CN103577802B - Picture transmitter device, method and program, image recognition Verification System and image received device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an image sending device, a method and a program, an image recognition authentication system and an image receiving device. The image transmission device (10) includes an image input unit (12) that inputs a plurality of continuous images, and a data amount reduction unit (15) that reduces the data amount of the plurality of images input to the image input unit (12) to generate a data amount reduced image. ), a transmitting unit (19) that transmits the data-amount-reduced image to an image receiving device (20) that performs identification and authentication processing on the data-amount-reduced image. The data amount reduction unit (15) reduces the data amount of the plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device (20).

Description

Image sending device, method and program, image recognition authentication system and image receiving device

In this application, the benefit of Patent Application No. 2012-160453 filed in Japan on Jul. 19, 2012 is claimed, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to an image recognition and authentication system for recognizing or authenticating continuously input images, an image sending device and an image receiving device constituting the image recognition and authentication system, an image sending method, and an image sending program.

Background technique

Conventionally, in an image recognition authentication system composed of a camera and a server, it is known that an image captured by the camera is sent to the server, and the server performs recognition processing and/or authentication processing (hereinafter referred to as is an image recognition authentication system for "identification authentication processing"). For example, there is an image recognition authentication system that uses a surveillance camera to photograph a person, and performs recognition target (face) detection, age or gender judgment, personal authentication, and the like as recognition authentication processing.

Conventionally, a camera shoots continuous images (moving images), generates a plurality of these continuous images, and sends all of them to a server. On the server side, all received images (frames) are identified and authenticated. In this way, when all images are sent to the server for identification and authentication processing, the amount of image transmission increases, not only the load on the network increases, but also the processing load on the server increases, and the capacity for storing images received by the server increases. Larger, etc., the cost of the server also increases.

In contrast, a technique has been proposed in which a recognition target is detected on a plurality of consecutive images on the camera side, and only images in which the recognition target is detected are transmitted to a server. In this way, only the image in which the identification target is detected is transmitted from the camera to the server, thereby reducing the above-mentioned network load and server cost.

Furthermore, as a technique for reducing the network load and the cost of the server, it is proposed that on the camera side, the recognition target detection process is performed on a plurality of consecutive images, and only the best image among the images in which the recognition target is detected is selected and uploaded to the camera. Server-sent technology (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). Accordingly, since the number of images transmitted from the camera side to the server can be limited, the above-mentioned network load and server cost can be further reduced.

【Prior technical literature】

【Patent Literature】

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 3727798

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 4208450

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent No. 4021873

[Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent No. 4377472

However, in the past, the image selected on the camera side and sent to the server may not be suitable for the identification and authentication process in the server. Therefore, the number of images sent from the camera to the server for identification and authentication is limited. The problem of reduced recognition accuracy.

In addition, as described above, there is still a need to reduce the network load and the cost of the server without lowering the recognition accuracy.

Contents of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to reduce the load on the network and the cost of the server in an image recognition authentication system that transmits an image captured by a camera to a server and performs identification and authentication processing of a subject based on the image through the server. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image recognition and authentication system that sends an image captured by a camera to a server and performs identification and authentication processing on a subject based on the image through the server, which reduces network load and server cost, and The reduction in recognition accuracy caused by this is suppressed.

The image transmission device includes: an image input unit that inputs a plurality of consecutive images; a data amount reduction unit that generates a data amount reduced image by reducing the data amount of the plurality of images input to the image input portion; The transmission unit transmits the image receiving device that performs identification and authentication processing on the reduced image, and the data amount reducing unit reduces the data amount of the plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device.

The image transmission method includes: an image input step of inputting a plurality of continuous images; a data amount reduction step of reducing the data amount of the input plurality of images to generate a data amount reduced image; and converting the data amount reduced image to the data amount reduced image. In the transmission step of the image receiving device of the recognition and authentication process, the data size reduction step reduces the data size of the plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the recognition and authentication process performed by the image receiving device.

The image transmission program causes the computer to function as an image input unit that inputs a plurality of consecutive images, a data volume reduction unit that reduces the data volume of a plurality of images input to the image input unit, and a transmission unit. A data volume reduction image is generated, and the transmission unit transmits the data volume reduction image to an image receiving device that performs identification and authentication processing on the data volume reduction image, and the data volume reduction unit uses a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device. Reduce the amount of data for multiple images.

The image recognition authentication system is composed of an image sending device and an image receiving device. The image sending device has: an image input unit that inputs a plurality of continuous images; a data volume reduction unit; and a transmission unit that transmits a data volume reduction image to an image receiving device, and the image reception device includes: a reception unit that receives the data volume reduction image transmitted by the transmission unit; and for the data volume reduction image received by the reception unit The identification and authentication processing unit that performs the identification and authentication processing, and the data volume reduction unit reduce the data volume of the plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication processing performed by the identification and authentication processing unit.

The image receiving device has: a receiving unit that receives an image sent from the image transmitting device; an identification and authentication processing unit that performs identification and authentication processing on the image received by the receiving unit; The sending unit that the sending device sends.

Another aspect of the image receiving device includes: a receiving unit for receiving an image transmitted from the image transmitting device; an identification and authentication processing unit for performing identification and authentication processing on the image received by the receiving unit; a storage unit for the correspondence relationship between the mode information and the image generation method used to generate the image; an image generation control unit for determining the image generation method by referring to the storage unit according to the set mode information; and determining the display by the image generation control unit The transmission unit that transmits the information of the image generation method to the image transmission device.

As described below, there are other aspects in the present invention. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to provide a part of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention described and claimed herein.

【Invention effect】

According to the present invention, the data amount of the image transmitted from the image sending device to the image receiving device is reduced by using a method corresponding to the identification and authentication process, so the load on the network and the cost of the server can be reduced, and the loss caused by such a reduction in the amount of data can be suppressed. Decrease in accuracy of recognition authentication processing.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image transmission device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image recognition authentication system in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image receiving device in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of analysis results in the embodiment.

