JP7591790B2 - Authentication system and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an authentication system and an information processing method.

Conventionally, as an authentication system that performs authentication based on face data, there is known an authentication system that performs identity authentication by comparing input face data with pre-registered face data (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In the authentication system described in Patent Document 1, a target person is authenticated using an image of the face part in an image captured by a camera. In the authentication system described in Patent Document 2, for example, when four face images are registered, two are face patterns for ensuring accuracy, one is a face pattern for absorbing disturbance components, and one is a face pattern to be updated. When a new face pattern is registered, the face pattern to be updated that has the second lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern among the four face patterns registered in advance is deleted. In other words, by leaving the face pattern for absorbing disturbance components that has the lowest similarity to the newly registered face pattern, face authentication is performed while adapting to environmental variations.

JP 2019-197426 A JP 2006-72540 A

The authentication systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have the problem that the registered face image data cannot be used in authentication engines that perform authentication other than face recognition, which is inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide an authentication system and information processing method that can improve convenience by using registered face image data in an authentication engine that performs authentication other than face authentication.

The authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising: information acquisition means for receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration, extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received user's facial image data, and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory; authentication means for authenticating the user by comparing the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the service facility's imaging unit or the features of the user's facial image received from the service facility's imaging unit with the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory at the time of user authentication; and linking means for linking the user's identification information used in the authentication engine of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory.

The authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising: information acquisition means for receiving facial image data of the user from the user terminal at the time of user registration, extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user, and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory; transmission means for transmitting information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory to the imaging unit of each service facility so that authentication based on the user's facial image can be performed in the imaging unit of each service facility; and linking means for linking user identification information used in an authentication engine of a service facility that performs authentication other than facial recognition with user identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory.

The authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and includes an information acquisition means that, at the time of user registration, receives the user's facial image data from the user terminal, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the received user's facial image data, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory, and an authentication means that, at the time of user authentication, authenticates the user by comparing the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the imaging unit of the service facility or the features of the user's facial image received from the imaging unit of the service facility with the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory, and is characterized in that, when authenticating a user with the authentication means, two-factor authentication is performed by using the features of the user's facial image and elements other than the features of the user's facial image.

The authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising: an information acquisition means that receives the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration and stores the received user's facial image data in memory; an authentication means that authenticates the user by comparing the user's facial image data received from the service facility's imaging unit with the user's facial image data stored in the memory at the time of user authentication; and a linking means that links the user's identification information used in the service facility's authentication engine that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory.

The authentication system of the present invention is an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising: information acquisition means for receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration and storing the received user's facial image data in memory; transmission means for transmitting the user's facial image data stored in the memory to the imaging unit of each service facility so that the imaging unit of each service facility performs authentication based on the user's facial image; and linking means for linking user identification information used in the authentication engine of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial recognition with user identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory.

The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method by an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising the steps of: receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration, extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received user's facial image data, and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory; authenticating the user by comparing the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the service facility's imaging unit or the features of the user's facial image received from the service facility's imaging unit with the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory at the time of user authentication; and linking the user's identification information used in the authentication engine of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory.

The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method by an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising the steps of: receiving facial image data of the user from the user terminal at the time of user registration; extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user; and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in a memory; transmitting information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory to the imaging unit of each service facility so that the imaging unit of each service facility performs authentication based on the user's facial image; and linking user identification information used in an authentication engine of a service facility that performs authentication other than facial recognition with user identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory.

The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method by an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and includes the steps of: receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration, extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received user's facial image data, and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory; and, at the time of user authentication, authenticating the user by comparing the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the imaging unit of the service facility or the features of the user's facial image received from the imaging unit of the service facility with the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory; and, when authenticating the user by the authentication means, performing two-factor authentication by using the features of the user's facial image and an element other than the features of the user's facial image.

The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method by an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising the steps of: receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal and storing the received user's facial image data in a memory when registering a user; authenticating the user by comparing the user's facial image data received from the service facility's imaging unit with the user's facial image data stored in the memory when authenticating the user; and linking the user's identification information used in the service facility's authentication engine that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory.

The information processing method of the present invention is an information processing method by an authentication system that authenticates a user using information received from a user terminal, and is characterized by comprising the steps of: receiving the user's facial image data from the user terminal at the time of user registration, and storing the received user's facial image data in a memory; transmitting the user's facial image data stored in the memory to the imaging unit of each service facility so that the imaging unit of each service facility performs authentication based on the user's facial image; and linking the user's identification information used in the authentication engine of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial recognition with the user's identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory.

According to the authentication system and information processing method of the present invention, convenience can be improved by using registered face image data in an authentication engine that performs authentication other than face authentication.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention and an imaging unit disposed in each service facility. 4 is a flowchart showing the process executed when a face image of a user is registered by the authentication system shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing content executed when authenticating a user by the authentication system and the imaging unit shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of an authentication system and an imaging unit disposed in each service facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart showing the process executed when a face image of a user is registered by the authentication system shown in FIG. 4 . 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed when authenticating a user by the authentication system and the imaging unit shown in FIG. 4 . 13 is a diagram illustrating still another example of an authentication system and an imaging unit disposed in each service facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process executed when a face image of a user is registered by the authentication system shown in FIG. 7 . 8 is a flowchart showing an example of processing contents executed when authenticating a user by the authentication system and the imaging unit shown in FIG. 7 . FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an initial screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a registration screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a registration screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a service addition screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an authentication history screen displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed screen of an authentication history displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating still another example of an authentication system and an imaging unit disposed in each company according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating still another example of an authentication system and an imaging unit disposed in each company according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 15 show an authentication system according to this embodiment and imaging units arranged at each service facility.

As shown in FIG. 1, imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that authenticate users are installed in each service facility, such as a restaurant, a hotel, a transportation facility, an office building, an apartment building, and a convenience store. Although three imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C are illustrated in FIG. 1, two or four or more imaging units may be used. An authentication system 10 installed in a company separate from each service facility is connected to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network such as the Internet line. A user terminal 20, such as a smartphone carried by a user, is connected to the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network such as the Internet line. Details of the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C are described below.

The authentication system 10 is composed of, for example, a computer, and includes a processor 12 such as a CPU, a memory 16, and a communication unit 18. The processor 12 includes a feature extraction means 14 that extracts the feature of the user's face image corresponding to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C as a hash value based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20, and a registration means 13 that registers the extracted feature of the user's face image. The processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16, so that the feature extraction means 14 extracts the feature of the user's face image corresponding to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C as a hash value. Specifically, the feature extraction means 14 extracts a hash value calculated from the received user's face image data using a predetermined hash function as the feature of the user's face image. Note that even if the user's face image data is the same, the feature of the user's face image may differ depending on the type of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. This is because the specifications of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C used by different service facilities such as business companies are also different. For this reason, the feature extraction means 14 extracts the feature of the user's face image for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. That is, the feature of the face images of multiple users corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is extracted from one face image data. In addition, the processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16, and causes the registration means 13 to associate the feature of the user's face image for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C extracted by the feature extraction means 14 with the identification information of the user and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C and store them in the memory 16. Note that the program executed by the processor 12 is not limited to the one stored in the memory 16. The processor 12 may execute a program transmitted to the authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the authentication system 10, thereby performing processing in each of the feature extraction means 14 and the registration means 13. In this embodiment, the feature extraction means 14 and the registration means 13 constitute the information acquisition means 17. When registering a user, the information acquisition means 17 accepts facial image data of the user, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the accepted facial image data of the user, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in the memory 16 as user identification information.

