Abstract:
A vehicle screening method and system. A vehicle occupant can be identified utilizing one or more biometric identifiers input by or obtained from the vehicle occupant via a biometric input device. A barcode can also be provided by the vehicle occupant from a scanned card or other structure upon which the barcode is maintained. Additionally, a unique identification number can be provided by the user in order to match the unique identification number against a database of identification numbers, thereby permitting the vehicle occupant to be remotely screened and verified for entry into a secure facility based on the biometric identifier(s), the barcode and the unique identification number.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments are generally related to data-processing devices and techniques. Embodiments are also related to vehicle screening systems and methods. Embodiments are additionally related to biometric identification techniques. Embodiments are also related to electronic kiosks and related devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The expansion of terrorism throughout the world has resulted in increased hazards to many cultures, particularly relatively free and open societies such as the United States of America. In such an open society, it is relatively easy to do a great deal of damage, as evidenced by “car bombs,” i.e., automobiles or other vehicles loaded with explosives and detonated beneath or near a building structure. 
     Such motor vehicles are also used for concealing and smuggling various types of weaponry and contraband (drugs, etc.). Authorities are well aware of the potential hazards of such concealed articles and materials, and a number of automated inspection devices employing different principles of operation have been developed in response. Nevertheless, the inspection of every vehicle passing a given point or location is generally impractical in most instances. This is particularly true for large scale events, e.g. major sporting events, public events at military bases, facilities providing daily employment to large numbers of workers and staff, etc. 
     Presently, inspection devices employing one principle of operation are utilized for detecting explosives, and another principle or principles is/are used for the detection of concealed weapons. These various detection devices are independent of one another and must be used separately in any given inspection station or location. In many instances, authorities simply cannot provide the number of personnel required to perform all of the inspections necessary to completely inspect all vehicles passing through a given checkpoint. Even if it were possible to provide sufficient personnel, this would clearly add considerably to the time involved in a detailed inspection of every vehicle passing through a given inspection point. 
     It is therefore believed that one solution to these problems involves the design and implementation of a self-screening system for permitting vehicles to pass through security gates in order to gain access to a facility or area. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the embodiments and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole. 
     It is, therefore, one aspect of the present invention to provide for improved data-processing techniques and devices. 
     It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide for kiosk-based vehicle screening system. 
     The aforementioned aspects of the invention and other objectives and advantages can now be achieved as described herein. A vehicle screening method and system is disclosed. A vehicle occupant can be identified utilizing one or more biometric identifiers input by or obtained from the vehicle occupant via a biometric input device. A one or two dimensional barcode can also be provided by the vehicle occupant from a scanned card or other structure upon which the barcode is maintained. Additionally a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) device or smartcard may be used to communicate information about the driver, passenger or vehicle. Additionally, a unique identification number can be provided by the user in order to match the unique identification number against a database of identification numbers, thereby permitting the vehicle occupant to be remotely screened and verified for entry into a secure facility based on the biometric identifier(s), the barcode and the unique identification number. The vehicle itself may also be identified by an automated license plate reader as well as images of the vehicle. 
     The method and system disclosed herein involves the use of a drive-up electronic kiosk for screening vehicles and their occupants prior to entering a secured facility. The method and system can be used to screen a vehicle and verify the identity of its occupants at a safe distance from the entrance to a secured facility. Biometric identification can be utilized to scan and identify the face of a vehicle occupant, the speech/voice associated with the vehicle occupant, and the iris of the vehicle occupant. Identification (ID) cards provided by the vehicle occupant can be scanned using barcode and/or other ID scanners. The drive-up electronic kiosk discussed herein enables a vehicle occupant to enter a unique ID number. The combination of these three elements—something that a vehicle occupant has, something the vehicle occupant knows, and his or her appearance—permit effective occupant screening from a safe distance. 
     The system may include a database of both authorized and unauthorized individuals and vehicles. This database is automatically checked using information obtained from the vehicle and its occupants. 