5 is a diagram illustrating designation of mode information from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device in the embodiment.

6 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the resolution (the number of pixels) and the accuracy of identification and authentication in the embodiment.

7 is a table showing an example of a table stored in a parameter storage unit in the embodiment.

8 is a flowchart of an image transmission method of the image transmission device in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a band component detection process performed by a band component detection unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing image data amount reduction processing performed by an image data amount reducing unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating designation of parameters from the image receiving device to the image transmitting device in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the system configuration of the image recognition authentication system in the embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing still another example of the system configuration of the image recognition authentication system in the embodiment.

【Description of labels】

100 image recognition authentication system

10 image sending device

11 Filming department

12 Image input section

13 Object Detection Section

14 Object Tracking Department

15 Data Reduction Department

151 Best Shot Judging Section

152 Image data volume reduction department

153 Object Characteristic Analysis Department

154 Band component detection unit

155 Image Selection Section

156 Necessary Area Extraction Department

157 Necessary Band Detection Department

158 Resolution conversion unit

159 Image Coding Department

16 Parameter storage unit

17 Cut Control Department

18 Receiving Department

19 Sending Department

20 image receiving device

21 Receiving Department

22 Image decoding unit

23 Object Analysis Department

24 databases

30 Result display device

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, a detailed description of the present invention will be described. Embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention can be modified into various forms. Therefore, the specific structures and functions disclosed below do not limit the scope of the patent application. In this specification, the term "identification and authentication" is used as a term indicating "identification and/or authentication".

An image transmission device according to an embodiment includes an image input unit that inputs a plurality of consecutive images, a data size reduction unit that reduces the data volume of a plurality of images input to the image input unit to generate a data volume reduced image, and converts the data volume reduced image to an object. The data size reduction is a transmission unit that transmits images from the image receiving device for identification and authentication processing, and the data size reduction unit reduces the data size of a plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device.

According to this structure, since the data amount of the image transmitted from the image sending device to the image receiving device is reduced by a method corresponding to the identification and authentication process, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the cost of the server, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of such a reduction in the amount of data. The accuracy of the identification and authentication process is reduced.

In the image transmitting device described above, the data amount reducing unit may reduce the data amount of the plurality of images by selecting a part of the images from the plurality of images based on a criterion corresponding to the authentication process performed by the image receiving device.

According to this structure, since some images are selected from a plurality of images input to the image input unit, compared with the case of transmitting all the images input to the image input unit, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the cost of the server. Since such image selection is performed based on the criteria corresponding to the processing, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the accuracy of the recognition and authentication process caused by limiting the number of images to be the target of the recognition and authentication process in the image receiving device.

In the image transmitting device described above, the data amount reducing unit may trim a plurality of images or a part of the images selected from the plurality of images corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device, thereby reducing the plurality of images. amount of data.

According to this configuration, a plurality of images or a part of images selected from a plurality of images are trimmed, so compared with the case of transmitting the entire image input to the image input unit, the amount of data can be reduced, and the load on the network and the load on the server can be reduced. Since such pruning is carried out in a method corresponding to the identification and authentication processing, the reduction in the accuracy of the identification and authentication processing due to the reduction of the amount of data can be suppressed.

In the above-mentioned image transmitting device, the data amount reducing unit may extract the band components corresponding to the identification and authentication processing performed by the image receiving device from a plurality of images or a part of images selected from a plurality of images, thereby reducing a large number of images. The data volume of an image.

According to this configuration, a part of the band components is extracted from a plurality of images or a part of images selected from a plurality of images, so that the amount of data can be reduced compared to the case of transmitting the entire band components of the image input to the image input unit. , and the network load and the cost of the server can be reduced, and the extracted band component is a band component corresponding to the identification and authentication process, so the reduction in the accuracy of the identification and authentication process caused by the reduction of the amount of data can be suppressed.

In the image transmitting device described above, the data amount reducing unit may perform resolution conversion on a plurality of images or a part of images selected from the plurality of images, and convert the resolution into a resolution corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device, The amount of data of a plurality of images is thereby reduced.

According to this configuration, the resolution conversion (compression) is performed on a plurality of images or a part of images selected from the plurality of images, so compared with the case where the resolution conversion (compression) is not performed on the image input to the image input unit and transmitted, the The amount of data can be reduced, the network load and the cost of the server can be reduced, and such resolution conversion is performed at a resolution corresponding to the identification and authentication process, so that an excessive decrease in the accuracy of the identification and authentication process due to the reduction of the data amount can be suppressed.

In the image transmitting device described above, the data amount reducing unit may encode a plurality of images or a part of images selected from the plurality of images at a coding rate corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device, thereby reducing the number of images. amount of data.

According to this structure, a plurality of images or a part of images selected from a plurality of images are encoded, so compared with the case where the images input to the image input unit are not encoded and transmitted, the amount of data can be reduced, and the network load and network load can be reduced. Since such encoding is performed at a coding rate corresponding to the identification and authentication processing at the cost of the server, it is possible to suppress an excessive decrease in the accuracy of the identification and authentication processing due to reduction in the amount of data.

The above-mentioned image sending device may further include: a receiving unit that receives the pattern information of the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device; a storage unit that stores the correspondence between the pattern information and the reduction method; The reduction control unit of the reduction method corresponding to the received mode information, the data reduction unit may generate the data reduction image according to the reduction method determined by the reduction control unit.

According to this configuration, by receiving the pattern information of the identification and authentication process from the image receiving device, the data amount of the image is reduced by a reduction method corresponding to the pattern information to generate a data amount reduced image, so that the identification and authentication process in the image receiving device can be suppressed. Handle a drop in precision.