As described above, the memory 16 stores the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's face image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in association with the user's identification information and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. As described above, the features of the user's face image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 may differ depending on the type of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. For this reason, the feature extraction means 14 extracts the features of the user's face image for each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. As a result, the features of the user's face image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 must also be stored in the memory 16 in association with each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. In addition, the memory 16 stores the user's identification information in association with the service provider selected by the user. In addition, as described above, the memory 16 stores programs for causing the processor 12 to perform various processes. The processor 12 also transmits and receives signals to and from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C or user terminals 20 located at each service facility via a network such as the Internet line using the communication unit 18.

Each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C arranged at each service facility is composed of, for example, a computer, and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C has a processor 32A, 32B, 32C such as a CPU, a memory 36A, 36B, 36C, an imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, a processing unit 40A, 40B, 40C, and a communication unit 42A, 42B, 42C. The processor 32A, 32B, 32C has a feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C that extracts the feature of the user's facial image as a hash value based on the user's facial image data captured by the imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, and an authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C execute the programs stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C to extract the features of the user's face image as hash values in the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C. Specifically, the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C extract hash values obtained from the received face image data of the user using a predetermined hash function as the features of the user's face image. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C also execute the programs stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C to authenticate the user in the authentication means 35A, 35B, and 35C. Details of the processing will be described later. The programs executed by the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C are not limited to those stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C. Various processes may be performed in the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C and the authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C by the processors 32A, 32B, 32C executing a program transmitted from an external device to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C. Furthermore, each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C is not limited to corresponding to one service facility. For example, the imaging unit 30A may correspond to multiple service facilities.

Memories 36A, 36B, and 36C are also configured to store pre-registered user identification information in association with the features of the user's facial image. As described above, memories 36A, 36B, and 36C are also configured to store programs for causing processors 32A, 32B, and 32C to perform various processes. Furthermore, imaging units 38A, 38B, and 38C each have a camera, for example, and are configured to capture an image of the user to obtain facial image data of the user.

The processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C are also adapted to perform various processes for authenticated users. For example, when the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C are installed in an office building or an apartment complex, the processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C unlock the doors at the entrances and exits of the office building or apartment complex when the user is authenticated. When the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C are installed in restaurants, hotels, transportation facilities, convenience stores, and the like, they enable cashless payment when paying fees at these service facilities. In this case, the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C transmit payment information to the server of a financial institution or credit card company, so that the payment amount is automatically debited from the user's bank account or added to the credit card statement. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C transmit and receive signals to and from the authentication system 10 or the user terminal 20 via a network such as the Internet line by the communication units 42A, 42B, and 42C.

In addition, in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, the facial image of the user is captured by the imaging section 38A, 38B, and 38C, so that the feature amount of the facial image of the user can be registered in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. Specifically, when the feature amount of the facial image of the user is registered in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, when the facial image of the user is captured by the imaging section 38A, 38B, and 38C, the processor 32A, 32B, and 32C extracts the feature amount of the facial image of the user as a hash value by the feature amount extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C based on the facial image data of the user captured by the imaging section 38A, 38B, and 38C. Then, the extracted feature amount of the facial image of the user (specifically, the hash value) is stored in the memory 36A, 36B, and 36C. In this way, the feature amount of the facial image of the user is registered in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

The user terminal 20 is capable of installing a facial recognition app from an online store or the like. When such a facial recognition app is installed, the user can use the user terminal 20 to register facial image data, register the service provider from which the service is to be used, and the like. The processing content of such a facial recognition app will be described later. Note that such a facial recognition app may be provided by the authentication system 10, or may be provided by a system other than the authentication system 10.

In this embodiment, the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C located at each service facility are linked via an API (Application Programming Interface). This makes it easier to configure the systems for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C than if each system were configured independently.

Next, the processing performed when authenticating a user using the authentication system 10 and each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C will be described with reference to Figures 2, 3, and 10 to 12.

First, a process in which a user registers face image data in the authentication system 10 using the user terminal 20 will be described. First, the user installs a face authentication application in the user terminal 20. The initial screen of such a face authentication application displays the screen shown in FIG. 10. The user first performs user registration using such a face authentication application on the user terminal 20. Specifically, when the account button is pressed on the screen shown in FIG. 10, a user registration screen as shown in FIG. 11 appears. When registration information such as name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password are entered on such a user registration screen, and the registration button is pressed after checking the box indicating that the terms of use are agreed to, a face image capture screen as shown in FIG. 12 appears. When the user captures a face image on such an image capture screen using the user terminal 20, various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's face image data are transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. In this way, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives face image data from the user terminal 20 (STEP 1). The processor 12 of the authentication system 10 also receives from the user terminal 20 the identification information of the user terminal 20, and the registration information, such as the user's name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password, entered into the user terminal 20. The processor 12 also issues a user ID as the user's identification information, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16.

Next, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 extracts the features of the facial images corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as hash values using the feature extraction means 14 based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20 (STEP 2). At this time, the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 may differ depending on the type of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. For this reason, the feature extraction means 14 extracts the features of the user's facial image for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. In addition, the feature extraction means 14 extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected in advance by the user. For example, if the user is permitted to use facial image data for the service facility where the imaging unit 30A is installed, but is not permitted to use facial image data for the service facility where the imaging unit 30B is installed, the feature extraction means 14 extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging unit 30A. As described above, the memory 16 stores the user's identification information and the service facility selected by the user in association with each other. The processor 12 stores the features of the facial images corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 by the registration means 13 in association with the user ID (user's identification information) and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 3). In this manner, the registration of the user's facial image captured by the user terminal 20 is completed. The information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 is transmitted from the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user (STEP 4). At this time, the features of the user's facial images corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C are transmitted to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C store information related to the features of the user's facial image transmitted from the authentication system 10 in memories 36A, 36B, and 36C in association with the user's identification information.

Next, the process of authenticating a user in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C will be described. When authentication of a user becomes necessary at a service facility where each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is installed, first, the user's facial image data is acquired by capturing an image of the user using the imaging units 38A, 38B, and 38C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 11). In addition, in the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C extract the features of the user's facial image as a hash value using the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C based on the acquired facial image data (STEP 12). Then, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C authenticate the user by comparing the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C with the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's facial image stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C (STEP 13). More specifically, if the coincidence rate between the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C and the features of the user's facial image stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%), the authentication means 35A, 35B, and 35C authenticate the user. As described above, the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C store the user's identification information registered in advance in association with the features of the user's facial image.

Then, when the authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C authenticate the user ("YES" in STEP 14), the processors 32A, 32B, 32C enable the respective processing units 40A, 40B, 40C to implement the services corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C (STEP 15). Specifically, as described above, when the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C are installed in an office building or an apartment complex, the processing units 40A, 40B, 40C unlock the doors installed at the entrances and exits of the office building or apartment complex when the user is authenticated. Also, when the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C are installed in restaurants, hotels, transportation facilities, convenience stores, etc., they enable cashless payment when paying fees at these service facilities. In addition, when cashless payment is performed, two-factor authentication may be performed. Thereafter, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C transmit information related to the usage status of the service to the authentication system 10 (STEP 17). As a result, information related to the usage status of the service at each service facility is stored in the memory 16 for each user in the authentication system 10.

