JP7613485B2 - Biometric authentication control unit, system, control method for a biometric authentication control unit, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a biometric authentication control unit, a system, a control method for a biometric authentication control unit, and a recording medium.

Services using facial recognition are becoming more widespread. For example, facial recognition is beginning to be applied to various procedures at airports (e.g., check-in, baggage drop-off, security checks, etc.). Development of ticket gates that support facial recognition is also underway.

Various technologies related to biometric authentication are being developed. For example, Patent Document 1 describes the provision of a face recognition device, face recognition method, and entrance/exit management device that uses the pedestrian's movement line to determine whether or not a person is suitable to be photographed, and changes the judgment threshold in the face matching process according to the result of this judgment, thereby significantly improving face recognition performance.

JP 2006-236260 A

Problems can arise when applying biometric authentication to gate devices used by many users, such as ticket gates installed at train stations. Specifically, problems can arise when authentication of a person standing in front of the gate device begins, but another person cuts in front of that person. In this case, there is a possibility that an unauthenticated person will be allowed to pass through.

However, this problem cannot be solved by applying the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, because the technology in Patent Document 1 only determines whether or not a pedestrian is suitable to be photographed.

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a biometric authentication control unit, a system, a control method for a biometric authentication control unit, and a recording medium that contribute to appropriately controlling the passage of users.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a biometric authentication control unit comprising: an authenticatee detection means for detecting a person at a predetermined position as an authenticatee; a request means for transmitting an authentication request including biometric information of the detected authenticatee to a server device; a tracking means for tracking the detected authenticatee; and a notification means for determining whether the authenticatee is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of biometric authentication of the authenticatee by the server device and the result of tracking determination of the authenticatee at the entrance of the gate device, and notifying the gate device of the determination result.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a system is provided that includes a server device that stores biometric information of each of a plurality of users and performs biometric authentication, a biometric authentication unit connected to the server device, and a gate device connected to the biometric authentication control unit, wherein the biometric authentication control unit comprises: authenticated person detection means that detects a person at a predetermined position as an authenticated person; request means that transmits an authentication request including the biometric information of the detected authenticated person to the server device; tracking means that tracks the detected authenticated person; and notification means that determines whether the authenticated person is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of the biometric authentication of the authenticated person by the server device and the result of the tracking determination of the authenticated person at the entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the determination result.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a control method for a biometric authentication control unit is provided, in which a biometric authentication control unit detects a person at a predetermined position as an authenticatee, transmits an authentication request including biometric information of the detected authenticatee to a server device, tracks the detected authenticatee, and determines whether the authenticatee is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of the biometric authentication of the authenticatee by the server device and the result of the tracking determination of the authenticatee at the entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the determination result.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer mounted on a biometric authentication control unit to execute the following processes: detecting a person at a predetermined position as an authenticatee; transmitting an authentication request including biometric information of the detected authenticatee to a server device; tracking the detected authenticatee; and determining whether the authenticatee is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of biometric authentication of the authenticatee by the server device and the result of tracking determination of the authenticatee at the entrance of the gate device, and notifying the gate device of the determination result.

According to each aspect of the present invention, a biometric authentication control unit, a system, a control method for a biometric authentication control unit, and a recording medium are provided that contribute to appropriately controlling the passage of users. Note that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above. The present invention may achieve other effects instead of or in addition to the effects.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an authentication system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic operation of an authentication system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of a biometric authentication control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an authentication-subjected user information table according to the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication request according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of table information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of a gate device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the biometric authentication control unit and the gate device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of a server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user information database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an authentication status database according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation of the authentication system according to the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining the operation of the gate device according to the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining the operation of the gate device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a biometric authentication control unit according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a gate device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of a gate device according to a modified example of the present disclosure.

First, an overview of one embodiment will be described. The reference numbers in the drawings are added to each element for convenience as an example to aid in understanding, and the description of this overview is not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the blocks shown in each drawing represent functional units rather than hardware units. The connection lines between blocks in each drawing include both bidirectional and unidirectional. The unidirectional arrows are used to show the main signal (data) flow diagrammatically, and do not exclude bidirectionality. In this specification and drawings, elements that can be described in the same way may be given the same reference numbers to avoid duplicated explanations.

The biometric authentication control unit 100 according to one embodiment includes an authenticatee detection unit 101, a request unit 102, a tracking unit 103, and a notification unit 104 (see FIG. 1). The authenticatee detection unit 101 detects a person at a predetermined position as an authenticatee. The request unit 102 transmits an authentication request including biometric information of the detected authenticatee to the server device. The tracking unit 103 tracks the detected authenticatee. The notification unit 104 determines whether the authenticatee can pass through the gate device based on the result of biometric authentication of the authenticatee by the server device and the result of tracking determination of the authenticatee at the entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the determination result.

The biometric authentication control unit 100 detects a user who is a predetermined distance away from the gate device as a person to be authenticated. When the biometric authentication control unit 100 detects the person to be authenticated, it starts biometric authentication and tracking of the person to be authenticated. After that, when the person to be authenticated arrives at the gate device (arrives at the entrance of the gate device), the biometric authentication control unit 100 judges whether or not tracking of the person to be authenticated is successful. When the biometric authentication control unit 100 succeeds in authenticating the person to be authenticated and tracking that started from a predetermined position is successful at least at the entrance, the biometric authentication control unit 100 allows the person to pass through the gate. In this way, when the biometric authentication control unit 100 succeeds in biometric authentication of the person to be authenticated and successfully tracks the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device, the person to be authenticated can pass through the gate device. In other words, as for a user who cuts in from the side of the person to be authenticated, biometric authentication and tracking will not be successful, and the person cannot pass through the gate device. In other words, the passage of the user is appropriately controlled.

Specific embodiments are described in further detail below with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
The first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the authentication system according to the first embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, the authentication system includes a plurality of gate devices 10-1 to 10-3 and a server device 20.

In the following explanation, unless there is a particular reason to distinguish between gate devices 10-1 to 10-3, they will simply be referred to as "gate device 10." Similarly, for other configurations, the symbol to the left of the hyphen will represent that configuration.

The gate device 10 and the server device 20 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via wired or wireless communication means. The server device 20 may be installed in the same building as the gate device 10, or may be installed on a network (cloud).

The gate device 10 is a device installed, for example, at an airport or a station. The gate device 10 controls the passage of users. In the first embodiment, the gate device 10 is described as a ticket gate installed at a station. However, it is of course not intended to limit the gate device 10 to a ticket gate installed at a station.

The server device 20 is a device that controls the entire authentication system. The server device 20 is a device that performs biometric authentication of a user attempting to pass through the gate device 10. If the user has the qualifications (authority) to pass through the gate device 10, the server device 20 allows the user to pass. If the user does not have the qualifications to pass through the gate device 10, the server device 20 denies the user passage.

[System Operation Overview]
Next, an outline of the operation of the authentication system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Fig. 3, the gate device 10 includes a camera 11 that is installed so as to be able to capture an image of a user walking toward the gate device 10. The gate device 10 also includes detection sensors 12 and 13 for detecting a user who has entered the device, and a gate 14 for controlling the passage of users.

Furthermore, the gate device 10 is equipped with a biometric authentication control unit 15. The biometric authentication control unit 15 is a unit that can be retrofitted (added on) to the gate device 10. The gate device 10 and the biometric authentication control unit 15 are connected by a bus standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) or PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect). The biometric authentication control unit 15 is also configured to be able to communicate with the camera 11 and the detection sensors 12 and 13, and realizes the biometric authentication function of the gate device 10 by controlling (using) these devices.

The biometric authentication control unit 15 detects a person (user, passenger) present at a location a predetermined distance away from the gate device 10 (e.g., position X1 in Figure 3).

When a user is detected at position X1, the biometric authentication control unit 15 requests the server device 20 to perform biometric authentication of the detected user. Specifically, the biometric authentication control unit 15 transmits an "authentication request" including the user's biometric information to the server device 20.