The image transmission device described above may further include a receiving unit that receives information indicating a reduction method, and the data amount reducing unit may generate a data amount reduced image according to the reduction method indicated by the information received by the receiving unit.

According to this configuration, by receiving information indicating the reduction method from the image receiving device, and using the reduction method to reduce the data volume of the image to generate a data volume-reduced image, it is possible to suppress a reduction in the accuracy of identification and authentication processing in the image receiving device.

The image transmission method of the embodiment includes: an image input step of inputting a plurality of continuous images; a data amount reduction step of reducing the data amount of the input plurality of images to generate a data amount reduced image; and converting the data amount reduced image to a corresponding data amount In the sending step of reducing images sent by the image receiving device for identification and authentication processing, the data amount reduction step reduces the data amount of a plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication processing performed by the image receiving device.

According to this structure, since the data amount of the image transmitted from the image sending device to the image receiving device is reduced by using a method corresponding to the identification and authentication processing, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the cost of the server, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of such a reduction in the amount of data. The accuracy of the identification and authentication process is reduced.

The image transmission program of the embodiment causes the computer to function as an image input unit that inputs a plurality of consecutive images, a data volume reduction unit that reduces the number of images input to the image input unit, and a transmission unit. data volume to generate a data volume reduced image, the transmission unit sends the data volume reduced image to the image receiving device that performs identification and authentication processing on the data volume reduced image, the data volume reduction unit passes the identification and authentication process corresponding to the image receiving device Reduction method to reduce the data volume of multiple images.

According to this structure, since the data amount of the image transmitted from the image sending device to the image receiving device is reduced by using a method corresponding to the identification and authentication processing, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the cost of the server, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of such a reduction in the amount of data. The accuracy of the identification and authentication process is reduced.

The image recognition authentication system of the embodiment is composed of an image sending device and an image receiving device, the image sending device has: an image input unit that inputs a plurality of continuous images; and a data amount is generated by reducing the data amount of a plurality of images input to the image input unit. a data volume reduction unit for reducing the image; and a transmission unit for transmitting the data volume reduction image to the image receiving device, the image reception device having: a reception unit for receiving the data volume reduction image transmitted by the transmission unit; and for the data received by the reception unit An identification and authentication processing unit that performs identification and authentication processing on the reduced images, and the data amount reduction unit reduces the data volume of the plurality of images by a reduction method corresponding to the identification and authentication process performed by the identification and authentication processing unit.

According to this configuration, the data amount of the image transmitted from the image transmitting device to the image receiving device is reduced by using a method corresponding to the identification and authentication process, so it is possible to reduce the network load and the cost of the server, and it is possible to suppress the loss caused by such a reduction in the amount of data. Decrease in accuracy of recognition authentication processing.

An image receiving device according to an embodiment includes: a receiving unit for receiving an image transmitted from an image transmitting device; an identification and authentication processing unit for performing identification and authentication processing on an image received by the receiving unit; A sending unit that sends to an image sending device.

According to this configuration, since the mode information of the identification and authentication process is transmitted to the image transmission device that transmits the image, the image can be generated by the image generation method corresponding to the mode information in the image transmission device, thereby suppressing the recognition and authentication process. Decrease in accuracy of identification and authentication processing in the section.

An image receiving device according to another embodiment includes: a receiving unit that receives an image transmitted from the image transmitting device; an identification and authentication processing unit that performs identification and authentication processing on the image received by the receiving unit; and stores the identification and authentication processing performed by the identification and authentication processing unit. A storage unit for the correspondence between the pattern information of the model information and the image generation method used to generate the image; an image generation control unit that determines the image generation method by referring to the storage unit according to the set mode information; and determining the representation by the image generation control unit The transmission unit that transmits the information of the image generation method to the image transmission device.

According to this structure, since the image generation method corresponding to the pattern information of the identification and authentication process is notified to the image transmission device that transmits the image, the image generation method can be generated in the image transmission device according to the image generation method, thereby suppressing the recognition and authentication process. Decrease in accuracy of identification and authentication processing in the section.

Hereinafter, an image recognition authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image recognition authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the image recognition authentication system 100 includes an image transmitting device 10 and an image receiving device 20 . The image transmitting device 10 and the image receiving device 20 are connected via the network NW, and various data can be transmitted from the image transmitting device 10 to the image receiving device 20 and also can be transmitted from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 . In particular, an image is obtained by photographing in the image transmitting device 10 , and the image is transmitted to the image receiving device 20 . In the image receiving device 20 , an object recognition and authentication process is performed on the image received by the image transmitting device 10 .

In FIG. 2 , the image transmitting device 10 and the image receiving device 20 are respectively connected to the network NW by wire, but the image transmitting device 10 and the image receiving device 20 may be connected to the network NW wirelessly. In particular, when the image transmitting device 10 can be moved, the structure in which the image transmitting device 10 is wirelessly connected to the network NW is advantageous.

The image recognition authentication system 100 can be used for various purposes by setting a mode described later. The image recognition authentication system 100 can be applied as a monitoring system, a sales information collection system, a vehicle identification system, and the like. For example, in the case of a monitoring system, the image transmitting device 10 is installed in a monitoring target site, and the image receiving device 20 is installed in a monitoring center separated from the monitoring target site, and performs face recognition and authentication of a person who is a monitoring target. Moreover, for example, in the case of a vehicle recognition system, the image transmitting device 10 is installed at the exit of the parking lot of the facility, and the image receiving device 20 is installed at the management room in the facility and is connected to a parking fee settlement machine installed in the facility. The identification and authentication process of the vehicle number is performed to open and close the exit door of the parking lot.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image transmission device constituting an image recognition authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the image transmission device 10 includes a photographing unit 11, an image input unit 12, an object detection unit 13, an object tracking unit 14, a data reduction unit 15, a parameter storage unit 16, a reduction control unit 17, a receiving unit 18, and sending part 19. The image transmission device 10 is configured as a digital camera.