On the other hand, if the features of the user's face image extracted by the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C do not substantially match the features of the user's face image stored in the memory 36A, 36B, 36C and the authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C cannot authenticate the user ("NO" in STEP 14), the processors 32A, 32B, 32C disable the service corresponding to the imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C by the respective processing units 40A, 40B, 40C (STEP 16). In this case as well, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C transmit information related to the service usage status (specifically, information that the user attempted to authenticate with the imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C but was not authenticated and was unable to use the service) to the authentication system 10 (STEP 17).

According to this authentication method, even if the features of a user's facial image are registered in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30A) of one service facility but not in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30B) of another service facility, the features of the user's facial image are stored in memory 16 of authentication system 10 and in memories 36A, 36B, and 36C of each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C in association with the identification information of imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, so that even a service facility where the features of the user's facial image are not registered can authenticate the user by capturing the user's facial image with an imaging unit. In this case, the user does not need to register facial image data in all of the multiple imaging units, which saves the user's effort.

The authentication system 10 and authentication method according to this embodiment are not limited to those shown in Figs. 1 to 3. Other examples of the authentication system 10 and authentication method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 6. Note that, for the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in Fig. 4, the same components as those of the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

4, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 has a feature extraction means 14 that extracts the feature of the user's facial image corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as a hash value based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20, a registration means 13 that registers the extracted feature of the user's facial image, and an authentication means 15 that authenticates the user based on the feature (specifically, the hash value) of the user's facial image captured by the imaging sections 38A to 38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16 to store in the memory 16 the feature (specifically, the hash value) of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the registration means 13 in association with the user's identification information and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. Moreover, the processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16, and thereby performs authentication of the user in the authentication means 15 by comparing the feature amount (specifically, hash value) of the user's face image captured by the imaging sections 38A to 38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the feature amount (specifically, hash value) of the user's face image corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C stored in the memory 16. The program executed by the processor 12 is not limited to the one stored in the memory 16. The processor 12 may execute a program transmitted to the authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the authentication system 10, thereby performing processing in each of the feature amount extraction means 14, the registration means 13, and the authentication means 15. Also in this embodiment, the feature amount extraction means 14 and the registration means 13 constitute the information acquisition means 17. When a user is registered, the information acquisition means 17 accepts the user's facial image data, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the accepted user's facial image data, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in the memory 16 as the user's identification information.

Each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C arranged in each service facility is composed of, for example, a computer, and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C has a processor 32A, 32B, 32C such as a CPU, a memory 36A, 36B, 36C, an imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, a processing unit 40A, 40B, 40C, and a communication unit 42A, 42B, 42C. The processors 32A, 32B, 32C have feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C that extract features of the user's facial image as a hash value based on the user's facial image data captured by the imaging units 38A, 38B, 38C. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C do not have authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C as shown in FIG. 1. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C execute the programs stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C to extract the features of the user's face image as hash values in the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C. Specifically, the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C extract hash values obtained from the received user's face image data using a predetermined hash function as the features of the user's face image. Note that the programs executed by the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C are not limited to those stored in the memories 36A, 36B, and 36C. Various processes may be performed in the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C by the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C executing programs transmitted from an external device to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, or programs stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. Additionally, in the example shown in FIG. 4, memories 36A, 36B, and 36C are not configured to store features of the user's facial image.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C located at each service facility are linked via an API (application programming interface). This makes it easier to configure the systems for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C than if each system were configured independently.

Next, the processing contents when authenticating a user using the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C as shown in FIG. 4 will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

First, the process of a user registering face image data in the authentication system 10 using the user terminal 20 will be described. The specific method of the user capturing a face image using the user terminal 20 has already been described, so it will not be described here. When a user first registers using such a face recognition app on the user terminal 20, various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's face image data are transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. In this way, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives the face image data from the user terminal 20 (STEP 21). The processor 12 of the authentication system 10 also receives from the user terminal 20 the identification information of the user terminal 20 and the registration information entered into the user terminal 20, such as the user's name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password. The processor 12 also issues a user ID as the user's identification information, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16.

Next, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 extracts the features of the facial images corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as hash values using the feature extraction means 14 based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20 (STEP 22). At this time, the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 may differ depending on the type of imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C, and the feature extraction means 14 extracts the features of the user's facial image for each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. In addition, the feature extraction means 14 extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected in advance by the user. Then, the processor 12 causes the registration means 13 to store the features of the facial images corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 in association with the user ID (user identification information) and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 23). In this manner, registration of the user's facial image captured by the user terminal 20 is completed. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 4, information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 is not transmitted from the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user.

Next, the process of authenticating a user in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C will be described. When authentication of a user becomes necessary at a service facility where each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is installed, first, the user's facial image data is acquired by capturing an image of the user using the imaging sections 38A, 38B, and 38C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 31). In addition, in the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C extract the features of the user's facial image as a hash value using the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C based on the acquired facial image data (STEP 32). Then, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C transmit the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, and 34C to the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 via the communication units 42A, 42B, and 42C (STEP 33). When the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives information related to the features of the user's facial image from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, it receives information related to the features of the user's facial image transmitted only from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user, which is stored in the memory 16. Then, in the authentication system 10, the processor 12 performs authentication of the user by comparing the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's facial image received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the features (specifically, hash values) of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 by the authentication means 15 (STEP 34). More specifically, if the matching rate between the features of the user's face image received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C and the features of the user's face image stored in the memory 16 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%), the authentication means 15 authenticates the user. As described above, the memory 16 stores preregistered user identification information and identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C in association with the features of the user's face image.

When the authentication means 15 authenticates the user ("YES" in STEP 35), information on the authentication result is transmitted from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C via the communication unit 18 (STEP 36). The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that have received the information on the authentication result enable the respective processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C to implement the services corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 37). The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C then transmit information on the service usage status to the authentication system 10. As a result, information on the service usage status at each service facility in the authentication system 10 is stored in the memory 16 for each user.

On the other hand, if the features of the user's face image received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C do not substantially match the features of the user's face image stored in the memory 16 and the authentication means 15 is unable to authenticate the user ("NO" in STEP 35), information on the authentication result is sent from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C via the communication unit 18 (STEP 38). Then, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C that have received the information on the authentication result disable the service corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C via the respective processing units 40A, 40B, 40C (STEP 39). In this case, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C also transmit information about the usage status of the service (specifically, information that the user attempted to perform authentication with the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C but was not authenticated and was therefore unable to use the service) to the authentication system 10.

According to this authentication method, even if the features of a user's facial image are registered in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30A) of one service facility but not in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30B) of another service facility, the features of the user's facial image can be stored in memory 16 of authentication system 10 in association with the identification information of imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, so that even a service facility where the features of the user's facial image are not registered can authenticate the user by capturing an image of the user's face with an imaging unit. In this case, the user does not need to register facial image data in all of the multiple imaging units, which saves the user effort.