In addition, the biometric authentication control unit 15 starts tracking the above-mentioned user (the person to be authenticated detected at position X1) at substantially the same timing as the transmission of the authentication request (start of authentication).

In this way, when the biometric authentication control unit 15 detects a person to be authenticated at position X1, it requests authentication from the server device 20 and starts tracking the person to be authenticated at substantially the same time.

The server device 20, which receives the authentication request, identifies the user through a matching process (authentication process) using pre-registered biometric information. The server device 20 determines whether the identified user is qualified to pass through the gate device 10. For example, the server device 20 checks the charge amount of the pre-registered user and determines whether the authenticated person can pass through. Note that the server device 20 may query an external server, etc. when determining whether the authenticated person can pass through. Whether or not to query an external server, etc. depends on the system specifications, design, etc., and is also different from the purpose of the present disclosure, so a description of the system configuration including the external server will be omitted.

The server device 20 transmits a response to the authentication request (authentication result) to the biometric authentication control unit 15 that sent the request. Specifically, if the server device 20 determines that "passage is permitted," it notifies the biometric authentication control unit 15 of "authentication success." If the server device 20 determines that "passage is not permitted," it notifies the biometric authentication control unit 15 of "authentication failure."

While the server device 20 is processing the authentication request, the person to be authenticated (the person photographed at position X1) moves toward the gate device 10. For example, when the person to be authenticated moves to position X2, the biometric authentication control unit 15 receives a response to the authentication request from the server device 20.

Even if the authentication result is received from the server device 20, the biometric authentication control unit 15 continues to track the person to be authenticated. Even if the biometric authentication control unit 15 receives the authentication result from the server device 20, it does not instruct the gate device 10 to open or close the gate 14 at that timing.

The person to be authenticated approaches further toward the gate device 10 and enters inside (the person to be authenticated reaches position X3). The gate device 10 detects that the person to be authenticated has entered inside the gate device 10 based on a detection signal from the detection sensor 12 installed at the entrance of the gate device 10. When the gate device 10 detects the person to be authenticated, it notifies the biometric authentication control unit 15 of this fact.

When the biometric authentication control unit 15 recognizes that a user has entered the gate device 10, it makes a final determination regarding tracking of the person to be authenticated. The biometric authentication control unit 15 makes a final determination of tracking at the time when it is determined that the person to be authenticated has entered the gate device 10 (position X3). The biometric authentication control unit 15 determines that "tracking is complete" when it has been able to track the face of the same person between positions X1 and X3.

When the biometric authentication control unit 15 makes a final judgment regarding tracking, if the authentication by the server device 20 is successful and tracking is complete, it determines that the user (person to be authenticated) is permitted to pass through the gate device 10 and notifies the gate device 10 of this fact. More specifically, the biometric authentication control unit 15 sends a "passage permission notification" to the gate device 10.

The person to be authenticated proceeds further inside the gate device 10 from the entrance. When the user proceeds to a predetermined position (position X4) of the gate device 10, the gate device 10 detects the person to be authenticated based on a detection signal from a detection sensor 13 installed in the middle of the device.

If the gate device 10 receives a "passage permission notification" at the time a user is detected, it will keep the gate 14 open and allow the user to pass through the gate.

On the other hand, if the gate device 10 does not receive a "passage permission notification" at the time the user is detected, it closes the gate 14 to restrict the user's passage.

Examples of the user's biometric information include data (features) calculated from physical features unique to an individual, such as the face or iris pattern. Alternatively, the user's biometric information may be image data such as a face image or iris image. The user's biometric information may include information on the user's physical features. In the first embodiment, a description will be given using a person's face image or features generated from the face image as biometric information.

Various methods can be considered for tracking a user. For example, in the present disclosure, tracking using a face image or tracking using a body shape image can be used. In the first embodiment, a case is described in which a person to be authenticated is tracked using face tracking using a face image (face area).

The configuration shown in FIG. 2 etc. is an example and is not intended to limit the system configuration. For example, an authentication system may include at least one gate device 10. Each gate device 10 may be installed in the same location (e.g., the same station) or in different locations.

Next, details of the biometric authentication control unit 15, gate device 10 and server device 20 included in the authentication system of the first embodiment will be described.

[Biometric authentication control unit]
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a processing configuration (processing module) of the biometric authentication control unit 15 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 4, the biometric authentication control unit 15 includes a communication control unit 201, an authenticated user detection unit 202, an authentication request unit 203, an authenticated user tracking unit 204, a passage permission notification unit 205, a table management unit 206, a message output unit 207, and a storage unit 208.

The communication control unit 201 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 201 receives data (packets) from the server device 20. The communication control unit 201 also transmits data to the server device 20. The communication control unit 201 passes the data received from the other devices to the other processing modules. The communication control unit 201 transmits the data acquired from the other processing modules to the other devices. In this way, the other processing modules send and receive data to and from the other devices via the communication control unit 201.

The authenticated person detection unit 202 is a means for detecting an authenticated person. The authenticated person detection unit 202 detects a person at a position (predetermined position) a predetermined distance away from the gate device 10 as an authenticated person. More specifically, the authenticated person detection unit 202 detects whether or not a person is present at a position (position X1 in Figure 3) a predetermined distance away from the gate device 10.

The subject detection unit 202 acquires image data from the camera 11 periodically or at a predetermined timing. The subject detection unit 202 attempts to extract a facial image from the acquired image data.

Since existing technology can be used for the facial image extraction process by the authenticated person detection unit 202, detailed explanation will be omitted. For example, the authenticated person detection unit 202 may extract a facial image (facial area) from image data using a learning model trained by a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). Alternatively, the authenticated person detection unit 202 may extract a facial image using a method such as template matching.

When a face image is extracted, the person to be authenticated detection unit 202 calculates the eye distance from the face image. Specifically, the person to be authenticated detection unit 202 extracts the left and right eyes from the face image and calculates the length (number of pixels) of the straight line connecting the extracted eyes.

The authenticatee detection unit 202 performs threshold processing on the calculated eye-to-eye distance and determines whether or not the authenticatee is present at the above-mentioned specified position (position X1) based on the result. Specifically, if the eye-to-eye distance is longer than the threshold, the authenticatee detection unit 202 determines that it has detected the authenticatee at the specified position. If the eye-to-eye distance is equal to or less than the threshold, the authenticatee detection unit 202 determines that the authenticatee is not present at the specified position.

When an authenticated person is detected at a predetermined position (position X1), the authenticated person detection unit 202 adds an entry to the authenticated person information table. The authenticated person detection unit 202 assigns an authenticated person ID (identifier) that identifies the authenticated person, and stores the authenticated person ID in a new entry. The authenticated person detection unit 202 also stores the time when the authenticated person was registered in the authenticated person information table (the time when the new entry was added) in the authenticated person information table.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of an authenticated person information table according to the first embodiment. The authenticated person information table is constructed on the memory of the biometric authentication control unit 15. As shown in the bottom row of Figure 5, when the authenticated person detection unit 202 detects a person at position X1, it adds an entry to the authenticated person information table and sets the detected person as the authenticated person. Note that when the entry is added, nothing is set in the authentication status field, tracking ID field, and tracking status field.

The authentication status field is a field for managing the status of the biometric authentication of the person being authenticated.The tracking ID field is a field for storing the tracking ID described below.The tracking status field is a field for managing the tracking status of the person being authenticated.

When registration of the authenticated person is completed, the authenticated person detection unit 202 passes the authenticated person ID and the facial image at the time of detection of the authenticated person to the authentication request unit 203 and the authenticated person tracking unit 204. More precisely, the authenticated person detection unit 202 outputs an "authentication request instruction" accompanied by the authenticated person ID and facial image to the authentication request unit 203. The authenticated person detection unit 202 outputs a "tracking start instruction" accompanied by the authenticated person ID and facial image to the authenticated person tracking unit 204.