The imaging unit 11 includes a lens, a diaphragm, an imaging element, and a signal processing circuit. The imaging unit 11 captures a subject to be recognized and authenticated to generate an image. The imaging unit 11 captures moving images to generate continuous (for example, 30 frames per second) images. The imaging unit 11 outputs the generated image to the image input unit 12 .

The image input unit 12 continuously inputs the images output from the imaging unit 11 . The object detection unit 13 analyzes the image input to the image input unit 12 to detect a predetermined recognition and authentication object (hereinafter simply referred to as “object”). The objects are, for example, a person, a face of a person, a license plate of a vehicle, clothes, shoes, and the like. A specific target is specified by the reduction control unit 17 described later. For object detection, known techniques can be used (for example, refer to US Patent No. 7,483,548, Patent No. 3,930,504, etc.). The contents of US Patent No. 7483548 and Japanese Patent No. 3930504 are hereby incorporated by reference.

The object tracking unit 14 tracks the objects detected by the object detection unit 13 and connects the same objects to each other in a time-series direction. For object tracking, known techniques can be used (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-310281, Japanese Patent No. 3930504, Japanese Patent No. 4578864, etc.). Here, the contents of JP-A-2004-310281, JP-A-3930504, and JP-A-4578864 are incorporated herein by reference.

The data reduction unit 15 reduces the data amount of a plurality of input continuous images to generate a data amount reduced image. The data reduction unit 15 selects a part of images from a plurality of consecutive images and reduces the data volume of the selected images themselves, thereby reducing the data volume of the images transmitted from the image transmission device 10 to the image reception device 20 . That is, the data reduction unit 15 does not transmit all the input images to the image receiving device 20, but only transmits the images judged to be optimally captured (reduces the number of images to be transmitted), thereby reducing the number of images transmitted from the image transmitting device 10 to the image receiving device 20. The data amount of the image transmitted by the image receiving device 20, and for the transmitted image, the data amount of the image itself is reduced by the image transmitting device 10 and transmitted to the image receiving device 20, so it can be reduced from this point. The data volume of the image transmitted from the image transmitting device 10 to the image receiving device 20 .

The data reduction unit 15 includes an optimal shot determination unit 151 as a configuration for reducing the number of images to be transmitted, and an image data amount reduction unit 152 as a configuration for reducing the data amount of the images themselves to be transmitted. The optimum shot determination unit 151 and the image data size reduction unit 152 reduce the data size of the image to be transmitted by a reduction method suitable for the identification and authentication process in the image receiving device 20 . Therefore, the image transmission device 10 includes a parameter storage unit 16 , a reduction control unit 17 , and a reception unit 18 .

The receiving unit 18 receives mode information for identification and authentication processing from the image receiving device 20 . This pattern information corresponds to the above-mentioned various uses of the image recognition authentication system 100 . The mode information is stored in the parameter storage unit 16 in association with various reduction parameters. The reduction control unit 17 reads the reduction parameters corresponding to the pattern information received by the reception unit 18 from the parameter storage unit 16 , and sets parameters used in various processes of the object detection unit 13 and the data reduction unit 15 . The relationship between the mode information and the reduction parameters, and various processes using the reduction parameters will be described later.

The optimal shot determination unit 151 is composed of an object characteristic analysis unit 153 , a band component detection unit 154 , and an image selection unit 155 . The object feature analysis unit 153 performs feature analysis on the object detected by the object detection unit 13 to calculate reliability (for example, face similarity), direction of the object (for example, face orientation), and the like. Known techniques can be used for feature analysis (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-227957, etc.). Here, the content of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2005-227957 is incorporated here by reference. The band component detection unit 154 detects a band component that is important in the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device 20 according to the reduction parameter set by the reduction control unit 17 .

The image selection unit 155 selects the best shot (best image) from a plurality of images including the same object based on the result of the feature analysis by the object feature analysis unit 153 and the result of the band component detection by the band component detector 154 . , and output to the image data amount reduction unit 152 (hereinafter, the image selected by the optimal shot determination unit 151 is referred to as a “selected image”). Specifically, according to the parameters set by the reduction control unit 17, it is determined which of the reliability and direction obtained by the object feature analysis unit 153 and the band component obtained by the band component detection unit 154 is given more importance. To a certain extent, images are selected using it as a selection criterion. The image selection unit 155 selects an image based on the criterion that more emphasis is placed on an image containing a large number of high-frequency components than the orientation of a face when performing age determination as identification and authentication processing in the image receiving device 20 , for example.

The image data amount reduction unit 152 includes a necessary region extraction unit 156 , a necessary band extraction unit 157 , a resolution conversion unit 158 , and an image coding unit 159 . The necessary region extraction unit 156 calculates and extracts (trimmed) a region suitable for recognition and authentication processing by the image receiving device 20 from the selected image according to the reduction parameter set by the reduction control unit 17 . The necessary band extracting unit 157 calculates and extracts a band suitable for the identification and authentication process by the image receiving device 20 from the selected image according to the reduction parameter set by the reduction control unit 17 . The resolution conversion unit 158 converts the resolution of the selected image so that the minimum resolution (the number of pixels) required for the identification and authentication process by the image receiving device 20 is obtained in accordance with the reduction parameter set by the reduction control unit 17 ( resize). The image encoding unit 159 encodes the selected image at the minimum encoding rate required for the identification and authentication process by the image receiving device 20 according to the reduction parameter set by the reduction control unit 17 .

