Image processing apparatus and method

• US 8,194,935 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2006
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Hidenori
• Primary Examiner(s): Newman, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US11/531,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20070122006A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,091 Days
• Field of Search: 382/116, 382/115, 382/117, 382/118, 382/155
• US Class Current: 382/116
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/75 Organisation of the matching processes, e.g. simultaneous or sequential comparisons of image or video features; Coarse-fine approaches, e.g. multi-scale approaches; using context analysis; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/173 face re-identification, e.g. recognising unknown faces across different face tracks

Abstract

Plural kinds of feature information for identifying an object and a period of time, set for each kind of the feature information, for which the feature information is effective are stored in connection with each other. A feature is extracted from image data, the extracted feature is compared with the feature information, which is within the set period of time, among the stored feature information, and an object is recognized.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an extraction unit that extracts a feature from image data;

a memory that stores personal feature information including short term feature information to which a validity period of time is set and long term feature information to which a validity period of time is not set;

a matching unit that compares the feature extracted by said extraction unit with the personal feature information stored in said memory to obtain a comparison result used to recognize a person having the extracted feature; and

a control unit that sets a feature registration mode for updating the personal feature information stored in said memory by registering at least one of new short term feature information or new long term feature information,

wherein, in a case where the feature registration mode is not set, said matching unit compares the feature extracted by said extraction unit with the long term feature information and the short term feature information within the set validity period of time and uses the comparison result to recognize the person having the extracted feature, and

wherein, in a case where the feature registration mode is set, said matching unit compares the feature extracted by said extraction unit only with the long term feature information and uses the comparison result to recognize the person having the extracted feature even if the short term feature information within the set validity period of time exists.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a judgment unit that judges whether the set validity period of time of the short term feature information stored in said memory has elapsed; and

a deletion unit that deletes the short term feature information whose set validity period of time has elapsed from the memory.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a judgment unit that judges whether the set validity period of time of the short term feature information stored in said memory has elapsed; and

a warning unit that warns expiration of the short term feature information whose set validity period of time has elapsed.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said matching unit gives a priority to the long term feature information upon comparing a feature extracted by said extraction unit with feature information, and performs comparison with the short term feature information if an object could not be recognized by comparing with the long term feature information.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image sensing unit that performs photoelectric conversion of light from an object to output electrical image data; and

an image sensing condition controller that controls an image sensing condition used in said image sensing unit based on a recognition result of an object by said matching unit.

6. An image processing method comprising:

an extraction step of extracting a feature from image data;

a storing step of storing in a memory personal feature information including short term feature information to which a validity period of time is set and long term feature information to which a validity period of time is not set;

a matching step of comparing the feature extracted in said extraction step with the feature information stored in said storing step so as to obtain a comparison result used in recognizing a person having the extracted feature; and

a control step of setting a feature registration mode for updating the personal feature information stored in said memory by registering at least one of new short term feature information or new long term feature information,

wherein, in a case where the feature registration mode is not set, said matching step compares the feature extracted by said extraction step with the long term feature information and the short term feature information within the set validity period of time and uses the comparison result to recognize the person having the extracted feature, and

wherein, in a case where the feature registration mode is set, said matching step compares the feature extracted by said extraction step only with the long term feature information and uses the comparison result to recognize the person having the extracted feature even if the short term feature information within the set validity period of time exists.

7. The image processing method according to claim 6, further comprising:

a judging step of judging whether the set validity period of time of the short term feature information stored in said storing step has elapsed; and

a deletion step of deleting the short term feature information whose set validity period of time has elapsed.

8. The image processing method according to claim 6, further comprising:

a judging step of judging whether the set validity period of time of the short term feature information stored in said storing step has elapsed; and

a warning step of warning expiration of the short term feature information whose set validity period of time has elapsed.

9. The image processing method according to claim 6, wherein, in said matching step, a priority is given to the long term feature information upon comparing a feature extracted in said extraction step with the feature information, and comparison with the short term feature information is performed if an object could not be recognized by comparing with the long term feature information.

10. The image processing method according to claim 6, further comprising:

an image sensing step of performing photoelectric conversion of light from an object to output electrical image data; and

a step of controlling an image sensing condition in said image sensing step based on a recognition result of an object by said matching step.

11. A non-transitory storage medium readable by an information processing apparatus, said storage medium storing a program which is executable by the information processing apparatus and comprises program codes realizing the image processing method described in claim 6.