The authentication request unit 203 is a means for requesting the server device 20 to authenticate the person to be authenticated detected by the person to be authenticated detection unit 202. Upon receiving an authentication request instruction from the person to be authenticated detection unit 202, the authentication request unit 203 generates a feature (a feature vector consisting of multiple feature amounts) from the acquired facial image.

Since existing technology can be used for the process of generating features, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. For example, the authentication request unit 203 extracts the eyes, nose, mouth, etc. as feature points from the face image. After that, the authentication request unit 203 calculates the position of each feature point and the distance between each feature point as feature amounts, and generates a feature vector (vector information that characterizes the face image) consisting of multiple feature amounts.

The authentication request unit 203 generates an authentication request including the generated feature (biometric information), the authenticatee ID, and the gate ID, and transmits it to the server device 20 (see FIG. 6). The gate ID is identification information for identifying the gate device 10. The gate ID may be the MAC (Media Access Control) address or the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the gate device 10. Alternatively, the gate ID may be identification information unique to the system (identification ID). By holding the identification ID as a master on the server device 20 side, it can be determined that the transmitted authentication request is from an authorized gate device 10.

When an authentication request is sent to the server device 20, the authentication request unit 203 sets the authentication status field of the corresponding entry (the entry with the same authenticated user ID) in the authenticated user information table to "authenticating" (see the second entry from the bottom in Figure 5).

The authentication request unit 203 receives a response (response including the authentication result) from the server device 20 to the authentication request. The authentication request unit 203 extracts the authenticatee ID from the received response. The authentication request unit 203 identifies the authenticatee based on the extracted authenticatee ID, and registers the authentication result in the corresponding entry in the authenticatee information table (see the first and second entries from the top in Figure 5).

The authenticated person tracking unit 204 is a means for tracking the authenticated person (user at position X1) detected by the authenticated person detection unit 202. When the authenticated person tracking unit 204 receives a tracking start instruction from the authenticated person detection unit 202, it starts tracking the person corresponding to the acquired facial image. The authenticated person tracking unit 204 assigns a "tracking ID" to the facial image for which tracking has started, and manages the facial image being tracked.

The authenticated person tracking unit 204 manages the tracking of the authenticated person using table information that associates the facial image of the tracking target with a tracking ID, for example, as shown in Figure 7.

When tracking of an authenticated person is started (when a tracking ID is assigned to a facial image), the authenticated person tracking unit 204 stores the tracking ID in the tracking ID field of the corresponding authenticated person (the entry corresponding to the authenticated person ID acquired from the authenticated person detection unit 202). In addition, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 sets "Tracking" in the tracking status field of the corresponding authenticated person (see the third entry from the bottom in Figure 5).

The authenticated person tracking unit 204 acquires image data from the camera 11 periodically or at a predetermined timing. The authenticated person tracking unit 204 uses the acquired image data to determine whether the authenticated person has been tracked. Specifically, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 judges that tracking has been successful if it can obtain a facial image that is the same as a previous facial image (e.g., a facial image at the start of tracking) by translating, rotating, or scaling the acquired image data. If such a facial image is not obtained, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 judges that tracking has been unsuccessful. Note that since existing processing can be used for tracking processing using facial images, further explanation will be omitted.

The authenticated user tracking unit 204 reflects the result of the tracking judgment in the authenticated user information table. Specifically, the authenticated user tracking unit 204 sets the tracking status of the entry corresponding to the tracking ID of the tracking target that was judged to be a tracking success to "Tracking in progress". In contrast, the authenticated user tracking unit 204 sets the tracking status of the entry corresponding to the tracking ID of the tracking target that was judged to be a tracking failure to "Tracking failed" (see the third entry from the top in Figure 5).

In this way, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 overwrites the tracking status of an authenticated person who has been successfully tracked with "Tracking in progress", and sets the tracking status of an authenticated person who has not been successfully tracked to "Tracking failed". If image data is acquired and a tracking determination is performed at the time when another user passes in front of the authenticated person, "Tracking failed" may be set in the authenticated person information table. "Tracking failed" may also be set if the authenticated person leaves the gate device 10 and turns back. However, even if "Tracking failed" is set for an entry, if the tracking determination is subsequently successful, "Tracking in progress" will be set.

The authenticated person tracking unit 204 obtains a "tracking final determination instruction" from the intruder detection unit 302 of the gate device 10 described later. The authenticated person tracking unit 204 receives the tracking final determination instruction accompanied by image data from the intruder detection unit 302.

In accordance with the instruction, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 performs a tracking determination using the image data acquired from the intruder detection unit 302. That is, in response to the intruder detection unit 302 detecting an intruder, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 performs a final determination (last tracking determination) regarding tracking of the authenticated person.

When the final tracking judgment is completed, the authenticated user tracking unit 204 registers the judgment result in the authenticated user information table. More specifically, when the final tracking judgment is successful, the authenticated user tracking unit 204 sets the tracking status of the entry corresponding to the tracking ID for which the judgment was successful to "Tracking completed" (see the top entry in Figure 5).

If the final tracking determination fails, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 does not perform any special processing. In the final tracking determination, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 does not set "tracking failed" for the authenticated person whose tracking has failed.

In this way, when the authenticated person is successfully tracked between position X1 where the authenticated person was detected and position X3 where the authenticated person entered the gate device 10, the authenticated person tracking unit 204 sets "tracking completed" in the authenticated person information table.

When the authenticated person tracking unit 204 completes the final judgment (last tracking judgment) regarding the tracking of the authenticated person, it notifies the passage permission notification unit 205 of this fact.

The passage permission notification unit 205 is a means for notifying the gate device 10 of whether or not the authenticated person (user) is permitted to pass through the gate device 10. The passage permission notification unit 205 determines whether or not the authenticated person is permitted to pass through the gate device 10 based on the result of biometric authentication of the authenticated person by the server device 20 and the result of tracking determination of the authenticated person at the entrance of the gate device 10, and notifies the gate device 10 of the determination result.

The passage permission notification unit 205 and the authenticated person tracking unit 204 access the authenticated person information table when the final tracking determination regarding the authenticated person is completed.

The passage permission notification unit 205 checks the authentication status field and tracking status field of each entry contained in the authenticated person information table. If there is an entry in which the setting value of the authentication status field is "authentication successful" and the setting value of the tracking status field is "tracking ended", the passage permission notification unit 205 allows the authenticated person to pass through the gate device 10. Specifically, if there is an entry that satisfies the above two conditions, the passage permission notification unit 205 notifies the gate device 10 that the user can pass through the gate device 10. The passage permission notification unit 205 transmits a "passage permission notification" to the gate device 10.

In the example of FIG. 5, since the topmost entry satisfies the above two conditions, the passage permission notification unit 205 transmits a "passage permission notification" to the gate device 10. In this way, when a final determination regarding the tracking of the authenticated person is made in response to the detection of an entrant at the entrance of the gate device 10, the passage permission notification unit 205 determines whether or not the authenticated person can pass through the gate device 10. That is, the passage permission notification unit 205 determines whether or not the authenticated person can pass through the gate device based on the result of the biometric authentication and the result of the final determination. When the result of the biometric authentication by the server device 20 is successful authentication and the result of the final determination of tracking is successful, the passage permission notification unit 205 transmits a passage permission notification to the gate device 10 indicating that the authenticated person can pass through the gate device 10.

When the passage permission notification unit 205 permits a user (authenticated person) to pass through the gate, it deletes the entry that was the basis for that permission. In the example of Figure 5, the passage permission notification unit 205 deletes the top entry.

In this way, the passage permission notification unit 205 judges whether or not a user can pass through the gate based on the set values in the authentication status field and the tracking status field of the authenticated person information table. As described above, when the authenticated person detection unit 202 detects an authenticated person at a specified position, it adds an entry to the authenticated person information table. When the authentication request unit 203 receives the result of the biometric authentication from the server device 20, it sets the received biometric authentication result in the authentication status field of the added entry. The authenticated person tracking unit 204 sets the result of the tracking judgment in the tracking status field of the added entry.