     The drive-up electronic kiosk can include in some embodiments, a touch screen for use by the vehicle driver to enter information, one or more card readers to obtain information the driver&#39;s license or ID cards, one or more cameras to obtain real time (RT) video of the vehicle occupant(s), including snapshots of the faces of the occupants, along with a microphone and speakers for interacting with the driver. These components are provided in the context of an environmentally controlled housing intended for all weather use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a data-processing apparatus, which can be adapted for use in implementing a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a system, which can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic diagram of a sensor field, in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of a kiosk, which can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a kiosk interface that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an officer console system that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment; and 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a graphical user interface that can be implemented in accordance with the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limiting examples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least one embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of a data-processing apparatus  100 , which can be utilized in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Data-processing apparatus  100  (e.g., a computer) can be utilized in the context of the vehicle screening system  200  disclosed in further detail here. Data-processing apparatus  100  can be configured to include a general purpose computing device, such as a computer  102 . The computer  102  includes a processing unit  104 , a memory  106 , and a system bus  108  that operatively couples the various system components to the processing unit  104 . One or more processing units  104  operate as either a single central processing unit (CPU) or a parallel processing environment. 
     The data-processing apparatus  100  further includes one or more data storage devices for storing and reading program and other data. Examples of such data storage devices include a hard disk drive  110  for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive  112  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk (not shown), and an optical disc drive  114  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disc (not shown), such as a CD-ROM or other optical medium. A monitor  122  is connected to the system bus  108  through an adapter  124  or other interface. Additionally, the data-processing apparatus  100  can include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. Additionally, a user input device  127  such as a keyboard and/or mouse can be connected to system bus  108  in order to permit users to input data, commands and instructions to data-processing apparatus  100 . 
     The hard disk drive  110 , magnetic disk drive  112 , and optical disc drive  114  are connected to the system bus  108  by a hard disk drive interface  116 , a magnetic disk drive interface  118 , and an optical disc drive interface  120 , respectively. These drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for use by the data-processing apparatus  100 . Note that such computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data can be implemented as a module  107 . 
     Note that the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in the context of a host operating system and one or more module(s)  107 . In the computer programming arts, a software module can be typically implemented as a collection of routines and/or data structures that perform particular tasks or implement a particular abstract data type. 
     Software modules generally comprise instruction media storable within a memory location of a data-processing apparatus and are typically composed of two parts. First, a software module may list the constants, data types, variable, routines and the like that can be accessed by other modules or routines. Second, a software module can be configured as an implementation, which can be private (i.e., accessible perhaps only to the module), and that contains the source code that actually implements the routines or subroutines upon which the module is based. The term module, as utilized herein can therefore refer to software modules or implementations thereof. Such modules can be utilized separately or together to form a program product that can be implemented through signal-bearing media, including transmission media and recordable media. 
     It is important to note that, although the embodiments are described in the context of a fully functional data-processing apparatus such as data-processing apparatus  100 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the present invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing media utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to, recordable-type media such as floppy disks or CD ROMs and transmission-type media such as analogue or digital communications links. 
     Any type of computer-readable media that can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile discs (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), and read only memories (ROMs) can be used in connection with the embodiments. 
     A number of program modules can be stored or encoded in a machine readable medium such as the hard disk drive  110 , the, magnetic disk drive  114 , the optical disc drive  114 , ROM, RAM, etc or an electrical signal such as an electronic data stream received through a communications channel. These program modules can include an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. 