The transmission unit 19 transmits the image output from the data reduction unit 15 and the attached information related to the image to the image reception device 20 . As described above, the image transmitted from the transmitting unit 19 to the image receiving device 20 is selected as a selected image from a plurality of images continuously input from the imaging unit 11 to the image input unit 12, and the selected image is trimmed and reset. An image whose data volume is reduced by sizing and encoding (data volume reduced image). In this way, in the image transmitting device 10, the process of selecting a part from a plurality of images and reducing the data amount of the selected image itself (trimming, resizing, encoding) can be reduced. The amount of image data transmitted by 20 can thereby reduce the load on the network NW, the processing load on the image receiving device 20, and the required capacity of the database.

On the other hand, in the optimal shot determination unit 151, an image suitable for the identification and authentication process of the image receiving device 20 is selected, and in the pruning of the image data volume reduction unit 152, the image for the identification and authentication process of the image receiving device 20 is extracted. In the necessary area, the image data amount reduction unit 152 resizes and encodes the data amount to the limit necessary for the identification and authentication process of the image receiving device 20 . As a result, the reduction in the accuracy of the identification and authentication processing of the image receiving device 20 can be suppressed by reducing the data size by the optimum shot determination unit 151 and the image data size reduction unit 152 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image receiving device 20 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the image receiving device 20 includes a receiving unit 21 , an image decoding unit 22 , an object analyzing unit 23 , a database 24 , a mode setting unit 25 , and a transmitting unit 26 . The image receiving device 20 constitutes an image recognition authentication server, and is connected to the image transmitting device 10 constituted as a digital camera.

The receiving unit 21 receives the data volume-reduced image and the attached information of the image transmitted from the transmitting unit 19 of the image transmitting device 10 . The image decoding unit 22 decodes the received image. The object analysis unit 23 analyzes the decoded image and attached information, and performs identification and authentication processing of the object. The identification and authentication processing herein includes, for example, identification of the age and gender of a person's face, identification of a specific person from the face of a person, identification of a vehicle's license plate, and the like. The database 24 stores images decoded by the image decoding unit 22 and analysis results obtained by the object analyzing unit 23 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , a result display device 30 is also connected to the image receiving device 20 . The result display device 30 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and displays images and/or analysis results stored in the database 24 . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of an analysis result. In the example of FIG. 4 , the age and gender are recognized on the face of a person, and the statistics thereof are represented by a graph. After installing the imaging unit 11 in a store, by using such an analysis result, it is possible to contribute to the sales activities of the store.

Returning to FIG. 3 , the mode setting unit 25 sets the mode of the identification and authentication process performed by the object analyzing unit 23 . The object analysis unit 23 executes identification and authentication processing according to the mode set by the mode setting unit 25 . The transmitting unit 26 transmits information (mode information) indicating the mode set by the mode setting unit 25 to the image transmitting device 10 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating designation of a mode from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 . As shown in FIG. 5 , mode information is transmitted from the image receiving device 20 to the image transmitting device 10 . The transmitted mode information is received by the receiving unit 18 of the image transmitting device 10 as described above, and is used for the control of the reduction control unit 17 . In the data reduction unit 15, a data amount reduction image is generated by a reduction method corresponding to the pattern information. The data volume-reduced image generated in this way is transmitted from the image transmission device 10 to the image reception device 20 . That is, when the image receiving device 20 transmits the mode information of the identification and authentication process set by the mode setting unit 25 to the image transmitting device 10, the image transmitting device 10 appropriately selects and reduces the amount of data in accordance with the mode information. The image is sent.

Next, the relationship between the mode of the image recognition and authentication process and the method of reducing the data size of the image transmitted from the image transmission device 10 (optimum shot selection and reduction of the data size of the image itself) will be described in detail. As described above, in the image transmission device 10, the optimal shot determination unit 151 selects a part of a plurality of images, and the image data size reduction unit 152 performs processing (trimming, resetting, etc.) to reduce the data size of the selected image itself. size, encoding), thereby reducing the load on the network NW, the processing load on the image receiving device 20, and the necessary capacity of the database. However, for the same object, the number of images received by the image receiving device 20 is limited. The accuracy of the identification and authentication process in the device 20 may decrease, and the data amount of the image received by the image receiving device 20 is reduced, and the accuracy of the identification and authentication process may also decrease.

Therefore, in the image recognition and authentication system 100 of the present embodiment, the criteria for selecting an image by the optimum shot determination unit 151 are set so that an image suitable for the recognition and authentication process of the image receiving device 20 is selected, thereby suppressing For the same object, the reduction in the accuracy of the recognition and authentication process due to the number of images received by the image receiving device 20 is limited, and the amount of data is reduced within the range required for the recognition and authentication process of the image receiving device 20. The reduction method when the image data volume reduction unit 152 reduces the data volume of the image thereby suppresses the reduction in the accuracy of the recognition and authentication process due to the reduction of the data volume of the image received by the image receiving device 20 .

FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between resolution (number of pixels) and accuracy of identification and authentication. As shown in FIG. 6 , when performing face detection (recognition as face) as recognition and authentication processing, as long as the resolution is about 12×12, it can be determined with an accuracy of about 80%. Furthermore, when gender determination is performed as the identification and authentication process, it can be determined with a resolution of approximately 60×60 and with an accuracy of approximately 80%. When performing age determination as identification and authentication processing, a resolution of approximately 80×80 is required in order to obtain an accuracy of approximately 80%. In this way, the resolution required to obtain a certain degree of accuracy differs depending on the content of the identification and authentication process. That is, in the above-mentioned image recognition authentication system 100, in the face detection process performed by the image transmitting device 10 and the gender determination process or age determination process performed by the image receiving device 20, since the necessary resolutions are different, there is no difference between them. Considering the identification and authentication process performed by the image receiving device 20 , when an image is selected by the image transmitting device 10 , it may not be suitable for the determination of the image receiving device 20 and the accuracy may be deteriorated.