The passage permission notification unit 205 may receive a "gate closed notification" from the gate device 10. When the passage permission notification unit 205 receives this notification, it continues to access the authenticated person information table for a predetermined period of time and checks whether an entry that satisfies the above two conditions appears (exists). If an entry that satisfies the above two conditions appears during the predetermined period of time, the passage permission notification unit 205 allows the authenticated person (user) to pass through the gate. Specifically, if an entry that satisfies the above two conditions appears, the passage permission notification unit 205 sends a "passage permission notification" to the gate device 10.

For example, the above phenomenon may occur if there is a delay in reflecting the authentication result (authentication success) from the server device 20 in the authenticated person information table due to the network environment between the gate device 10 and the server device 20. Alternatively, the above phenomenon may occur if the authenticated person tries to run through the gate device 10.

If no entry that satisfies the above two conditions appears even after a predetermined period of time has passed, the passage permission notification unit 205 notifies a station employee (a terminal used by the station employee) of the occurrence of a problem. Alternatively, the passage permission notification unit 205 may prompt the authenticated person to approach the station employee via the message output unit 207.

The table management unit 206 is a means for managing the authenticated user information table. The table management unit 206 accesses the authenticated user information table periodically or at a predetermined timing, and deletes entries that are no longer necessary.

The table management unit 206 checks the registration time field of each entry and deletes entries for which a predetermined period of time has passed since the entry was added to the authenticated user information table. In other words, the table management unit 206 deletes entries that do not satisfy the above two conditions (authentication successful, tracking completed) even after a predetermined period of time has passed since the entry was registered.

By such operation of the table management unit 206, even if a user detected as an authenticated person moves elsewhere instead of heading toward the gate device 10, the entry for such an authenticated person is deleted.

When an entry is deleted, the table management unit 206 may notify the server device 20 and the authenticated person tracking unit 204 of the deletion. The table management unit 206 may notify the server device 20 of the authenticated person ID and cancel the authentication of the corresponding authenticated person. The table management unit 206 may also notify the authenticated person tracking unit 204 of the tracking ID and instruct it to remove the face image corresponding to the tracking ID from the target of face tracking.

The message output unit 207 is a means for outputting messages to notify the user. The message output unit 207 notifies the user of necessary messages using a display (not shown) or a speaker (not shown), etc. For example, if the gate control unit 303 of the gate device 10 denies a user passage, the message output unit 207 outputs a message to that effect along with a message regarding countermeasures (for example, contacting a station staff member).

The memory unit 208 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the biometric authentication control unit 15.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a processing configuration (processing module) of the gate device 10 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Figure 8, the communication control unit 301, the gate device 10 includes an intruder detection unit 302, a gate control unit 303, and a memory unit 304.

The communication control unit 301 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 301 receives data (packets) from the biometric authentication control unit 15. The communication control unit 301 also transmits data to the biometric authentication control unit 15. The communication control unit 301 passes on data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 301 transmits data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, the other processing modules send and receive data to and from other devices via the communication control unit 301.

The intruder detection unit 302 is a means for detecting an intruder into its own device (gate device 10). More specifically, the intruder detection unit 302 detects an intruder at the entrance of the gate device 10. The intruder detection unit 302 detects an intruder using a detection signal from the detection sensor 12. When an intruder is detected, the intruder detection unit 302 acquires image data from the camera 11. The intruder detection unit 302 transmits a "final tracking determination instruction" accompanied by the acquired image data to the biometric authentication control unit 15.

In addition, the entering person detection unit 302 detects a user who has reached the midpoint of the gate device 10 (position X4 in Figure 3) using the detection signal from the detection sensor 13. When the entering person detection unit 302 detects a user at position X4, it notifies the gate control unit 303 of this fact.

The gate control unit 303 is a means for controlling the gate 14 provided in the gate device 10. The gate control unit 303 controls the opening and closing of the gate 14 when a user reaches a predetermined position of the gate device 10 (position X4 in Figure 3).

If the gate control unit 303 has already received a "passage permission notification" from the biometric authentication control unit 15 at the time the user reaches position X4, the gate control unit 303 keeps the gate 14 open. On the other hand, if the gate control unit 303 has not received a "passage permission notification" from the biometric authentication control unit 15 at that time, the gate control unit 303 closes the gate 14.

When the gate is closed, the gate control unit 303 notifies the biometric authentication control unit 15 accordingly. Specifically, the gate control unit 303 transmits a "gate closed notification" to the biometric authentication control unit 15. If the gate control unit 303 receives a "user permission to pass" within a predetermined period of time after transmitting the gate closed notification, it opens the gate 14.

The gate control unit 303 notifies the server device 20 via the biometric authentication control unit 15 of the fact that the authenticated person has passed through the gate 14. Specifically, when the gate control unit 303 detects the user at position X4 and receives a passage permission notification from the biometric authentication control unit 15, and allows the user to pass through the gate, it notifies the biometric authentication control unit 15 of that effect. The passage permission notification unit 205 of the biometric authentication control unit 15 transmits a "gate passage notification" to the server device 20, which includes the authenticated person ID and the gate ID of the gate device 10, which are recorded in the entry (entry of the authenticated person information table) that was the basis for transmitting the passage permission notification. That is, the gate device 10 (biometric authentication control unit 15) transmits a "gate passage notification" to the server device 20, which includes the authenticated person ID and gate ID of the authenticated person who passed through the gate 14.

The memory unit 304 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the gate device 10.

Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation of the biometric authentication control unit 15 and gate device 10 in the first embodiment.

The biometric authentication control unit 15 attempts to detect the person to be authenticated at a location a predetermined distance away from the gate device 10 (step S101). If the person to be authenticated is not detected (step S101, No branch), the biometric authentication control unit 15 repeats the process of step S101.

When a person to be authenticated is detected (step S101, Yes branch), the biometric authentication control unit 15 starts an authentication request and tracking of the person to be authenticated (steps S102, S103). The biometric authentication control unit 15 starts tracking of the person to be authenticated at the same time as the authentication request unit 203 transmits the authentication request.

The biometric authentication control unit 15 receives the authentication result from the server device 20 (step S104). The biometric authentication control unit 15 reflects the authentication result in the authenticatee information table.

The gate device 10 determines whether the person to be authenticated has reached the entrance of the gate device 10 (step S201). If the person to be authenticated has not reached the entrance (step S201, No branch), the gate device 10 repeats the process of step S201.

When the person to be authenticated reaches the entrance (step S201, Yes branch), the gate device 10 sends a final tracking determination instruction to the biometric authentication control unit 15 (step S202).

In response to the instruction, the biometric authentication control unit 15 performs a final tracking determination (step S105). The biometric authentication control unit 15 reflects the result of the final tracking determination in the authenticatee information table.

If, at the time of final determination, the biometric authentication control unit 15 has successfully authenticated the authenticated person and has completed tracking of the authenticated person, it sends a notification of permission to pass to the gate device 10 (step S106).

The gate device 10 determines whether the person to be authenticated has reached a predetermined position of the gate device 10 (step S203). If the person to be authenticated has not reached the predetermined position (step S203, No branch), the gate device 10 repeats the process of step S203.

When the authenticated person reaches the predetermined position (step S203, Yes branch), the gate device 10 controls the opening and closing of the gate 14 (step S204). If the gate device 10 has received a passage permission notification, it allows the authenticated person to pass through. In other words, if the gate device 10 has not received a passage permission notification when the authenticated person reaches the predetermined position (near the gate 14 of the gate device 10; position X4), it closes the gate 14 to block the user's passage.

In this way, the gate device 10 allows the authenticated person to pass through the gate 14 if the result of the biometric authentication of the authenticated person is successful and the result of the final judgment regarding the tracking of the authenticated person is successful.

