Information processing apparatus and control method thereof

• US 9,395,809 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2014
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Kaori
• Primary Examiner(s): Chu, Randolph I
• Application Number:
  US14/178,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20140241594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/772 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. averaging or distorting patterns; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification

Abstract

An information processing apparatus which communicates with an external apparatus having a face authentication function, comprises a unit which acquires a type of the authentication function of the external apparatus from the external apparatus; a unit which receives image data held in the external apparatus and a face feature amount used by the external apparatus for the authentication function; and a unit which controls, in accordance with a result of comparing a type of a face authentication function of the information processing apparatus with the type of the authentication function of the external apparatus, whether to use the received face feature amount for the authentication function of the information processing apparatus, or to re-generate, from the received image data, a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the authentication function of the information processing apparatus.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a communication interface which communicates with an external apparatus having a face authentication function;

a memory which stores image data held in the external apparatus and a face feature amount used by the external apparatus for the face authentication function received from the external apparatus by the communication interface; and

at least one processor which controls, in accordance with a result of comparing a type of a face authentication function of the information processing apparatus with the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus, using the face feature amount received from the external apparatus for the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus, or to re-generating, from the image data received from external apparatus, a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are identical, the at least one processor uses the received face feature amount, and when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different, re-generates a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus from the received image data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to request another image of the external apparatus when no face has been acquired from the received image.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different and the information processing apparatus transmits the face feature amount to the external apparatus, the at least one processor re-generates a face feature amount held in the information processing apparatus into a face feature amount for the external apparatus, and transmits the face feature amount.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different and the information processing apparatus does not have the face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus, the at least one processor acquires, from a server, data corresponding to the face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus, and installs, in the information processing apparatus, the face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are identical and the information processing apparatus transmits the face feature amount to the external apparatus, the at least one processor transmits a face feature amount held in the information processing apparatus without any change.

7. A control method of an information processing apparatus which has a memory, at least one processor and a communication interface which communicates with an external apparatus having a face authentication function, the method comprising:

receiving a type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus from the external apparatus via the communication interface;

storing image data held in the external apparatus and a face feature amount used for the face authentication function in the memory; and

controlling by the at least one processor, in accordance with a result of comparing a type of a face authentication function of the information processing apparatus with the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus, using the face feature amount received from the external apparatus for the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus, or to re-generating, from the image data received from the external apparatus, a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a control method of an information processing apparatus which has a memory, at least one processor and a communication interface which communicates with an external apparatus having a face authentication function, the method comprising:

receiving a type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus from the external apparatus via the communication interface;

storing image data held in the external apparatus and a face feature amount used for the face authentication function in the memory; and

controlling by the at least one processor, in accordance with a result of comparing a type of a face authentication function of the information processing apparatus with the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus, using the face feature amount received from the external apparatus for the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus, or to re-generating, from the image data received from the external apparatus, a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus.

9. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are identical, controlling the at least one processor to use the received face feature amount, and when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different, controlling the at least one processor to re-generate from the received image data a face feature amount corresponding to the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus.

10. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the control method further comprises requesting another image of the external apparatus when no face has been acquired from the received image.

11. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different and the information processing apparatus transmits the face feature amount to the external apparatus, controlling the at least one processor to re-generate a face feature amount held in the information processing apparatus into a face feature amount for the external apparatus, and to transmit the re-generated face feature amount to the external apparatus.

12. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are different and the information processing apparatus does not have the face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus, controlling the at least one processor to acquire from a server data corresponding to the face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus, and to install the acquired face authentication function of the type held in the external apparatus in the information processing apparatus.

13. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein when the type of the face authentication function of the information processing apparatus and the type of the face authentication function of the external apparatus are identical and the information processing apparatus transmits the face feature amount to the external apparatus, controlling the at least one processor to transmit a face feature amount held in the information processing apparatus without any change.