Furthermore, still other examples of the authentication system 10 and authentication method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 7 to 9. Note that, in the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in Fig. 7, the same components as those in the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in Figs. 1 and 4 are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

7, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 has a feature extraction means 14 that extracts the feature of the user's facial image corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as a hash value based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20, a registration means 13 that registers the feature of the extracted user's facial image, and an authentication means 15 that authenticates the user based on the feature (specifically, the hash value) of the user's facial image captured by the imaging sections 38A to 38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16 to store in the memory 16 the feature (specifically, the hash value) of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the registration means 13 in association with the user's identification information and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. Moreover, the processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16, and thereby performs authentication of the user in the authentication means 15 by comparing the feature amount (specifically, hash value) of the user's face image captured by the imaging sections 38A to 38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the feature amount (specifically, hash value) of the user's face image corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C stored in the memory 16. The program executed by the processor 12 is not limited to the one stored in the memory 16. The processor 12 may execute a program transmitted to the authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium detachably attached to the authentication system 10, thereby performing processing in each of the feature amount extraction means 14, the registration means 13, and the authentication means 15. Also in this embodiment, the feature amount extraction means 14 and the registration means 13 constitute the information acquisition means 17. When a user is registered, the information acquisition means 17 accepts the user's facial image data, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the accepted user's facial image data, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in the memory 16 as the user's identification information.

Each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C arranged at each service facility is composed of, for example, a computer, and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C has a processor 32A, 32B, 32C such as a CPU, a memory 36A, 36B, 36C, an imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, a processing unit 40A, 40B, 40C, and a communication unit 42A, 42B, 42C. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C do not have the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C and the authentication means 35A, 35B, 35C as shown in FIG. 1. In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the memory 36A, 36B, 36C is configured not to store the features of the user's face image.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C located at each service facility are linked via an API (application programming interface). This makes it easier to configure the systems for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C than if each system were configured independently.

Next, the processing contents when authenticating a user using the authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C as shown in FIG. 7 will be explained with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

First, the process of a user registering face image data in the authentication system 10 using the user terminal 20 will be described. The specific method of the user capturing a face image using the user terminal 20 has already been described, so it will not be described here. When a user first registers using such a face recognition app on the user terminal 20, various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's face image data are transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. In this way, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives the face image data from the user terminal 20 (STEP 41). The processor 12 of the authentication system 10 also receives from the user terminal 20 the identification information of the user terminal 20 and the registration information entered into the user terminal 20, such as the user's name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password. The processor 12 also issues a user ID as the user's identification information, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16.

Next, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 extracts the features of the facial images corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as hash values using the feature extraction means 14 based on the facial image data received from the user terminal 20 (STEP 42). At this time, the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 may differ depending on the type of imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C, and the feature extraction means 14 extracts the features of the user's facial image for each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. In addition, the feature extraction means 14 extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility preselected by the user. Then, the processor 12 causes the registration means 13 to store the features of the facial images corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 in association with the user ID (user identification information) and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 43). In this manner, registration of the user's facial image captured by the user terminal 20 is completed. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 7, information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 is not transmitted from the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user.

Next, the process of authenticating a user in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C will be described. When authentication of a user becomes necessary at a service facility where each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C is installed, first, the user's face image data is obtained by capturing an image of the user using the imaging units 38A, 38B, 38C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C (STEP 51). The processors 32A, 32B, 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C transmit the user's face image data captured by the imaging units 38A, 38B, 38C to the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 via the communication units 42A, 42B, 42C (STEP 52). When the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 accepts the user's facial image data from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, the processor 12 accepts the user's facial image data transmitted only from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user, which is stored in the memory 16. In the authentication system 10, the processor 12 extracts the features of the user's facial image as a hash value using the feature extraction means 14 based on the facial image data accepted from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 53). The processor 12 then compares the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 (specifically, the hash value) with the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 (specifically, the hash value) using the authentication means 15, thereby authenticating the user (STEP 54). More specifically, if the coincidence rate between the features of the user's facial image extracted by the feature extraction means 14 and the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%), the authentication means 15 authenticates the user. As described above, the memory 16 stores preregistered user identification information and identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C in association with the features of the user's facial image.

When the authentication means 15 authenticates the user ("YES" in STEP 55), information on the authentication result is transmitted from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C via the communication unit 18 (STEP 56). The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that have received the information on the authentication result enable the respective processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C to implement the services corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C (STEP 57). The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C then transmit information on the service usage status to the authentication system 10. As a result, information on the service usage status at each service facility in the authentication system 10 is stored in the memory 16 for each user.

On the other hand, if the feature amounts of the user's facial image received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C do not substantially match the feature amounts of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 and the authentication means 15 is unable to authenticate the user ("NO" in STEP 55), information on the authentication result is sent from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C via the communication unit 18 (STEP 58). Then, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C that have received the information on the authentication result disable the implementation of the service corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C via the respective processing units 40A, 40B, 40C (STEP 59). In this case, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C also transmit information about the usage status of the service (specifically, information that the user attempted to perform authentication with the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C but was not authenticated and was therefore unable to use the service) to the authentication system 10.

According to this authentication method, even if the features of a user's facial image are registered in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30A) of one service facility but not in the imaging engine (e.g., imaging unit 30B) of another service facility, the features of the user's facial image can be stored in memory 16 of authentication system 10 in association with the identification information of imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, so that even a service facility where the features of the user's facial image are not registered can authenticate the user by capturing an image of the user's face with an imaging unit. In this case, the user does not need to register facial image data in all of the multiple imaging units, which saves the user effort.

Next, a process will be described for a case where a user wants to increase the number of service providers to which the face authentication service described above is applied in the authentication system 10 as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 9. After the user performs the user registration as described above, when the user presses the "Add Service" button with his/her finger on the initial screen of the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 10, a list of service providers as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. Note that such a list of service providers is registered in the authentication system 10 in advance. On the screen as shown in FIG. 13, the icons of unregistered services and registered services are displayed in different colors, or the icons of unregistered services are displayed in a lighter color, so that the icons of unregistered services and registered services are displayed in a distinguished manner. Then, when the user presses the icon of an unregistered service with his/her finger, the terms of the service to be added are displayed. When the user inputs an instruction to agree to the terms of the service, the unregistered service becomes a registered service. At this time, in the authentication system 10, the service provider related to this registered service is associated with the user ID (user identification information) and stored in the memory 16. After that, the user terminal 20 displays a face image capture screen as shown in FIG. 12. When the user captures a face image on such an imaging screen using the user terminal 20, the user's face image data is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. In this manner, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives the face image data from the user terminal 20. Then, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 extracts, as a hash value, features of the face image corresponding to the imaging unit of the new service facility using the feature extraction means 14 based on the face image data received from the user terminal 20. The processor 12 causes the registration means 13 to store the features of the face image corresponding to the new imaging unit extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 in association with the user ID (identification information of the user) and the identification information of the imaging unit of the new service facility. In this manner, the registration of the new service facility is completed. In addition, as described below, when the user's facial image data is stored in memory 16, when the user registers a new service provider with user terminal 20, the feature extraction means 14 may extract the feature amount of the facial image corresponding to the imaging unit of the new service provider as a hash value based on the user's facial image data stored in memory 16, without the user terminal 20 capturing the user's facial image. In addition, the user may be able to delete a registered service on a screen such as that shown in FIG. 13. In this case, the registered service becomes an unregistered service. In addition, information related to the feature amount of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging unit of the service provider related to the deleted registered service, which is stored in memory 16, is deleted.

After the user performs the above-mentioned user registration, when the user presses the "Authentication History" button on the initial screen of the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 10, a list of past authentication history information (in other words, a list of information related to the user's use of the service provider) as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the user terminal 20. More specifically, the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 stores the user's past authentication history information in association with the user's identification information. When the user presses the "Authentication History" button on the initial screen of the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 10, a signal requesting the user's past authentication history information is transmitted from the user terminal 20 by the processor 12 of the authentication system 10. When the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives a signal requesting the user's past authentication history information from the user terminal 20, it transmits the past authentication history information corresponding to the user's identification information stored in the memory 16 to the user terminal 20 via the communication unit 18. As a result, the user terminal 20 displays a list of the user's past authentication history information. Furthermore, when a user presses a certain authentication history display in a list of past authentication history information as shown in FIG. 14, details of that authentication history are displayed on the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 15.

