MOBILE IDENTITY PLATFORM

• US 20120242820A1
• Filed: 04/05/2012
• Published: 09/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EyeLock LLC (VOXX International Corporation)
• Original Assignee: EyeLock Inc. (VOXX International Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanna, Keith J., Greene, Gary Alan, Hirvonen, David James, Hoyos, Hector T., Riddle, George Herbert Needham
• Granted Patent: US 9,117,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/78
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/18 Eye characteristics, e.g. of the iris
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/67 by interactive indications to the user

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed towards a compact, mobile apparatus for iris image acquisition, adapted to address effects of ocular dominance in the subject and to guide positioning of the subject'"'"'s iris for the image acquisition. The apparatus may include a sensor for acquiring an iris image from a subject. A compact mirror may be oriented relative to a dominant eye of the subject, and sized to present an image of a single iris to the subject when the apparatus is positioned at a suitable distance for image acquisition. The mirror may assist the subject in positioning the iris for iris image acquisition. The mirror may be positioned between the sensor and the iris during iris image acquisition, and transmit a portion of light reflected off the iris to the sensor.

Claims

1. A compact, mobile apparatus for iris image acquisition, adapted to address effects of ocular dominance in the subject and to guide positioning of the subject'"'"'s iris for the image acquisition, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor for acquiring an iris image from a subject; and

a compact mirror oriented relative to a dominant eye of the subject, and sized to present an image of a single iris to the subject when the apparatus is positioned at a suitable distance for image acquisition, to assist the subject in positioning the iris for iris image acquisition, the mirror positioned between the sensor and the iris during iris image acquisition, and transmitting a portion of light reflected off the iris to the sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a connector for connecting to a computing device, the connector extending from a lower end of the apparatus below the grasp of the subject'"'"'s hand when operating the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an articulated connector for connecting the apparatus to a computing device, the articulated connector adjustably maintaining a position of the apparatus for iris image acquisition.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an infra-red illuminator integrated with a display screen of the apparatus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second mirror to present an image of a second iris to the subject when positioned at the suitable distance for image acquisition.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one illuminator providing at least one of:

infra-red illumination and visible illumination to illuminate a feature of the subject.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a contact region or button for a thumb or finger of the subject to initiate image acquisition while holding the apparatus.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mirror is located near one end of a body of the apparatus, the subject holding at least a portion of the other end while operating the apparatus.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mirror comprises an adjustable or rotatable mount for tilting the mirror with respect to the dominant eye of the subject.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an illuminator oriented to focus illumination primarily on the iris.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is used to acquire an infra-red image of the iris and a non-infra-red image of a feature of the subject.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a filter array for filtering light to the sensor, the filter array comprising a plurality of infra-red cut regions and a plurality of infra-red pass regions.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor acquires a plurality of images within a period of time.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising an image processing module for selecting an iris image from the plurality of images, the selected iris image of better quality for biometric matching than at least some of the other images in the plurality of images.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the image processing module stores the selected iris image in a buffer while acquiring or processing additional images.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the image processing module overwrites a previously-selected image stored in a buffer with the selected iris image.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the image processing module performs biometric matching on the selected iris image.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the image processing module sends the selected iris image to a computer via a physical or wireless connection.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display having an image of a portion of the subject'"'"'s face, the display moving an image of the subject'"'"'s eye towards a physical location of the sensor to guide the subject'"'"'s gaze towards the sensor.

20. A compact, mobile apparatus for iris image acquisition, adapted to address effects of ocular dominance in the subject and to guide positioning of the subject'"'"'s iris for the image acquisition, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor; and

a display for displaying an image of a portion of the subject'"'"'s face, the display moving an image of the subject'"'"'s eye towards a physical location of the sensor to draw the subject'"'"'s gaze towards the sensor, the sensor acquiring an image of the subject'"'"'s iris for biometric matching when the subject'"'"'s gaze is drawn to or near the sensor.