It can be seen from FIG. 6 that in any identification and authentication process, the degree of improvement of the accuracy of identification and authentication becomes slow when the resolution is above a certain level. Therefore, even if the resolution is above a certain level, it has nothing to do with the load on the network or on the network. Compared with an increase in the load of the identification and authentication processing, etc., the improvement of the accuracy of the identification and authentication cannot be expected.

The parameter storage unit 16 of the image transmission device 10 stores a table defining a correspondence relationship between the content (mode) of the recognition and authentication process and reduction parameters including resolution and necessity of high-frequency components. FIG. 7 is a table showing an example of a table stored in the parameter storage unit 16 . The identification and authentication processing modes of the image receiving device 20 include an age determination mode, a gender determination mode, a person identification mode, a fashion trend analysis mode, a body shape determination mode, a race determination mode, a car type determination mode, a serial number determination mode, and a pet determination mode. mode, and person thumbnail display mode.

In the table, parameters of "detection target", "analysis target", "band", "area", "resolution", and "image quality" are specified for each mode. In FIG. 6 , the resolution required for each mode is described for "resolution", but the same can be said about "bandwidth" and "image quality". That is, an image with many high-frequency components is required to perform identification and authentication processing with a certain accuracy, but the degree of this increases in the order of face detection, gender determination, and age determination. In addition, when the degree of presence of high-frequency components increases, the increase in the accuracy of the identification and authentication processing becomes slower relative to the increase in high-frequency components. Furthermore, in order to perform recognition and authentication processing with a certain accuracy, images with high image quality are required, but the degree of this is increased in the order of face detection, gender determination, and age determination. In addition, when the image quality improves to a certain extent, the increase in the accuracy of the recognition and authentication processing relative to the improvement in image quality becomes slower.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 7 , for example, in the age determination mode, the "detection target" is, of course, a person first. Furthermore, since the object analysis unit 23 judges the age of the person based on the face image of the person, the "analysis target" becomes the face image. In addition, in order to determine the age from the face image, fine information such as facial wrinkles and detailed positions of each part are required, so there is less blurring and shaking, and a face image containing many high-frequency components is required. ” becomes the need for high-frequency components.

The area required for age determination is only the face area, and information such as the hair portion is unnecessary, so the "area" is the face area. Furthermore, in age determination, as shown in FIG. 6 , a resolution of about 80×80 is required, so the “resolution” is high resolution. Also, similarly, in order to determine the age from the face image and perform detailed analysis, a sufficient amount of information is required, and the image quality becomes high image quality. It should be noted that the image quality corresponds to the amount of encoded codes, and high image quality means that the amount of encoded codes after encoding is large.

The reduction control unit 17 refers to the table stored in the parameter storage unit 16 to obtain parameters corresponding to the pattern information received by the reception unit 18 , and sets the obtained parameters to the data reduction unit 15 and the like. Specifically, the reduction control unit 17 sets the “detection target” in the object detection unit, the “analysis target” in the object feature analysis unit 153, the “band” in the band component detection unit 154 and the necessary The band extraction unit 157 sets “area” in the necessary area extraction unit 156 , sets “resolution” in the resolution conversion unit 158 , and sets “image quality” in the image coding unit 159 .

Next, the operation of the image transmission device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an image transmission method in the image transmission device 10 . The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is executed in accordance with the image transmission program by installing the image transmission program in the image transmission device 10 .

First, the image input unit 12 inputs an image captured by the imaging unit 11 (step S81 ). As described above, images are continuously input from the imaging unit 11 to the image input unit 12 , but the following flow is repeatedly executed for each image (frame). When an image of one frame is input, an object is detected by the object detection unit 13 (step S82 ). At this time, the object to be detected by the object detection unit 13 is set by the reduction control unit 17 as a “detection target”. Then, the object detected by the object tracking unit 14 is tracked (step S83 ).

Next, the object tracking unit 14 determines whether or not the count value has reached a threshold (step S84 ). The count value is the number of consecutive frames in which an object cannot be detected, and the threshold value is an allowable number of consecutive frames in which an object cannot be detected. It should be noted that this count value is held for each object, and the following flow is performed for each object, for example, when there are two objects in the screen, these two objects are respectively performed. When the count value has not reached the threshold (NO in step S84 ), it is determined whether or not an object has been detected (step S85 ). When an object is detected (YES in step S85 ), the count value is reset (step S86 ), and the object feature analysis unit 153 performs feature analysis of the object (step S87 ). The object of feature analysis at this time is set by the reduction control unit 17 as an “analysis target”. Next, the band component detection unit 154 detects the band component (step S88 ).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the band component detection process (step S88 in FIG. 8 ) performed by the band component detection unit 154 . The band component detection unit 154 first analyzes the frequency of the region where the object in the image is detected (step S82 ) (step S881 ). Next, the band component detection unit 154 calculates the component amount of “band” set by the reduction control unit 17 (step S882 ).

Returning to FIG. 8 , next, the image selection unit 155 determines the best shot (step S89 ). Specifically, the image selection unit 155 compares the image stored in the temporary storage buffer as the best shot with the image processed at this time, and based on the result of the feature analysis by the object feature analysis unit 153 and the band component detection unit 154 If the result of the detection of the band component is a better image ("Yes" in step S89), in order to update the image in the temporary storage buffer to the image processed at this time, image data reduction processing is performed (step S90 ). If the stored image is a better image ("No" in step S89), the processing of the image (frame) ends without updating the temporary storage buffer.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing image data amount reduction processing (step 90 in FIG. 8 ) in the image data amount reducing unit 152 . The necessary region extracting unit 156 extracts necessary regions within the image according to the “region” set by the reduction control unit 17 (step S901 ). Next, the necessary band extraction unit 157 extracts necessary bands according to the “band” set by the reduction control unit 17 (step S902 ). Next, the resolution conversion unit 158 converts the resolution of the image according to the “resolution” set by the reduction control unit 17 (step S903 ). Next, the image encoding unit 159 encodes the image according to the “image quality” set by the reduction control unit 17 (step S904 ).