In addition, in this embodiment, instead of the user using the user terminal 20 to register the features of the user's face authentication in the authentication system 10, the user may use a certain imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C to register the features of the user's face authentication in the authentication system 10. Specifically, when the user inputs registration information in a certain imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C and captures the user's face image with the imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, the input registration information and the user's face image data are transmitted from the imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C to the authentication system 10. In this way, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives the face image data from the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C. The processor 12 also issues a user ID as the user's identification information based on the registration information received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16.

Next, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 extracts the features of the facial images corresponding to each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as hash values using the feature extraction means 14 based on the facial image data received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. At this time, the feature extraction means 14 extracts the features of the user's facial image for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The feature extraction means 14 also extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected in advance by the user. For example, if the user is permitted to use facial image data for the service facility where the imaging unit 30A is installed, but is not permitted to use facial image data for the service facility where the imaging unit 30B is installed, the feature extraction means 14 extracts only the features of the user's facial image corresponding to the imaging unit 30A. As described above, the memory 16 stores the user's identification information and the service facility selected by the user in association with each other. Then, the processor 12 causes the registration means 13 to store the facial image features corresponding to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C extracted by the feature extraction means 14 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 in association with the user ID (user identification information) and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C. In this manner, registration of the user's facial image captured by the imaging sections 38A, 38B, 38C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C is completed. In this manner, the user can register the facial authentication features of the user in the authentication system 10 without using the user terminal 20.

According to the authentication method performed by the authentication system 10 according to the present embodiment and configured as described above, a user's facial image data and user identification information are received, and the features of the user's facial image are extracted for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's facial image data. Then, information related to the features of the user's facial image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that have been extracted is stored in memory 16 in association with the received user's identification information. According to this authentication method, facial authentication can be easily performed using multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

Specifically, although it has been common to provide an authentication engine using face authentication in the past, in the authentication system of the prior art, face authentication could not be performed with an authentication engine in which face data was not registered. Therefore, in order to perform authentication with each of the multiple authentication engines, the user needs to register face data with each of the multiple authentication engines, which is time-consuming and stressful. In contrast, in the present embodiment, even if the features of a user's face image are registered with an authentication engine (e.g., imaging unit 30A) of a certain service facility but are not registered with an authentication engine (e.g., imaging unit 30B) of another service facility, the features of the user's face image are stored in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 for each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C, so that the user can be authenticated by capturing the user's face image with the imaging units 38A, 38B, 38C even with the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C of the service facility in which the features of the user's face image are not registered. In this case, the user does not need to register face image data for all of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, which saves the user time. This makes it possible to encourage users who do not use various services that use imaging units that do not have registered face image data because registering face image data is troublesome to use the various services without hesitation.

In addition, when the features of the user's facial image, such as a hash value, are extracted and stored in memory 16, the amount of data stored in memory 16 can be significantly reduced compared to when the user's facial image data itself is stored in memory 16. This is because the amount of data of the features of the user's facial image is smaller than the amount of data of the user's facial image data itself. In addition, since the user's facial image data itself is not stored in memory 16 in this case, the user's privacy can be protected more reliably. In addition, when information related to the features of the user's facial image is sent between authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C, the amount of data communication can be significantly reduced compared to when the user's facial image data is sent between authentication system 10 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C.

In addition, in the authentication method of this embodiment, as described above, when extracting the feature amount of the user's face image based on the received user's face image data, the feature amount of the user's face image is extracted for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, and the extracted feature amount of the user's face image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is associated with the user's identification information by the registration means 13 and stored in memory. At this time, it is also possible to deal with the case where the feature amount of the user's face image extracted by the feature amount extraction means 14 differs depending on the type of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. Note that if the same program is used for the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C and the feature amount of the user's face image extracted by the feature amount extraction means 14 is common to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, it is not necessary to extract the feature amount of the user's face image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

In addition, in the authentication method of the present embodiment, as described above, information related to the service facility selected by the user is stored in the memory 16 in association with the user's identification information, and in the process of extracting the feature amount of the user's face image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's face image data by the feature amount extraction means 14, the feature amount of the user's face image corresponding only to the imaging units of the service facility selected by the user stored in the memory 16 is extracted by the feature amount extraction means 14. In this case, the feature amount of the user's face image corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility not selected by the user is not stored in the memory 16, so security can be improved and the user can feel at ease. In addition, companies and the like that participate in the group of authentication engines managed by the authentication system 10 can appeal to customers the improved customer convenience that they can be authenticated by multiple authentication engines just by registering face image data on the user terminal 20, etc.

As described above, in the authentication method of this embodiment, the feature extraction means 14 extracts a hash value calculated from the received facial image data of the user using a predetermined hash function, as a feature of the user's facial image, for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C. In this case, the hash value is stored in the memory 16 as a feature of the user's facial image, so the amount of data stored in the memory 16 can be reduced compared to when the facial image data itself is stored in the memory 16. In addition, since it is difficult to restore or infer facial image data from the hash value, the authentication system 10 stores only the hash value, which can improve the user's privacy and security.

In this embodiment, the feature extraction means 14 is not limited to extracting the feature of the user's face image as a hash value for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's face image data. The feature extraction means 14 may extract the feature of the user's face image as a value of a different type from the hash value for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's face image data. For example, the relative position, size, shape, etc. of each part of the face (eyes, nose, ears, etc.) may be extracted as a feature of the user's face image. Even in this case, if the amount of data of the value of a type different from the hash value is less than the amount of data of the face image itself, the amount of data stored in the memory 16 can be reduced.

In addition, in the authentication method of this embodiment, as described above, in the step of extracting the feature amount of the user's face image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C by the feature amount extraction means 14 based on the received user's face image data, the feature amount of the user's face image is extracted by the feature amount extraction means 14 for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the user's face image data transmitted from the user terminal 20 held by the user. Alternatively, in the step of extracting the feature amount of the user's face image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C by the feature amount extraction means 14 based on the received user's face image data, the feature amount of the user's face image may be extracted by the feature amount extraction means 14 for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the user's face image data transmitted from one of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

In addition, in this embodiment, a program for performing an authentication method using the authentication system 10, which is executed by the processor 12, and a recording medium on which this program is recorded are used. Here, the processor 12 executes the program to receive the user's facial image data and the user's identification information, and extracts the features of the user's facial image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's facial image data. Then, information related to the features of the user's facial image for each of the extracted multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is stored in the memory 16 in association with the received user's identification information. With such a program and recording medium, it becomes possible to easily perform facial authentication using the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

In addition, in this embodiment, an authentication system 10 including a processor 12 is used. In such an authentication system 10, the processor 12 executes a program to receive a user's facial image data and the user's identification information, and extracts features of the user's facial image for each of the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C based on the received user's facial image data. Then, information related to the features of the user's facial image for each of the extracted multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is stored in memory 16 in association with the received user's identification information. According to such an authentication system 10, it becomes possible to easily perform facial authentication using the multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

The authentication method and authentication system according to the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects, and various modifications can be made.

