Biometric authentication device and biometric authentication method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9298965-B2
Application number	US-201313908582-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 3, 2013
Priority date	Dec 3, 2010
Publication date	Mar 29, 2016
Grant date	Mar 29, 2016

Abstract

A biometric authentication device includes a sensor which generates illumination images in which an object carrying biometric information is photographed while a light source is turned on, and a non-illumination image in which the object is photographed while the light source is turned off. The biometric authentication device generates difference images by subtracting from a luminance value of each pixel of each illumination image a luminance value of a corresponding pixel of the non-illumination image and determines an integration number, based on a statistical value of luminance values of a first difference image, so that the integration number increases as an influence of luminance values of pixels included in at least one region of the first difference image due to the noise superimposed on the first difference image increases, and generates the biometric image based on the integration number of the difference images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A biometric authentication device which performs biometric authentication of a user using a biometric image in which an object carrying biometric information of the user is photographed, comprising:
an illumination light source which illuminates the object;
a sensor which generates a plurality of illumination images in which the object is photographed in a state where the illumination light source is turned on, and at least one non-illumination image in which the object is photographed in a state where the illumination light source is turned off;
at least one processor configured to:
generate a plurality of difference images by subtracting from a luminance value of each pixel of each illumination image a luminance value of a corresponding pixel of the non-illumination image,
determine an integration number, based on a statistical value of luminance values of a first difference image which represents an amount of noise superimposed on the first difference image among the plurality of difference images, so that the integration number of the difference images increases as an influence of luminance values of the pixels included in at least one region of the first difference image due to the noise superimposed on the first difference image increases, and
generate the biometric image by calculating luminance values of respective pixels of the biometric image based on a total of luminance values of the corresponding pixels of the difference images, the number of which is the integration number, among the plurality of difference images.

2. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein determination of the integration number includes calculation of a variance of the luminance values of pixels in a region, in which the object is captured, in the first difference image as the statistical value of the luminance values, and determination of the integration number so that a variance of the luminance values of pixels of the biometric image estimated from the variance of the luminance values calculated is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold.

3. The biometric authentication device according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined threshold is a variance of luminance values of pixels in the region, when an average value of luminance values of pixels in the region in the biometric image is equal to a reference average value which is an average value of luminance values of pixels in the region in the reference image which is obtained when the object is photographed in a state where the illumination light source is turned on and there is no environmental light.

4. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein determination of the integration number includes calculation of an average value of the luminance values of pixels in a region, in which the object is captured, in the first difference image as the statistical value of the luminance values, and determination of the integration number by dividing, by the average value, a reference average value which is an average value of luminance values of pixels in the region in the reference image which is obtained when the object is photographed in a state where the illumination light source is turned on and there is no environmental light.

5. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein
when an exposure time dividing number is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the exposure time dividing number being obtained by dividing second exposure time by first exposure time, the second exposure time being for generating the biometric image by photographing the object in a state where the illumination light source is turned on and there is no environmental light when a part of the object closest to the sensor is located in the shortest distance of a distance range capable of photographing by the sensor, the first exposure time of the sensor being for a generation of each illumination image, determination of the integration number includes calculation of an average value of the luminance values of pixels in a region, in which the object is captured, in the first difference image as the statistical value of the luminance values, and determination of the integration number based on the average value, and
on the other hand, when the exposure time dividing number is greater than the predetermined threshold, the determination of the integration number includes calculation of a variance of the luminance values of pixels in the region, in which the object is captured, in the first difference image as the statistical value of the luminance values, and determination of the integration number based on the variance of the luminance values.

6. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 , wherein
a second object is captured in the plurality of illumination images with the object,
the at least one processor is further configured to extract, from the first difference image, a first object region in which the object is captured, and a second object region in which the second object is captured,
determination of the integration number includes determination of a first integration number for the first object region based on the statistical value of luminance values of pixels in the first object region, the statistical value representing an amount of noise superimposed on the first object region, and determination of a second integration number for the second object region based on the statistical value of luminance values of pixels in the second object region, the statistical value representing an amount of noise superimposed on the second object region, and
generation of the biometric image includes generation of a first biometric image by calculating the luminance value of each pixel in the first object region in the biometric image based on a total of the luminance values between the correspondence pixels in the first object region in each of the first integration number of the difference images among the plurality of difference images, and generation of a second biometric image by calculating the luminance value of each pixel in the second object region in the biometric image based on a total of the luminance values between the correspondence pixels in the second object region in each of the second integration number of the difference images among the plurality of difference images.

7. The biometric authentication device according to claim 1 ,
further comprising a storage device which stores data concerning the registered biometric information of registered user which is registered in advance, and
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to compare the registered biometric information and the biometric information of the user based on the data and the biometric image.

8. A biometric authentication method which performs biometric authentication of a user using a biometric image in which an object carrying biometric information of the user is photographed, comprising:
generating a plurality of illumination images in which the object is photographed in a state where an illumination light source is illuminating the object, and at least one non-illumination image in which the object is photographed in a state where the illumination light source is turned off;
generating a plurality of difference images by subtracting from a luminance value of each pixel of each illumination image a luminance value of corresponding pixel of the non-illumination image;
determining an integration number, based on a statistical value of luminance values of a first difference image which represents an amount of noise superimposed on the first difference image among the plurality of difference images, so that the integration number of the diffe

Assignees

• Fujitsu Ltd

Inventors

• Aoki Takahiro

Classifications

• G06V40/10 Primary

  Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands · CPC title

• G06V40/12

  Fingerprints or palmprints · CPC title

• H04N23/74

  by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/72

  Combination of two or more compensation controls · CPC title

• H04N23/951

  by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio · CPC title