In addition, when the gate device 10 allows the authenticated person to pass, it notifies the server device 20 of this fact.

[Server device]
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing configuration (processing module) of the server device 20 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 10, the server device 20 includes a communication control unit 401, a user registration unit 402, an authentication unit 403, a gate passage notification processing unit 404, and a storage unit 405.

The communication control unit 401 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 401 receives data (packets) from the biometric authentication control unit 15. The communication control unit 401 also transmits data to the biometric authentication control unit 15. The communication control unit 401 passes the data received from the other device to the other processing module. The communication control unit 401 transmits the data acquired from the other processing module to the other device. In this way, the other processing module transmits and receives data with the other device via the communication control unit 401.

The user registration unit 402 is a means for registering users who can pass through the gate device 10 in the system. The user registration unit 402 acquires biometric information (e.g., facial images) of users who can pass through the gate device 10 using any means.

For example, a system user inputs biometric information and personal information (such as name and address) into the server device 20 using a railway company's web page or a kiosk terminal installed at a station.

When the user registration unit 402 acquires a facial image, it calculates features from the facial image. The user registration unit 402 registers the user's biometric information (e.g., features calculated from the facial image) together with a user ID that identifies the system user (person who has registered the biometric information) in a "user information database" (see FIG. 11).

The user registration unit 402 registers information (business information) necessary for user authentication processing in the user information database as necessary. For example, when the server device 20 processes an authentication request from a ticket gate (gate device 10) installed in a station, the user registration unit 402 associates information such as the charge amount with biometric information and stores them in the user information database.

The user information database shown in FIG. 11 is an example, and other items may be stored in association with biometric information (feature amounts). For example, the user's name and face image may be registered in the user information database.

The authentication unit 403 is a means for processing an authentication request received from the biometric authentication control unit 15 (gate device 10). When the authentication unit 403 receives an authentication request, it extracts the gate ID and the authenticatee ID from the authentication request. The authentication unit 403 adds a new entry to the authentication status database and stores the extracted gate ID and authenticatee ID (see Figure 12). The authentication unit 403 also sets the processing status of the added entry to "processing". For ease of understanding, in Figure 12, the symbol for the gate device 10 is used for the gate ID.

When information is registered in the authentication status database, the authentication unit 403 sets the biometric information (feature) included in the authentication request as the target for matching and performs a matching process with the biometric information registered in the user information database.

More specifically, the authentication unit 403 sets the features extracted from the authentication request as the target for matching, and performs a 1-to-N (N is a positive integer, same below) match with multiple features registered in the user information database.

The authentication unit 403 calculates the similarity between the feature (feature vector) to be matched and each of the multiple feature on the registration side. The similarity can be calculated using chi-square distance, Euclidean distance, or the like. Note that the greater the distance, the lower the similarity, and the closer the distance, the higher the similarity.

If no feature with a similarity greater than or equal to a predetermined value is registered in the user information database, the authentication unit 403 sets the authentication result to "authentication failed."

If a feature whose similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is registered in the user information database, the authentication unit 403 determines whether the user identified by the matching process is qualified to pass through the gate device 10.

For example, when processing an authentication request received from a gate device 10 for entering a station, the authentication unit 403 determines whether the charge amount of the identified user is equal to or greater than the minimum fare. If the charge amount balance is equal to or less than the minimum fare, the authentication unit 403 determines that the identified user is not eligible to pass through the gate device 10. If the charge amount balance is greater than the minimum fare, the authentication unit 403 determines that the identified user is eligible to pass through the gate device 10.

For example, when processing an authentication request received from gate device 10 for exiting a station, authentication unit 403 determines whether or not a boarding station is set for the identified user. If a boarding station is not set, authentication unit 403 determines that the identified user is not eligible to pass through gate device 10. If a boarding station is set, authentication unit 403 calculates a fare according to the user's route (route between the boarding station and the disembarking station). If the calculated fare exceeds the charge amount, authentication unit 403 determines that the user is not eligible to pass through gate device 10. If the calculated fare is equal to or less than the charge amount, authentication unit 403 determines that the identified user is eligible to pass through gate device 10.

If the identified user is not qualified to pass through the gate device 10, the authentication unit 403 sets the authentication result to "authentication failed."

If the identified user is qualified to pass through the gate device 10, the authentication unit 403 sets the authentication result to "authentication successful."

The authentication unit 403 transmits the authentication result (authentication successful, authentication failed) to the biometric authentication control unit 15 (gate device 10). If the authentication is successful, the authentication unit 403 transmits a positive response indicating successful authentication to the biometric authentication control unit 15. At that time, the authentication unit 403 transmits a positive response including the authenticatee ID of the user who was the subject of the authentication process to the biometric authentication control unit 15.

If authentication fails, the authentication unit 403 transmits a negative response indicating authentication failure to the biometric authentication control unit 15. When transmitting a negative response, the authentication unit 403 may also notify the biometric authentication control unit 15 of the cause of the authentication failure. For example, the authentication unit 403 may transmit to the biometric authentication control unit 15 the cause of the authentication failure, such as biometric information not being registered in the system, insufficient charge amount, or the boarding station not being set. Also, when authentication fails, the authentication unit 403 transmits to the biometric authentication control unit 15 a negative response including the authenticatee ID of the user who was the subject of the authentication process.

When a response to an authentication request is sent to the gate device 10, the authentication unit 403 sets the corresponding entry in the authentication status database to "responded". In addition, when the authentication success is notified to the gate device 10, the authentication unit 403 sets the user ID of the person who was successfully authenticated (the user who was determined to have been successfully authenticated) to the user ID of the corresponding entry.

The gate passage notification processing unit 404 is a means for processing the gate passage notification received from the gate device 10 (biometric authentication control unit 15). The gate passage notification processing unit 404 extracts the gate ID and the authenticated user ID from the received notification. The gate passage notification processing unit 404 searches the authentication status database using the gate ID and the authenticated user ID as keys, and identifies the corresponding entry.

The gate passage notification processing unit 404 reads the user ID from the user ID field of the identified entry. The gate passage notification processing unit 404 searches the user information database using the read user ID as a key to identify the corresponding entry.

The gate passage notification processing unit 404 performs processing associated with the user's passage through the gate for the identified entry.

For example, when processing a gate passing notification received from a gate device 10 for entering a station, the gate passing notification processing unit 404 sets the station where the gate device 10 is installed as the boarding station of the identified entry.

For example, when processing a gate passing notification received from the gate device 10 for exiting a station, the gate passing notification processing unit 404 calculates the user's fare and deducts the fare from the charge amount. The gate passing notification processing unit 404 also clears the setting value in the boarding station field.

The memory unit 405 stores various information necessary for the operation of the server device 20. A user information database and an authentication status database are constructed in the memory unit 405.

Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server device 20 relating to the first embodiment.

The server device 20 receives an authentication request from the biometric authentication control unit 15 (step S301).

The server device 20 performs a matching process using the biometric information included in the authentication request and the biometric information registered in the user information database (step S302).

The server device 20 determines whether there is an entry in which the similarity between the biometric information is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (step S303).

If such an entry does not exist (step S303, No branch), the server device 20 sets the authentication result to authentication failure (step S304).

If such an entry exists (step S303, Yes branch), the server device 20 determines whether the person to be authenticated is qualified to pass through the gate device 10 (step S305).

If the person to be authenticated is not qualified to pass through the gate device 10 (step S305, No branch), the server device 20 sets the authentication result to authentication failure (step S304).

If the person to be authenticated is qualified to pass through the gate device 10 (step S305, Yes branch), the server device 20 sets the authentication result to successful authentication (step S306).

The server device 20 transmits the authentication result (authentication successful, authentication failed) to the biometric authentication control unit 15 (step S307).

Note that we will omit the explanation of the operation of the server device 20 when it receives a gate passage notification.