For example, an authentication system as shown in FIG. 16 may be used. The authentication system 50 shown in FIG. 16 has a processor 52, a first server 56, a second server 58, and a third server 60. Here, each server 56, 58, and 60 corresponds to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. Specifically, the first server 56 corresponds to the imaging unit 30A, the second server 58 corresponds to the imaging unit 30B, and the third server 60 corresponds to the imaging unit 30C. In addition, although three imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C are illustrated in FIG. 16, when two or four or more imaging units are used, a server is provided in the authentication system 10 corresponding to each imaging unit. In addition, the processor 52 has a server management means 52a, a feature extraction means 54, a registration means 53, and an authentication means 55. The feature extraction means 54, registration means 53, and authentication means 55 of the processor 52 have substantially the same functions as the feature extraction means 14, registration means 13, and authentication means 15 of the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 1, 4, and 7. The server management means 52a manages each of the servers 56, 58, and 60.

Each server 56, 58, 60 stores the feature amount of the data of the user's face image corresponding to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C in association with the user's identification information. Each server 56, 58, 60 is communicably connected to each corresponding imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C via a network such as the Internet line. Each server 56, 58, 60 is configured to be collectively managed by the server management means 52a using an API (application programming interface). This makes it easier to configure the systems of each server 56, 58, 60 than when the systems (programs) of each server 56, 58, 60 are configured independently. In addition, the server management means 52a and the service facilities where each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C is installed are linked by an API. For example, by opening the platform of the server management means 52a to each service facility and using the same platform as the server management means 52a at each service facility, a system for providing services at each service facility can be easily constructed.

The authentication system 50 having such a processor 52 and each of the servers 56, 58, 60 can perform the same processing as the authentication system 10 having the processor 12. That is, according to the authentication method performed by the authentication system 50 shown in FIG. 16, the processor 52 extracts the features of the user's facial image for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C based on the received user's facial image data using the feature extraction means 54, and stores the extracted features of the user's facial image in each of the servers 56, 58, 60 in association with the user's identification information and the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C using the registration means 53.

In addition, information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in each server 56, 58, 60 is transmitted from each server 56, 58, 60 to the corresponding imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C. As a result, when authenticating a user in each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C, the imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C captures the user's facial image data, and the feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C extracts the features of the user's facial image based on the captured facial image data, thereby enabling each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C to authenticate the user. After that, the processors 32A, 32B, 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C transmit information related to the service usage status to the authentication system 10. As a result, information related to the service usage status at each service facility in the authentication system 50 is stored in each server 56, 58, 60 for each user.

As another method of authenticating a user, when authenticating a user in each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C, the user is imaged by the imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C to obtain face image data of the user, and feature extraction means 34A, 34B, 34C extracts features of the user's face image based on the obtained face image data. Then, information related to the features of the user's face image is transmitted from each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C to authentication system 50. This allows authentication of the user to be performed by authentication means 55. The authentication result of the user is then transmitted from authentication system 50 to the original imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C.

As another method for authenticating a user, when authenticating a user in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, the user's face image data is obtained by capturing an image of the user using the imaging units 38A, 38B, and 38C. Then, the user's face image data is transmitted from each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C to the authentication system 50. Then, the processor 52 extracts the feature amount of the user's face image based on the user's face image data transmitted to each of the servers 56, 58, and 60 using the feature amount extraction means 54, and compares the extracted feature amount of the user's face image with the feature amount of the user's face image stored in each of the servers 56, 58, and 60 using the authentication means 55. This makes it possible to authenticate the user using the authentication means 55. After that, the user's authentication result is transmitted from the authentication system 50 to the original imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

These authentication methods make it easy to perform facial authentication using multiple imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

In addition, in an authentication system 10 such as that shown in Figures 1, 4, 7, etc., the processor 12 may store the user's facial image data itself transmitted from the user terminal 20 and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C in the memory 16.

In the above example, the authentication system 10, 50 is installed separately from the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C installed at each service facility, but one of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C installed at each service facility may also function as the authentication system 10, 50. In other words, the processor of one of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C installed at each service facility may have a feature extraction means, registration means, and authentication means that have functions equivalent to the feature extraction means 14, registration means 13, and authentication means 15 in the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 1, 4, 7, etc.

As yet another example, the authentication system 10 may perform two-stage authentication of a user by using features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data (specifically, for example, a hash value) and an element other than the features of the user's facial image (specifically, for example, a password entered into the user terminal 20 during user registration or identification information of the user terminal 20) (two-factor authentication). In this case, the elements required for authentication may be combined depending on the security level required for the service facility's imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C.

In the above description, when a user uses the user terminal 20 to register face image data in the authentication system 10, the user enters registration information such as name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password on the user registration screen, checks the box agreeing to the terms of use, and then presses the registration button. When the user captures a face image on the imaging screen using the user terminal 20, various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's face image data are transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. The processor 12 then issues a user ID as identification information for the user, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16. However, this embodiment is not limited to such an embodiment. As another embodiment, the feature amount (specifically, for example, a hash value) of the user's face image extracted from the user's face image data by the feature amount extraction means 14 for each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C may be used as the user ID. In this case, the user ID (i.e., hash value) is different for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, but the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 links the different user IDs for the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the same user to each other.

In addition, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 may link the user ID issued as the user's identification information after receiving various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's facial image data, with the user ID (user's identification information) used in the authentication engine 30D of various service agencies that perform authentication other than facial authentication. That is, the authentication system 10 may further include a linking means 19 that links the user ID (user's identification information) used in the authentication engine 30D of the service agency that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user ID (user's identification information) related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16. Specifically, the user ID used in the authentication engine 30D of various service agencies that perform authentication other than facial authentication may be the identification information of the user terminal 20 such as a smartphone owned by the user, the user's identification information obtained from biometric information such as the user's fingerprint information or vein information (e.g., a hash value), a several-digit code (specifically, for example, a combination of numbers and Roman letters) or a password entered by the user into the user terminal 20 such as a smartphone. In this case, when a user authenticates with various service providers' authentication engines 30D that perform authentication other than facial authentication, a user ID based on the user's facial image data obtained by capturing a facial image with the user terminal (specifically, a hash value extracted from the facial image data) can be used instead, thereby improving convenience for the user. Furthermore, even after linking is performed by the linking means 19, the user ID used by the service provider's authentication engine 30D may remain. In this case, the user can be properly authenticated even when the service provider's authentication engine 30D performs user authentication in a stand-alone manner without using the cloud authentication system 10.

Also, different strengths of authentication may be set depending on the type of service facility. Specifically, for example, when the locking system of the office building or home where the user works is used as the authentication engine of the service facility, a so-called smart lock is used in which the door is unlocked by the identification information of the user terminal 20 such as a smartphone. Specifically, the identification information of the user terminal 20 is read by the Bluetooth (registered trademark) function by simply bringing the user terminal 20 close to the door of the locking system of the office building or home where the user works or a receiving device installed in the vicinity thereof, or when the user inputs a command to unlock the door using the smart lock app installed in the user terminal 20, the user is authenticated based on the identification information of the user terminal 20. Then, when authentication is performed that the user is a registered user, the door of the office building or home where the user works is unlocked. On the other hand, when a transfer system to a financial institution's account or a payment system is used as the authentication engine of the service institution, facial authentication is required when logging in to the financial institution service or payment service on the user terminal 20, and when transferring money to an account or making a payment, authentication via SMS (Short Message Service) delivery or password entry is required in addition to facial authentication. In this way, by varying the strength of authentication of the user ID depending on the application, it is possible to improve user convenience by lowering the authentication strength for authentication engines of frequently used service institutions, and to improve security by increasing the authentication strength for authentication engines of service institutions that handle money, etc.