Returning to FIG. 8 , the image data amount reduction unit 152 rewrites the image stored in the temporary storage buffer into an image (data amount reduced image) whose data amount has been reduced by the image data amount reduction process (step S91 ), and ends the image ( frame) processing. This process is repeated, and when the object no longer temporarily appears in the image, since no object is detected in step S85 ("No" in step S85), the count value is increased (step S92), and the image is ended (frame) processing.

When the frames of the undetected object continue, the process of ending the processing via steps S85 to S92 occurs consecutively, and when the count value has not been reset and reaches a predetermined threshold ("No" in step S84), When it is judged that the tracking is completed (the tracking target has completely disappeared from the front of the camera), the transmission unit 19 transmits the image (data size reduced image) currently stored in the temporary storage buffer (step S93 ).

As described above, according to the image recognition authentication system 100 of this embodiment, the best shot determination unit 151 of the image transmission device 10 selects the best shot among the input images, so the image transmitted from the image transmission device 10 to the image reception device 20 The number of objects is limited, thereby reducing the load on the network, the load on the identification and authentication processing of the image receiving device 20, and the required capacity for image storage. Furthermore, the image data volume reduction unit 152 of the image transmission device 10 performs processing for reducing the data volume of the transmitted image by methods such as trimming, resizing, and encoding. The load of identification and authentication processing in the receiving device 20 and the necessary capacity for image storage. It should be noted that only one of the selection of the best shot by the best shot determination unit 151 and the reduction of the image data amount by the image data amount reduction unit 152 described above may be performed.

In the image recognition and authentication system 100 of the present embodiment, the above-mentioned optimum shot determination and image data amount reduction processing in the image transmission device 10 are also performed by a method suitable for the image recognition and authentication process in the image reception device 20 Therefore, not only the amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced, but also the reduction in the accuracy of the identification and authentication process of the image receiving device 20 caused by such a reduction in the amount of data can be suppressed.

Various modifications can be made to the image recognition authentication system 100 described above. Hereinafter, some specific examples thereof will be described. Either one of the optimum shot determination unit 151 and the image data amount reduction unit 152 may be omitted as described above. Furthermore, only a part of the configuration of the image data amount reduction unit 152 may be omitted.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the image transmission device 10 has a parameter storage unit that stores a table that defines the correspondence relationship between the pattern of image recognition and authentication and various parameters related to the method of reducing the amount of data to be transmitted. 16. The mode information is received from the image receiving device 20 through the receiving unit 18, and the reduction control unit 17 sets various parameters corresponding to the mode information, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, mode information may be received from outside the image receiving device 20 . Furthermore, an input unit may be provided instead of the reception unit 18 , and the mode information is input by the user in the image transmission device 10 .

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the image selection unit 155 selects only one optimal image (best shot) according to the condition set by the reduction control unit 17, but the image selection unit 155 may select a predetermined number of optimal images. images, you can also select all images that meet the specified conditions (the number is not limited).

Furthermore, the image receiving device 20 may include a parameter storage unit storing the above-mentioned table, and transmit various parameters corresponding to the pattern of the image recognition and authentication process to the image transmitting device 10 . In this case, the image transmission device 10 does not require the parameter storage unit 16 , and the reception unit 18 receives various parameters, and the reduction control unit 17 sets them. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modified example thereof.

When setting a mode, the image receiving device 20 refers to a table, reads out various parameters corresponding to the mode, and transmits these parameters to the image transmitting device 10 as information indicating a reduction method. In the image transmission device 10, the receiving unit 18 receives this information, and the reduction control unit 17 sets various parameters according to the information, thereby generating a data amount reduction image with a reduction method corresponding to the parameter and receiving the image to the image. Device 20 sends. In the image receiving device 20, the recognition and authentication process is performed on the data-reduced image sent from the image sending device 10, but at this time, if the recognition and authentication accuracy is not good, then the parameters for improving the recognition and authentication accuracy are sent to the image. Device 10 specified. The image transmission device 10 generates a data volume-reduced image according to parameters specified by the image reception device 20 and transmits the image to the image reception device 20 .

In addition, the image recognition authentication system 10 of the above-mentioned embodiment connects one image transmission device 10 and one image reception device 20 via the network NW, but the system configuration is not limited to this. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the system configuration. In this example, the image transmitting device 10 and the image receiving device 20 are directly connected without going through a network. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing still another example of the system configuration. As shown in FIG. 13 , a plurality of image transmission devices 10 and a plurality of image reception devices 20 may be connected via a network NW. It should be noted that only the image transmission device 10 may be provided in plurality and be connected to one image reception device 20 via the network NW.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention considered at the present time have been described above, but various modifications can be made to the present embodiments, and the appended claims include all such modifications within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

【Industrial availability】

The present invention has the effect of reducing network load and server cost, and suppressing the reduction in the accuracy of recognition and authentication processing due to such a reduction in the amount of data, and is useful as an image recognition and authentication system for recognizing continuously input images or performing recognition. .

Claims (11)

1. a kind of picture transmitter device, which is characterized in that have：

Input the image input unit of continuous multiple images；

It cuts down the data volume of the described multiple images inputted to described image input unit and generates the data that data volume cuts down image Measure reduction department；And

The data volume is cut down into image and cuts down the image received device that authentication processing is identified in image to the data volume The sending part of transmission,

The data volume reduction department passes through reduction corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device Method cuts down the data volume of described multiple images,

The data volume reduction department has best shooting determination unit, and has image data amount reduction department,

A part of image is selected to select image as being judged as most from described multiple images by the best shooting determination unit The image of good shooting, and by described image data volume reduction department carry out cut down the selection image itself data volume processing,

Described in selecting to be set by a manner of image appropriate for the identification authentication processing of described image reception device Thus benchmark when best shooting determination unit selection image inhibits for same target limitation described image reception device reception The decline of the precision of identification authentication processing caused by the number of image,

It is set by institute in a manner of cutting down data volume in the range needed for the identification authentication processing in described image reception device Cutting method when image data amount reduction department cuts down the data volume of image is stated, thus inhibits to be received by described image reception device Image data volume be cut in caused by identification authentication processing precision decline.

2. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

The data volume reduction department with benchmark corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device, from A part of image is selected in described multiple images, to cut down the data volume of described multiple images.

3. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

A part of image that the data volume reduction department is selected to described multiple images or from described multiple images, with by institute The corresponding region of the identification authentication processing for stating image received device progress is trimmed, to cut down described multiple images Data volume.

4. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

The data volume reduction department by described multiple images or a part of image selected from described multiple images, with by institute The corresponding band domain constituents extraction of the identification authentication processing for stating image received device progress goes out, to cut down described multiple images Data volume.

5. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

A part of image that the data volume reduction department is selected to described multiple images or from described multiple images is differentiated Rate is converted, and resolution ratio corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device is converted into, to cut down The data volume of described multiple images.

6. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

The data volume reduction department with encoding rate corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device, A part of image selected to described multiple images or from described multiple images encodes, to cut down described multiple images Data volume.

7. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

Have：

Receive the receiving part of the pattern information of the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device；

Store the storage part of the correspondence between the pattern information and the cutting method；And

The cutting method corresponding with the pattern information received by the receiving part is determined with reference to the storage part Reduction control unit,

The data volume reduction department is cut according to the cutting method determined by the reduction control unit to generate the data volume Subtract image.

8. picture transmitter device according to claim 1, which is characterized in that

Have the receiving part for receiving the information for indicating the cutting method,

The data volume reduction department is given birth to according to the cutting method indicated with the described information received by the receiving part Image is cut down at the data volume.

9. a kind of image sending method, which is characterized in that

Including：

Input the image input step of continuous multiple images；

It cuts down the data volume of the described multiple images of input and generates the data volume reduction step that data volume cuts down image；And

The data volume is cut down into image and cuts down the image received device that authentication processing is identified in image to the data volume The forwarding step of transmission,

The data volume reduction step is cut by corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device Subtract method to cut down the data volume of described multiple images,

The data volume reduction step has best shooting determination step, and has image data amount reduction step,

A part of image is selected to select image as being judged as from described multiple images by the best shooting determination step The image most preferably shot, and by described image data volume reduction step carry out cut down the selection image itself data volume place Reason,

Described in selecting to be set by a manner of image appropriate for the identification authentication processing of described image reception device Thus benchmark when best shooting determination step selection image inhibits to receive same target limitation described image reception device Image number caused by identification authentication processing precision decline,

It is set by institute in a manner of cutting down data volume in the range needed for the identification authentication processing in described image reception device Cutting method when image data amount reduction step cuts down the data volume of image is stated, thus inhibits to be connect by described image reception device The data volume of the image of receipts is cut in the decline of the precision of caused identification authentication processing.

10. a kind of image transmission program, which is characterized in that

Computer is set to be functioned as following each section：

Input the image input unit of continuous multiple images；

It cuts down the data volume of the described multiple images inputted to described image input unit and generates the data that data volume cuts down image Measure reduction department；And

The data volume is cut down into image and cuts down the image received device that authentication processing is identified in image to the data volume The sending part of transmission,

The data volume reduction department passes through reduction corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by described image reception device Method cuts down the data volume of described multiple images,

The data volume reduction department has best shooting determination unit, and has image data amount reduction department,

A part of image is selected to select image as being judged as most from described multiple images by the best shooting determination unit The image of good shooting, and by described image data volume reduction department carry out cut down the selection image itself data volume processing,

Described in selecting to be set by a manner of image appropriate for the identification authentication processing of described image reception device Thus benchmark when best shooting determination unit selection image inhibits for same target limitation described image reception device reception The decline of the precision of identification authentication processing caused by the number of image,

It is set by institute in a manner of cutting down data volume in the range needed for the identification authentication processing in described image reception device Cutting method when image data amount reduction department cuts down the data volume of image is stated, thus inhibits to be received by described image reception device Image data volume be cut in caused by identification authentication processing precision decline.

11. a kind of image recognition Verification System, is made of picture transmitter device and image received device, which is characterized in that

Described image sending device has：

Input the image input unit of continuous multiple images；

It cuts down the data volume of the described multiple images inputted to described image input unit and generates the data that data volume cuts down image Measure reduction department；And

The sending part that data volume reduction image is sent to described image reception device,

Described image reception device has：

Receive the receiving part that image is cut down by the data volume that the sending part is sent；And

The identification authentication processing portion that authentication processing is identified in image is cut down for the data volume received by the receiving part,

The data volume reduction department is cut by corresponding with the identification authentication processing carried out by the identification authentication processing portion Subtract method to cut down the data volume of described multiple images,

The data volume reduction department has best shooting determination unit, and has image data amount reduction department,

A part of image is selected to select image as being judged as most from described multiple images by the best shooting determination unit The image of good shooting, and by described image data volume reduction department carry out cut down the selection image itself data volume processing,

Described in selecting to be set by a manner of image appropriate for the identification authentication processing of described image reception device Thus benchmark when best shooting determination unit selection image inhibits for same target limitation described image reception device reception The decline of the precision of identification authentication processing caused by the number of image,

It is set by institute in a manner of cutting down data volume in the range needed for the identification authentication processing in described image reception device Cutting method when image data amount reduction department cuts down the data volume of image is stated, thus inhibits to be received by described image reception device Image data volume be cut in caused by identification authentication processing precision decline.