Next, the operation of the authentication system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the authentication system according to the first embodiment. It is assumed that system users have been registered in advance prior to the operation of FIG. 14. Also, in FIG. 14, the biometric authentication control unit 15 is considered to be integrated into the gate device 10, and the operation of the system will be described.

The gate device 10 detects an authenticated person located a predetermined distance away from the device (step S01).

The gate device 10 acquires biometric information of the person to be authenticated and sends an authentication request including the biometric information to the server device 20 (step S02).

Also, at substantially the same time as the transmission of the authentication request, the gate device 10 starts tracking the person to be authenticated (step S03).

The server device 20 performs the authentication process and transmits the result to the gate device 10 (steps S11, S12).

The gate device 10 receives the authentication result and reflects the authentication result in the authenticated person information table (reflecting the authentication result; step S04).

When the person to be authenticated reaches the entrance of the gate device 10, the gate device 10 performs a final tracking determination on the person to be authenticated (step S05). The gate device 10 reflects the result of the final determination in the person to be authenticated information table.

When the person to be authenticated reaches a predetermined position of the gate device 10, the gate device 10 performs gate control (step S06). Specifically, the gate device 10 allows the passage of the person to be authenticated who is set as having been successfully authenticated and tracked.

When the authenticated person is allowed to pass through, the gate device 10 sends a gate passage notification to the server device 20 (step S07).

Upon receiving the gate passing notification, the server device 20 updates the information of the gate passer (authentication successful person; the person to be authenticated who was determined to have been authenticated successfully) (step S13). Specifically, the server device 20 updates the entry in the user information database corresponding to the gate passer.

Next, with reference to the drawings, the specific operation of the gate device 10 will be explained assuming various movements by users (persons to be authenticated, users who are not the subject of authentication).

As shown in the upper part of Figure 15, user 30 is set as the person to be authenticated, and user 31 is a user who is not the target of authentication. Note that in drawings including Figure 15, the person to be authenticated is shown in grey, and the user who is not the target of authentication is shown in white. User 31 is not detected as a person to be authenticated at position X1, and is therefore not a person to be authenticated. Therefore, there is no entry related to user 31 in the person to be authenticated information table.

User 30 walks toward gate device 10. User 31 moves so as to enter the inside of gate device 10 from the side of user 30. In this case, over time, the positional relationship between the two becomes as shown in the lower part of Figure 15.

Because the entry for user 31 is not registered in the authenticated user information table, gate 14 closes when user 31 reaches position X4. Furthermore, even if a predetermined period of time has passed since gate 14 was closed, gate 14 does not open because the authentication result for user 31 is not registered in the authenticated user information table.

Alternatively, it is also possible that the person being authenticated passes another person being authenticated who is walking in front of him/her. For example, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 16, consider the case where users 32 and 33 are walking toward gate device 10. In this case, biometric information of both users 32 and 33 is acquired at position X1 and tracking is started, so they are set as persons being authenticated (people in grey).

The user 33 walking behind moves as shown by the dashed line in the upper part of Figure 16, and overtakes the user 32 in front. In this case, the relative positions of the two become as shown in the lower part of Figure 16 over time.

The entries for users 32 and 33 are registered in the authenticated person information table, and if the authentication process for user 33 (authentication process in server device 20) is successful, gate 14 remains open even if user 33 reaches position X4. Furthermore, gate 14 will not close even if user 32 reaches position X4 following user 33.

In this way, biometric information is acquired at position X1, and the user set as the person to be authenticated is processed normally even if he or she does not arrive (enter) the gate device 10 in the set order. In other words, the user can pass through the gate device 10 even if the user does not arrive at the gate device 10 in the order registered as the person to be authenticated due to differences in the walking speed of the person to be authenticated, etc. In this way, the authentication system according to the first embodiment allows for irregular situations, thereby improving the throughput of the system.

As described above, the authentication system according to the first embodiment detects the person to be authenticated at a location that is a predetermined distance away from the gate device 10. When the gate device 10 detects the person to be authenticated, it starts authentication and tracking of the person to be authenticated at substantially the same timing. Since the server device 20 can start the authentication process from a location that is distant from the gate device 10, it is possible to secure time to perform the biometric authentication. In addition, the gate device 10 starts face tracking from the distant location (tracking in which tracking of the same person is determined to be successful if a face image identical to that of the previous frame is obtained in a subsequent frame by translation, rotation, and scale). In addition, the gate device 10 (biometric authentication control unit 15) performs a final determination of face tracking at the timing when the person to be authenticated enters the inside of the gate device. Here, in face tracking, since the generation (extraction) of features that have a high processing load is not performed, the final determination result of face tracking can be obtained in a short time. That is, the determination result of face tracking is obtained immediately after the person to be authenticated enters the gate device 10, and usually, at that timing, biometric authentication by the server device 20 is completed. As a result, even if the distance between the entrance of the gate device 10 and the gate 14 is short, the gate device 10 can permit the passage of a person who has the correct qualifications. That is, the gate device 10 determines whether or not the person (entrant) can pass through the gate, and controls the gate 14, as long as the person enters the gate device 10, regardless of the movement route (movement trajectory) of the person.

Next, we will explain the hardware of each device that makes up the authentication system. Figure 17 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the biometric authentication control unit 15.

The biometric authentication control unit 15 includes a processor 311, a memory 312, a communication interface 313, etc. The components such as the processor 311 are connected by an internal bus or the like and are configured to be able to communicate with each other.

However, the configuration shown in FIG. 17 is not intended to limit the hardware configuration of the biometric authentication control unit 15. The biometric authentication control unit 15 may include hardware not shown. Furthermore, the number of processors 311 and the like included in the biometric authentication control unit 15 is not intended to be limited to the example shown in FIG. 17, and for example, multiple processors 311 may be included in the biometric authentication control unit 15.

The processor 311 is, for example, a programmable device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, the processor 311 may be a device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processor 311 executes various programs including an operating system (OS).

Memory 312 is a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. Memory 312 stores an OS program, application programs, and various data.

The communication interface 313 is a circuit, module, etc. that communicates with other devices. For example, the communication interface 313 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), etc.

The functions of the biometric authentication control unit 15 are realized by various processing modules. The processing modules are realized, for example, by the processor 311 executing a program stored in the memory 312. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be a non-transitory medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium. That is, the present invention can also be embodied as a computer program product. The program can be downloaded via a network or updated using a storage medium storing the program. The processing modules may also be realized by a semiconductor chip.

The biometric authentication control unit 15 is equipped with a computer, and the functions of the biometric authentication control unit 15 can be realized by causing the computer to execute a program. In addition, the biometric authentication control unit 15 executes a control method for the biometric authentication control unit by the program.

As described above, the gate device 10 includes a camera 11, detection sensors 12 and 13, and a gate 14 (see FIG. 18). Note that, like the biometric authentication control unit 15, the gate device 10 also includes hardware such as a processor, memory, and a communication interface, but illustrations and explanations of the configuration of these components are omitted.

The camera 11 is a camera device capable of acquiring visible light images. In FIG. 3, the gate device 10 is described as having one camera 11, but this is not intended to limit the number or installation of the cameras 11. For example, multiple cameras 11 may be installed in the gate device 10 according to their intended use. For example, a camera 11 for detecting an authenticated person, a camera 11 for tracking, and a camera 11 for making a final determination of the tracking may be installed in the gate device 10.

Alternatively, instead of using the camera 11 to detect the person to be authenticated, the person to be authenticated may be detected by other means. For example, a human presence sensor may be used to detect a person at a predetermined distance from the gate device 10. Alternatively, when a person is detected by the human presence sensor, the camera 11 may acquire image data and detect the person to be authenticated.

The detection sensors 12 and 13 are sensors that detect people. For example, the detection sensors 12 and 13 can be sensors composed of a light transmitting device and a light receiving device (so-called light-based pass-through sensors). For example, the light transmitting device and the light receiving device are installed facing each other (the two devices are installed on the inner wall of the main body). The transmitting device constantly transmits light, and the receiving device receives the transmitted light. The biometric authentication control unit 15 determines that a person has been detected if the receiving device fails to receive light. Note that FIG. 3 illustrates one of the two devices that make up the detection sensors 12 and 13.