In addition, the user may be able to add or delete service providers that perform authentication other than facial authentication in addition to the service providers related to facial authentication on the user terminal 20 on a screen such as that shown in FIG. 13. That is, in addition to the list of service providers related to facial authentication, a list of service providers that perform authentication other than facial authentication is also registered in advance in the authentication system 10. Then, when the user registers an unregistered service on the screen of the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 13, the user ID used in the authentication engine of the newly registered service provider is stored in the memory 16. At this time, the user IDs of other service providers already stored in the memory 16 and the user ID used in the authentication engine of the newly registered service provider (for example, the identification information of the user terminal 20, or a several-digit code or password entered by the user when registering a new service provider) are linked by the linking means 19. In this case, when a service provider that performs authentication other than facial authentication is newly registered, when the user authenticates with the authentication engine of this service provider, a user ID based on the user's facial image data obtained by capturing a facial image with the user terminal (specifically, a hash value extracted from the facial image data) can be used instead, thereby improving convenience for the user. Also, on the screen as shown in FIG. 13, if a service provider that performs authentication other than facial authentication has been registered, this registered service can be deleted. In this case, the registered service becomes an unregistered service. Also, the user ID corresponding to the authentication engine of the service provider related to the deleted registered service, which is stored in memory 16, is deleted.

According to the authentication system 10 of the above aspect, the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 4 to 6 and the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 7 to 9 include an information acquisition means 17 that, at the time of user registration, receives facial image data of a user from a user terminal, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory 16 as user identification information; an authentication means 15 that, at the time of user authentication, authenticates a user by comparing the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service institution or the features of the user's facial image received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16; and a linking means 19 that links the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service institution that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16. According to this authentication system 10, convenience can be improved by using the registered face image data (specifically, the features of the user's face image) in the authentication engine 30D, which performs authentication other than face authentication.

In addition, in the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3, the authentication system 10 is equipped with an information acquisition means 17 that receives facial image data of a user from a user terminal at the time of user registration, extracts features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user, and stores information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory 16 as user identification information, a communication unit 18 as a transmission means that transmits information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C of each service facility to enable authentication based on the user's facial image in the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C of each service facility, and a linking means 19 that links the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of a service facility that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16. Even with this type of authentication system 10, convenience can be improved by using registered face image data (specifically, the features of the user's face image) in the authentication engine 30D, which performs authentication other than face authentication.

In addition, in the authentication system 10 of this embodiment, the user identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service provider that performs authentication other than facial authentication includes at least one of the following: identification information of the user terminal held by the user, information obtained from biometric information other than the user's face, and a code or password entered by the user into the user terminal.

In addition, in the authentication system 10 of this embodiment, when an instruction to add a service provider's authentication engine is received from a user terminal, the linking means 19 links the user's identification information used in authentication of the added service provider's authentication engine with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16.

In addition, in the authentication system 10 of this embodiment, even after the linking means 19 links the user's identification information, the user's identification information used in the authentication engine of each service provider remains unchanged.

In addition, the information processing method using the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 4 to 6 and the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 7 to 9 includes the steps of: receiving, at the time of user registration, facial image data of the user from the user terminal 20, extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user, and storing information related to the extracted features of the user's facial image in memory 16 as user identification information; authenticating the user by comparing, at the time of user authentication, the features of the user's facial image extracted from the user's facial image data received from the service facility's imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C or the features of the user's facial image received from the service facility's imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16; and linking the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in memory 16. According to this information processing method, convenience can be improved by using the registered face image data (specifically, the features of the user's face image) in the authentication engine 30D, which performs authentication other than face authentication.

In addition, the information processing method by the authentication system 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3 includes the steps of accepting the user's facial image data from the user terminal 20 at the time of user registration, extracting the features of the user's facial image based on the accepted user's facial image data, and storing the extracted information related to the features of the user's facial image in the memory 16 as user identification information, transmitting the information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of each service facility in order to have the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of each service facility perform authentication based on the user's facial image, and linking the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service facility that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory 16. Even in such an information processing method, convenience can be improved by using the registered facial image data (specifically, the features of the user's facial image) in the authentication engine 30D that performs authentication other than facial authentication.

As yet another example, the authentication system 10 shown in FIG. 17 may be used. In the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in FIG. 17, the same components as those in the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 7 are designated by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 17, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 has a registration means 13 for registering face image data received from the user terminal 20, and an authentication means 15 for authenticating a user based on the face image data of the user captured by the imaging sections 38A-38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The processor 12 executes a program stored in the memory 16 to store the face image data of the user registered in the registration means 13 in the memory 16 in association with the identification information of the user and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The processor 12 also executes a program stored in the memory 16 to perform authentication of the user in the authentication means 15 by comparing the face image data of the user captured by the imaging sections 38A-38C of each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the face image data of the user stored in the memory 16. Note that the programs executed by the processor 12 are not limited to those stored in the memory 16. The registration means 13 and the authentication means 15 may each perform processing by having the processor 12 execute a program transmitted to the authentication system 10 from an external device or a program stored in a recording medium that is detachably attached to the authentication system 10. In this embodiment, the registration means 13 constitutes the information acquisition means 17. When a user is registered, the information acquisition means 17 accepts facial image data of the user and stores the accepted facial image data of the user in the memory 16 as the user's identification information.

Each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, 30C placed in each service facility is composed of, for example, a computer, and each imaging unit 30A, 30B, 30C has a processor 32A, 32B, 32C such as a CPU, a memory 36A, 36B, 36C, an imaging unit 38A, 38B, 38C, a processing unit 40A, 40B, 40C, and a communication unit 42A, 42B, 42C.

In the example shown in FIG. 17, the authentication system 10 and the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C located at each service facility are linked via an API (application programming interface). This makes it easier to configure the systems for each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C than if each system were configured independently.

Next, we will briefly explain the processing steps that are performed when authenticating a user using the authentication system 10 and each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C as shown in FIG. 17.

First, the process of a user registering face image data in the authentication system 10 using the user terminal 20 will be described. The specific method of the user capturing a face image using the user terminal 20 has already been described, so it will not be described here. When a user first registers using such a face recognition app on the user terminal 20, various information entered on the user registration screen and the user's face image data are transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the authentication system 10. In this way, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 receives the face image data from the user terminal 20. The processor 12 of the authentication system 10 also receives from the user terminal 20 the identification information of the user terminal 20 and the registration information entered into the user terminal 20, such as the user's name, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and password. The processor 12 also issues a user ID as the user's identification information, and stores the issued user ID in the memory 16.

Next, the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 causes the registration means 13 to store the facial image data received from the user terminal 20 in the memory 16 of the authentication system 10 in association with the user ID (user identification information) and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. In this manner, registration of the user's facial image captured by the user terminal 20 is completed. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 17, the user's facial image data stored in the memory 16 is not transmitted from the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user.

Next, the process of authenticating a user in each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C will be described. When authentication of a user is required at a service facility where each of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C is installed, first, the imaging units 38A, 38B, and 38C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C capture the user's image to obtain facial image data of the user. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C transmit the facial image data of the user captured by the imaging units 38A, 38B, and 38C to the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 via the communication units 42A, 42B, and 42C. When the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 accepts the facial image data of the user from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C, it accepts the facial image data of the user transmitted only from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C of the service facility selected by the user, which is stored in the memory 16. In the authentication system 10, the processor 12 performs user authentication by comparing the facial image data received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C with the user's facial image data stored in the memory 16 using the authentication means 15. More specifically, if the matching rate between the user's facial image data received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C and the user's facial image data stored in the memory 16 exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 80%), the authentication means 15 performs user authentication. As described above, the memory 16 stores the user's preregistered identification information and the identification information of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C in association with the user's facial image data.

