Collation/retrieval system, collation/retrieval server, image feature extraction apparatus, collation/retrieval method, and program

• US 10,460,216 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2017
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ishiyama, Rui
• Primary Examiner(s): Woldemariam, Aklilu K
• Application Number:
  US15/718,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20180082157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 382115, 382124, 382125, 382190, 382278
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/225 based on a marking or identifier characterising the area
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/80 Recognising image objects characterised by unique random patterns

Abstract

The present invention is a collation/retrieval system collating a product manufactured by or delivered from a producer or a distributor with a product to be collated comprising: a storage unit that stores an image feature of a predetermined collation area of the product determined in advance at a position relative to a reference section common in every product; a to-be-collated product feature extraction unit that receives an image of the product to be collated and detecting the reference section of the product from the received image to extract an image feature of the collation area determined by reference to the reference section; and a collation unit that collates the stored image feature with the image feature of the collation area of the product to be collated.

Claims

1. A collation apparatus comprising:

a storage device configured to store a plurality of image features of collation areas extracted from a plurality of objects and management information corresponding to the plurality of objects in a mutually associated manner;

a memory configured to store instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to;

obtain an image including a reference section and a collation area of an object to be collated;

retrieve, from the stored plurality of image features, an image feature having the highest similarity to an image feature of collation area of the object to be collated; and

output management information about an object stored in the storage device corresponding to the image feature having the highest similarity, wherein

the management information about the object is not used for collation of the object and includes at least one of a production site, a producer name, a lot number, a production date, a quality information, a shipping point, and a ship date of the object.

2. The collation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the collation areas is a partial area on a surface of the corresponding object.

3. The collation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to collate a surface pattern of the object corresponding to the image feature having the highest similarity and a surface pattern of the object to be collated.

4. A collation method performed by a processor executing instructions stored on a memory coupled to the processor, comprising:

obtaining an image including a reference section and a collation area of an object to be collated;

retrieving an image feature having the highest similarity to an image feature of collation area of the object to be collated from a plurality of image features of collation areas extracted from a plurality of objects and stored in a storage device, wherein the storage device stores the plurality of image features and management information corresponding to the plurality of objects in a mutually associated manner; and

outputting management information about an object stored in the storage device corresponding to the image feature having the highest similarity, wherein

the management information about the object is not used for collation of the object and includes at least one of a production site, a producer name, a lot number, a production date, a quality information, a shipping point, and a ship date of the object.

5. The collation method according to claim 4, wherein each of the collation areas is a partial area on a surface of the corresponding object.

6. The collation method according to claim 4, further comprising:

collating a surface pattern of the object corresponding to the image feature having the highest similarity and a surface pattern of the object to be collated.