In the above description, the gate device 10 is configured to include two detection sensors 12 and 13, but these sensors may be integrated. Specifically, the gate device 10 may use the integrated detection sensor (e.g., the detection sensor 12 installed at the entrance) to perform a final tracking determination of the authenticated person and gate control. In this case, the gate device 10 may control the gate 14 after obtaining the final tracking determination result.

Gate 14 is a device that controls the passage of users. There are no particular limitations on the type of gate 14, and examples of gates include a flapper gate in which a flapper installed on one or both sides of the passage opens and closes, and a turnstile gate in which three bars rotate.

The functions of the biometric authentication control unit 15 may be realized by a CPU or the like that controls the entire gate device 10. Conversely, the functions of the gate device 10 may be realized by a processor 311 provided in the biometric authentication control unit 15.

The server device 20 can be configured by an information processing device. Like the biometric authentication control unit 15, the server device 20 only needs to have a processor, memory, a communication interface, etc., and its configuration is clear to those skilled in the art, so detailed explanation will be omitted.

[Modification]
The configuration, operation, and the like of the authentication system described in the above embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the system configuration, and the like.

In the above embodiment, the gate device 10 has been described as a ticket gate installed at a station. However, it is of course not intended to limit the gate device 10 to a ticket gate. The gate device 10 may be any device that is installed at an airport, an event venue, an office, etc. and controls the passage of users.

In the above embodiment, the case where the server device 20 has a user information database has been described. However, the database may be constructed in a database server different from the server device 20. Furthermore, the authentication system only needs to include the various means (authentication request unit 203, authenticatee tracking unit 204, etc.) described in the above embodiment. For example, the authentication process executed in the server device 20 may be executed in the gate device 10 (biometric authentication control unit 15). Some or all of the functions of the server device 20 may be realized in the gate device 10.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which biometric information relating to features generated from a facial image is transmitted from the biometric authentication control unit 15 to the server device 20. However, the "facial image" itself may be transmitted as biometric information from the biometric authentication control unit 15 to the server device 20. The server device 20 may generate features from the acquired facial image and perform authentication processing (1:N matching).

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the camera 11 is a monocular camera, but the camera 11 may be a depth camera (stereo camera) capable of measuring the depth direction. In this case, instead of threshold processing for the eye distance, the biometric authentication control unit 15 may detect the person to be authenticated at a predetermined distance from the gate device 10 using images obtained from the stereo camera. Specifically, the biometric authentication control unit 15 analyzes two images obtained from the stereo camera (analysis using parallax) and calculates the position of the user based on the gate device 10. If the calculated position is included in a predetermined location, the biometric authentication control unit 15 sets the user as the person to be authenticated.

The form of data transmission and reception between the biometric authentication control unit 15 and the server device 20 is not particularly limited, but the data transmitted and received between these devices may be encrypted. The facial image and the features calculated from the facial image are personal information, and in order to appropriately protect the personal information, it is desirable to transmit and receive encrypted data.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which tracking failures are permitted while the authenticated person moves from position X1 to position X3 in Figure 3. However, the biometric authentication control unit 15 (gate device 10) may refuse passage through the gate 14 of an authenticated person who has failed to be tracked even once. In this case, the biometric authentication control unit 15 does not overwrite the tracking status field in the authenticated person information table that has been set to "tracking failed" with "tracking in progress". In this way, the gate device 10 can achieve stricter control (management of passers-by) by refusing to allow an authenticated person who has failed to be tracked to pass through the gate.

Alternatively, tracking processing of the movement of the person to be authenticated from position X1 to position X3 may not be performed. That is, the biometric authentication control unit 15 may store a facial image of the person to be authenticated at position X1, and set the tracking result to "tracking completed" if the facial image taken at position X3 and the facial image at position X1 are of the same person. In this way, the gate device 10 may omit tracking of the person to be authenticated from position X1 to position X3.

Alternatively, if tracking of an authenticated person fails multiple times, the entry for that authenticated person may be deleted from the authenticated person information table. The biometric authentication control unit 15 stores the number of tracking failures for each tracking target. The biometric authentication control unit 15 may delete the corresponding entry if the number of tracking failures exceeds a predetermined threshold. In other words, a situation in which tracking of an authenticated person fails multiple times is generally not conceivable. In such a situation, it is assumed that the authenticated person is not heading toward the gate device 10 but toward another location, so it is desirable for such an authenticated person to be quickly excluded from the targets of gate control.

In the above embodiment, the gate device 10 and the biometric authentication control unit 15 are separate. However, these devices may be integrated. That is, the biometric authentication control unit 15 may be integrated with the gate device 10. In this case, the gate device 10 may include an authenticatee detection unit 111, a request unit 112, a tracking unit 113, and a gate control unit 114 (see FIG. 19). The authenticatee detection unit 111 detects a person at a predetermined position as an authenticatee. The request unit 112 transmits an authentication request including biometric information of the detected authenticatee to the server device 20. The tracking unit 113 tracks the detected authenticatee. The gate control unit 114 controls the gate 14 based on the result of the biometric authentication of the authenticatee by the server device 20 and the result of the tracking judgment of the authenticatee at the entrance of the gate device.

Furthermore, the gate device 10 may include an intruder detection unit that detects an intruder entering the entrance, and the tracking unit 113 may make a final determination regarding tracking of the person to be authenticated in response to the detection of an intruder. At that time, the gate control unit 114 may control the gate 14 based on the result of the biometric authentication and the result of the final determination. The gate control unit 114 may allow the person to be authenticated to pass through the gate 14 when the result of the biometric authentication is successful and the result of the final determination regarding tracking is successful.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which information about the authenticated person is stored and managed using an authenticated person information table. However, information about the authenticated person may also be stored and managed using a database (authenticated person information database).

In the flow diagrams (flowcharts, sequence diagrams) used in the above explanation, multiple steps (processes) are described in order, but the order of execution of the steps performed in the embodiments is not limited to the order described. In the embodiments, the order of the steps shown in the diagrams can be changed to the extent that does not interfere with the content, such as by executing each process in parallel.

The above embodiments have been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and it is not intended that all of the configurations described above are required. Furthermore, when multiple embodiments are described, each embodiment may be used alone or in combination. For example, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of an embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of an embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of an embodiment with other configurations.

The above explanation makes clear the industrial applicability of the present invention, and the present invention is particularly applicable to authentication systems installed in airports, train stations, etc.