When the authentication means 15 authenticates the user, information related to the authentication result is transmitted from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C via the communication unit 18. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that receive the information related to the authentication result enable the respective processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C to implement the services corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C. The processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C then transmit information related to the service usage status to the authentication system 10. As a result, information related to the service usage status at each service facility in the authentication system 10 is stored in the memory 16 for each user.

On the other hand, if the user's face image data received from the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C does not substantially match the user's face image data stored in the memory 16 and the authentication means 15 is unable to authenticate the user, information on the authentication result is sent from the processor 12 of the authentication system 10 to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C via the communication unit 18 (STEP 58). Then, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C that received the information on the authentication result disable the service corresponding to the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C via the respective processing units 40A, 40B, and 40C. In this case as well, the processors 32A, 32B, and 32C of the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C send information on the service usage status (specifically, information that the user attempted to perform authentication with the imaging units 30A, 30B, and 30C but was not authenticated and was unable to use the service) to the authentication system 10.

According to this authentication method, even if a user's facial image data is registered in an authentication engine (e.g., imaging unit 30A) of one service facility but not in an authentication engine (e.g., imaging unit 30B) of another service facility, by storing the user's facial image data in memory 16 of authentication system 10, the user can be authenticated by a service facility that does not have the user's facial image data registered by capturing an image of the user's face with an imaging unit. In this case, the user does not need to register facial image data in all of the multiple authentication engines, thereby saving the user effort.

The authentication system 10 shown in FIG. 17 also includes a linking means 19. The linking means 19 links the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service provider that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory 16. According to this authentication system 10, the registered facial image data (specifically, the user's facial image data) can be used in the authentication engine 30D that performs authentication other than facial authentication, thereby improving convenience.

In a further modified example, in the authentication system 10 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the authentication means 35A, 35B, and 35C of each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C may authenticate the user using the user's facial image data instead of the feature amount of the user's facial image. In this case, the user's facial image data registered in the authentication system 10 is transmitted to each imaging unit 30A, 30B, and 30C. In this case, the linking means 19 of the authentication system 10 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 links the user's identification information used in the authentication engine 30D of the service provider that performs authentication other than facial authentication with the user's identification information related to the user's facial image data stored in the memory 16. Even in such an authentication system 10, the convenience can be improved by using the registered facial image data (specifically, the feature amount of the user's facial image) in the authentication engine 30D that performs authentication other than facial authentication.

10 Authentication system 12 Processor 13 Registration means 14 Feature extraction means 15 Authentication means 16 Memory 17 Information acquisition means 18 Communication unit 19 Linking means 20 User terminal 30A, 30B, 30C Imaging unit 30D Authentication engine 32A, 32B, 32C Processor 34A, 34B, 34C Feature extraction means 35A, 35B, 35C Authentication means 36A, 36B, 36C Memory 38A, 38B, 38C Imaging unit 40A, 40B, 40C Processing unit 42A, 42B, 42C Communication unit 50 Authentication system 52 Processor 52a Server management means 53 Registration means 54 Feature extraction means 55 Authentication means 56 First server 58 Second server 60 Third server

Claims (9)

An information processing method performed by a face authentication system,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information ;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
Equipped with
An information processing method, wherein the feature quantities of the user's facial image stored in the memory are transmitted only to an authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user. An information processing method performed by a face authentication system,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving a feature amount of a facial image of a user from an authentication engine;
a step of authenticating a user by comparing a feature amount of the received face image of the user with a feature amount of a face image of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
transmitting information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine to which the feature amount of the user's face image was transmitted;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
Equipped with
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving features of a user's facial image from the authentication engine, the information processing method receives features of the user's facial image transmitted only from an authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory. An information processing method performed by a face authentication system,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
accepting facial image data of a user;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving facial image data of a user from an authentication engine;
extracting features of a user's facial image corresponding to the authentication engine to which the user's facial image data has been sent based on the received user's facial image data;
performing user authentication by comparing the extracted facial image feature of the user with the facial image feature of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
sending information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine from which the user's face image data was received;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal when the service provider is selected by the user from a list of service providers preregistered in a face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
Equipped with
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving information related to the user's facial image data from the authentication engine, the information processing method receives the user's facial image data transmitted only from the authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory. A program for performing an information processing method by a face recognition system, the program being executed by a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information ;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The program transmits the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory only to an authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user. A program for performing an information processing method by a face recognition system, the program being executed by a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving a feature amount of a facial image of a user from an authentication engine;
a step of authenticating a user by comparing a feature amount of the received facial image of the user with a feature amount of a facial image of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
transmitting information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine to which the feature amount of the user's face image was transmitted;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving the feature amounts of the user's facial image from the authentication engine, the program receives the feature amounts of the user's facial image transmitted only from the authentication engine of the service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory. A program for performing an information processing method by a face recognition system, the program being executed by a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
accepting facial image data of a user;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving facial image data of a user from an authentication engine;
extracting features of a user's facial image corresponding to the authentication engine to which the user's facial image data has been sent based on the received user's facial image data;
performing user authentication by comparing the extracted facial image feature of the user with the facial image feature of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
sending information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine from which the user's face image data was received;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal when the service provider is selected by the user from a list of service providers preregistered in a face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving information related to the user's facial image data from the authentication engine, the program receives the user's facial image data transmitted only from the authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory. An information processing system including a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information ;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The information processing system includes transmitting the features of the user's facial image stored in the memory only to an authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user. An information processing system including a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
receiving, from the user terminal, face image data of a user captured by the user terminal when the user is registered by a face recognition application installed in the user terminal;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving a feature amount of a facial image of a user from an authentication engine;
a step of authenticating a user by comparing a feature amount of the received facial image of the user with a feature amount of a facial image of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
transmitting information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine to which the feature amount of the user's face image was transmitted;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal by a user selecting the service provider from a list of service providers preregistered in the face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving the features of the user's facial image from the authentication engine, the information processing system receives the features of the user's facial image transmitted only from the authentication engine of the service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory. An information processing system including a processor,
When the processor executes the program,
A step of registering a list of service providers in advance;
accepting facial image data of a user;
extracting features of the user's facial image based on the received facial image data of the user;
storing the extracted feature amount of the user's face image in a memory in association with the user's identification information;
receiving facial image data of a user from an authentication engine;
extracting features of a user's facial image corresponding to the authentication engine to which the user's facial image data has been sent based on the received user's facial image data;
performing user authentication by comparing the extracted facial image feature of the user with the facial image feature of the user associated with the user's identification information stored in the memory;
sending information related to the authentication result of the user to the authentication engine from which the user's face image data was received;
receiving information on a service provider to be added from the user terminal when the service provider is selected by the user from a list of service providers preregistered in a face recognition application installed in the user terminal, and storing the service provider selected by the user in the memory in association with the user's identification information;
is executed,
The memory stores information related to a service provider selected by a user in association with the user's identification information;
When receiving information related to the user's facial image data from the authentication engine, the information processing system receives the user's facial image data transmitted only from the authentication engine of a service provider selected by the user and stored in the memory.

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