computer to execute:

a first step of generating features respectively from a plurality of iris images; and

a second step of selecting a predetermined number of registration features from the features generated in the first step, using authentication performance as an evaluation index,

wherein in the second step, a predetermined evaluation value indicating authentication performance is calculated by using a weight according to the number of features in each pupil opening and the registration features are selected with the use of the thus calculated evaluation value.