A part or all of the above-described embodiments may be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
[Appendix 1]
an authentication subject detection unit that detects a person at a predetermined position as an authentication subject;
a request unit that transmits an authentication request including the detected biometric information of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
A tracking unit that tracks the detected authenticatee;
a notification unit that determines whether or not the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on a result of the biometric authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device and a result of a tracking determination of the person to be authenticated at an entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the determination result;
A biometric authentication control unit comprising:
[Appendix 2]
the tracking unit performs a final determination regarding tracking of the authenticated person in response to detection of an entrant at an entrance of the gate device;
2. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit determines whether the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of the biometric authentication and the result of the final determination.
[Appendix 3]
The biometric authentication control unit described in Appendix 2, wherein the notification unit sends a permission to pass notification to the gate device indicating that the authenticated person can pass through the gate device when the result of the biometric authentication is successful and the result of the final judgment regarding the tracking is successful.
[Appendix 4]
The biometric authentication control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the authentication subject detection unit detects the authentication subject based on the eye distance calculated from a facial image contained in the image data captured at the specified position.
[Appendix 5]
5. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 1, wherein the tracking unit starts tracking the person to be authenticated simultaneously with the request unit sending the authentication request.
[Appendix 6]
When the authentication subject detection unit detects the authentication subject, it adds an entry to an authentication subject information table;
When the request unit receives a result of the biometric authentication from the server device, the request unit sets the received result of the biometric authentication in an authentication status field of the added entry;
The tracing unit sets a result of the tracing determination in a tracing status field of the added entry,
The biometric authentication control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the notification unit determines whether the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the set value of the authentication status field and the set value of the tracking status field.
[Appendix 7]
7. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 6, further comprising a table management unit that deletes entries that have been added to the authentication-subject information table for a predetermined period of time.
[Appendix 8]
The biometric authentication control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the tracking unit performs face tracking of the detected person to be authenticated.
[Appendix 9]
The biometric authentication control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the biometric information is a facial image or a feature amount generated from a facial image.
[Appendix 10]
a server device that stores biometric information of each of a plurality of users and performs biometric authentication;
a biometric authentication control unit connected to the server device;
a gate device connected to the biometric authentication control unit;
Including,
The biometric authentication control unit includes:
an authentication subject detection unit that detects a person at a predetermined position as an authentication subject;
a request unit that transmits an authentication request including the detected biometric information of the person to be authenticated to the server device;
A tracking unit that tracks the detected authenticatee;
a notification unit that determines whether or not the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on a result of the biometric authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device and a result of a tracking determination of the person to be authenticated at an entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the determination result;
A system comprising:
[Appendix 11]
The system according to claim 10, wherein the server device performs a matching process using the biometric information of each of the multiple users and the biometric information included in the authentication request.
[Appendix 12]
The system described in claim 11, wherein the server device determines whether or not the user identified as a result of the matching process is qualified to pass through the gate device.
[Appendix 13]
In the biometric authentication control unit,
Detecting a person at a predetermined position as a person to be authenticated;
transmitting an authentication request including the detected biometric information of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
Tracking the detected authenticated person;
A control method for a biometric authentication control unit, which determines whether or not the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the result of biometric authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device and the result of tracking judgment of the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device, and notifies the gate device of the judgment result.
[Appendix 14]
The computer installed in the biometric authentication control unit
A process of detecting a person at a predetermined position as a person to be authenticated;
a process of transmitting an authentication request including the detected biometric information of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
A process of tracking the detected authenticatee;
a process of determining whether or not the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on a result of biometric authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device and a result of tracking determination of the person to be authenticated at an entrance of the gate device, and notifying the gate device of the determination result;
A program for executing.

The disclosures of the above cited prior art documents are incorporated herein by reference. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments are merely illustrative and that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. In other words, the present invention naturally includes various modifications and amendments that a person skilled in the art can make in accordance with the entire disclosure, including the scope of the claims, and the technical ideas.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-000311, filed on January 5, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

10, 10-1 to 10-3 Gate device 11 Camera 12, 13 Detection sensor 14 Gate 15, 100 Biometric authentication control unit 20 Server device 30 to 33 User 101, 111, 202 Authentication subject detection unit 102, 112 Request unit 103, 113 Tracking unit 104 Notification unit 114 Gate control unit 201, 301, 401 Communication control unit 203 Authentication request unit 204 Authentication subject tracking unit 205 Passage permission notification unit 206 Table management unit 207 Message output unit 208, 304, 405 Storage unit 302 Entering person detection unit 303 Gate control unit 311 Processor 312 Memory 313 Communication interface 402 User registration unit 403 Authentication unit 404 Gate passage notification processing unit

Claims (9)

A biometric authentication control unit connected to a gate device,
an authentication subject detection means for detecting a person at a predetermined position as an authentication subject;
a requesting means for transmitting an authentication request including a face image of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
a tracking means for tracking the person to be authenticated, and determining, in response to a first sensor installed at an entrance of the gate device detecting the person to be authenticated having entered inside the gate device , whether or not image data obtained at the entrance of the gate device contains a face image identical to the face image of the person to be authenticated, as a final determination regarding the tracking of the person to be authenticated ;
a notification means for determining that the person to be authenticated can pass through the gate device when the result of the face authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device is successful and the result of the final judgment of the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device is successful, and notifying the gate device of the result of the judgment;
A biometric authentication control unit comprising: 2. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 1, wherein the notification means transmits a passage permission notification to the gate device indicating that the authenticated person is permitted to pass through the gate device when it is determined that the authenticated person is permitted to pass through the gate device. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the authentication subject detection means detects the authentication subject based on the eye distance calculated from a face image included in the image data captured at the specified position. The biometric authentication control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tracking means starts tracking the person to be authenticated simultaneously with the transmission of the authentication request by the request means. when the authentication subject detection means detects the authentication subject, it adds an entry including information for identifying the authentication subject to an authentication subject information table;
When the request means receives the result of the face authentication from the server device, the request means sets the result of the face authentication in an authentication status field of the added entry;
the tracing means sets a result of the authentication subject at the entrance of the gate device in a tracing status field of the added entry;
5. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 1, wherein the notification means determines whether or not the person to be authenticated is allowed to pass through the gate device based on the set value of the authentication status field and the set value of the tracking status field. The biometric authentication control unit according to claim 5, further comprising a table management means for deleting entries that have been added to the authenticated user information table for a predetermined period of time. A server device that stores biometric information of each of a plurality of users and performs face authentication ;
a biometric authentication control unit connected to the server device;
a gate device connected to the biometric authentication control unit;
Including,
The biometric authentication control unit includes:
an authentication subject detection means for detecting a person at a predetermined position as an authentication subject;
a requesting means for transmitting an authentication request including a face image of the person to be authenticated to the server device;
a tracking means for tracking the person to be authenticated, and determining, in response to a first sensor installed at an entrance of the gate device detecting the person to be authenticated having entered inside the gate device , whether or not image data obtained at the entrance of the gate device contains a facial image identical to the facial image of the person to be authenticated, as a final determination regarding the tracking of the person to be authenticated; and a notification means for determining that the person to be authenticated can pass through the gate device and notifying the gate device of the determination result, when a result of face authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device is successful and a result of the final determination of the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device is successful.
Equipped with
The gate device includes:
a gate for restricting passage of users based on the result of the determination received from the notification means;
A first sensor installed at an entrance of the device;
a second sensor disposed at the middle of the device; and a gate control means for controlling the gate.
Equipped with
The gate control means
In response to the first sensor detecting a person, image data obtained at an entrance of the device itself and an instruction to perform the determination of the person to be authenticated are transmitted to the biometric authentication control unit;
The system controls the gate based on the determination result received from the notification means in response to the second sensor detecting a person. In a biometric authentication control unit connected to the gate device,
Detecting a person at a predetermined position as a person to be authenticated;
sending an authentication request including a face image of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
tracking the person to be authenticated, and in response to a first sensor installed at an entrance of the gate device detecting the person to be authenticated having entered inside the gate device , determining whether or not image data obtained at the entrance of the gate device includes a face image identical to the face image of the person to be authenticated, as a final determination regarding the tracking of the person to be authenticated;
A control method for a biometric authentication control unit, which determines that the person to be authenticated can pass through the gate device when the result of facial authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device is successful and the result of the final judgment of the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device is successful , and notifies the gate device of the result of the judgment. The biometric authentication control unit connected to the gate device has a computer equipped with
A process of detecting a person at a predetermined position as a person to be authenticated;
a process of transmitting an authentication request including the detected face image of the person to be authenticated to a server device;
a process of tracking the person to be authenticated, and in response to a first sensor installed at an entrance of the gate device detecting the person to be authenticated having entered inside the gate device , determining whether or not image data obtained at the entrance of the gate device includes a facial image identical to the facial image of the person to be authenticated, as a final determination regarding the tracking of the person to be authenticated ;
a process of determining that the person to be authenticated can pass through the gate device and notifying the gate device of the result of the determination when the result of the face authentication of the person to be authenticated by the server device is successful and the result of the final determination of the person to be authenticated at the entrance of the gate device is successful ;
A computer program for executing the above.

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