Person recognition apparatus

• US 7,454,041 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2006
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sukegawa, Hiroshi, Sato, Toshio, Ogata, Jun, Yokoi, Kentaro, Okazaki, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Desire; Gregory M
• Application Number:
  US11/515,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20070031010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 382/115, 382/117, 382/118, 382/190, 382/209, 382/218, 382/305, 340/5.52, 340/5.53, 340/5.81, 340/5.83
• US Class Current: 382/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification

Abstract

When authentication data of a person O to be authenticated is registered as dictionary data, this authentication data of the person to be authenticated is acquired and collated with the registered dictionary data. In accordance with the collation result, the dictionary data is updated.

Claims

1. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users, and also stores, for a face image having a similar face image, information indicating the existence of the similar face image;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of a user;

a first face collator which collates the face image photographed by said photographing unit with a plurality of face images stored in said storage unit; and

a second face collator which, in a case where information indicating the existence of a face image similar to the face image collated by said first face collator is stored in said storage unit, performs face image collation by a collating process different from the process performed by said first face collator.

2. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information;

a determination unit which determines degrees of collation between a face image to be stored in said storage unit and other face images already stored in said storage unit;

a setting unit which sets a threshold value for the face image to be stored in said storage unit, on the basis of those degrees of collation between that face image and the other face images, which are determined by said determination unit;

an input unit which inputs identification information of a user;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit; and

a face collator which performs a collating process for determining whether collation is successful or unsuccessful by checking whether the degree of collation between the face image of the user photographed by said photographing unit and a face image registered in said storage unit and corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit is not less than the threshold value set by said setting unit.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein for a face image found by said determination unit to have a face image having a collation degree not less than a predetermined value, said setting unit sets a threshold value higher than that for a face image having no such face image as having a collation degree not less than the predetermined value.

4. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to the users;

a registration unit which stores in said storage unit another face image of a user whose face image is stored in said storage unit, in one-to-one correspondence with additional information corresponding to each face image of the user and with identification information of the user;

an input unit which inputs identification information and additional information of a user;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit; and

a face collator which collates a face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit.

5. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to the users;

a registration unit which stores in said storage unit another face image of a user whose face image is stored in said storage unit, in one-to-one correspondence with additional information corresponding to each face image of the user and with identification information of the user, and which sets a default face image of face images of a user corresponding to each identification information;

an input unit which inputs at least identification information;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of a user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit;

a first face collator which, in a case where additional information is input in addition to the identification information by said input unit, collates a face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit; and

a second face collator which, in a case where only the identification information is input by said input unit, collates a face image set as a default face image corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit.

6. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to the users;

a registration unit which stores in said storage unit another face image of a user whose face image is stored in said storage unit, in one-to-one correspondence with additional information corresponding to each face image of the user and with identification information of the user;

an input unit which inputs identification information of a user and additional information of a face image to be collated;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit;

a face collator which collates a face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit; and

an updating unit which, in a case where the collation by said face collator is unsuccessful, updates the face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information stored in said storage unit on the basis of the face image photographed by said photographing unit.

7. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to the users;

a registration unit which stores in said storage unit another face image of a user whose face image is stored in said storage unit, in one-to-one correspondence with additional information corresponding to each face image of the user and with identification information of the user;

an input unit which inputs identification information of a user and additional information of a face image to be collated;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit;

a face collator which collates a face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit;

an authenticator which, in a case where the collation by said face collator is unsuccessful, performs authentication to check whether the user photographed by said photographing unit is the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit; and

an updating unit which, in a case where the user is authenticated by said authenticator, updates the face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information stored in said storage unit, on the basis of the face image photographed by said photographing unit.

8. A person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

a storage unit which stores face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to the users;

a registration unit which stores in said storage unit another face image of a user whose face image is stored in said storage unit, in one-to-one correspondence with additional information corresponding to each face image of the user and with identification information of the user;

an input unit which inputs identification information of a user and additional information of a face image to be collated;

a photographing unit which photographs a face image of the user corresponding to the identification information input by said input unit;

a face collator which collates a face image corresponding to the identification information and additional information input by said input unit with the face image photographed by said photographing unit; and

an additional registration unit which, in a case where the user is authenticated by said authenticator, gives additional information to the face image photographed by said photographing unit and stores the face image in said storage unit in one-to-one correspondence with the identification information.

9. A person recognition method for use in a person recognition apparatus for recognizing a person by a face image, comprising:

storing, in a storage unit, face images of users in one-to-one correspondence with identification information given to these users;

sensing the existence of a user photographable by a photographing unit;

photographing a face image of the user by the photographing unit;

collating the photographed face image with all the face images stored in the storage unit; and

interrupting the collating process, and collating the face image photographed by the photographing unit with a face image corresponding to the identification information input by the input unit, in a case where identification information is input by a input unit while the collating process is being executed.

10. A person recognition method for use in a person recognition system having a face image collating apparatus which photographs a user'"'"'s face image and collates the photographed face image with a face image stored beforehand in a collating dictionary, a server apparatus connected to the face image collating apparatus, and an information terminal connectable to the server apparatus, comprising:

causing the information terminal side

to photograph a user'"'"'s face image by a photographing unit,

to form a personal dictionary on the basis of the face image photographed by the photographing unit, and

to transmit the formed personal dictionary to the server apparatus; and

causing the server apparatus side

to receive the personal dictionary transmitted from the information terminal, and form a dictionary for use in the face image collating apparatus by integrating personal dictionaries transmitted from a plurality of information terminals.