     The data-processing apparatus  100  can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers (not shown). These logical connections are implemented using a communication device coupled to or integral with the data-processing apparatus  100 . The data sequence to be analyzed can reside on a remote computer in the networked environment. The remote computer can be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, or a peer device or other common network node.  FIG. 1  depicts the logical connection as a network connection  126  interfacing with the data-processing apparatus  100  through a network interface  128 . Such networking environments are commonplace in office networks, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet, which are all types of networks. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the network connections shown are provided by way of example and that other means of and communications devices for establishing a communications link between the computers can be used. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of a system  200 , which can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment. System  200  generally includes a kiosk  202  composed of a face camera  204 , an audio component  206 , a driver&#39;s license reader  208 , a kiosk touch screen  210 , and officer camera  212 . The face camera  204  and other similar face cameras can be employed in the context of a facial biometric identification device for identifying the faces of vehicle occupants. System  200  also includes one or more vehicle cameras  218  and a license plate reader  201 . Data generated from the vehicle camera(s)  218  can be transmitted to a digital video manager  226 . Data generated from the officer camera  212  can also be transmitted to the digital video manager  226 . Data generated by the license plate reader  201 , the face camera  204 , the audio component  206 , the driver&#39;s license reader  208  and/or the kiosk touch screen  210  can be transmitted to a module  220  that implements Web Logic java “beans” algorithms, database functions and/or business rules. Note that module  220  can be implemented as a module such as module  107  depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
     Data generated by the digital video manager  226  can also be transmitted to module  220  for processing by module  220 . Data generated by the module  220  can then be provided to one or more consoles  224 , which are described in greater detail herein. Data processed by module  220  can also be provided to a gate database  228  and a Biometric Management System database  230 . Data generated by the digital video manager  226  can also be stored in a video database  232 . Additionally, a road loop/controller or other vehicle sensing device such as an infrared beam unit  214  can publish event information as indicated by arrow  216 , which is then provided to and/or accessed by elements of the system which subscribe to these events. Elements which may subscribe to the vehicle event s include but are not limited to the license plate reader  201 , Face camera  204 , audio  206 , kiosk touch screen  210  and vehicle cameras  218 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a schematic diagram of a sensor field  300 , in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The example depicted in  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative in nature, and it can be appreciated that a variety of alternative embodiments may be implemented for sensor field  300 , depending upon design considerations. As indicated in the example scenario of  FIG. 3 , three vehicles  306 ,  307 , and  302  are shown progressing along a road or vehicle lane  308 . Vehicle  307  is shown stopped or approaching the front of a gate  322 . Vehicle  302  is also shown located in front of a gate  314 . A camera  320  has a view of the front of car  307 . An officer&#39;s camera  316 , which is analogous or similar to the officer camera  212  depicted in  FIG. 2 , is located proximate to a face camera  318 , which is also analogous or similar to the face camera  204  depicted in  FIG. 2 . An officer&#39;s intercom  326  is also located proximate to the face camera  318  and associated with an ID reader and keypad component  326 . Additionally, a camera  340  and a camera  342  that can perform a license plate recognition operation are preferably positioned to view the rear of car  307 . Note that the officer&#39;s intercom  324  the ID reader and keypad component  326 , the officer&#39;s camera  316  and the face camera  318  can be implemented in the context of a system such as system  200  and the kiosk  202  depicted in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of a kiosk  400 , which can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment. Note that kiosk  400  is analogous to the kiosk  202  of system  200  described earlier. Kiosk  400  thus represents an alternative implementation of kiosk  202 . In general, kiosk  400  is associated with a gate  406 , which is analogous, for example, to gates  322  depicted in  FIG. 4 . Kiosk  400  includes a microphone  411  (analogous to the audio component  206  of  FIG. 2 ) that is connected to a preamplifier  424 , which in turn is connected to a Fiber I/F unit  422  that is connected to a fiber patch panel  426 . The microphone  411  can be used for speech identification. A vehicle occupant speaks into the occupant to provide his or her voice for speech verification purposes. Kiosk  400  also includes an officer&#39;s camera  410 , which is analogous to the officer camera  212  of  FIG. 2  and the officer camera  316  of  FIG. 3 . 
     The officer&#39;s camera  410  is connected to a Fiber I/F unit  424 , which in turn is connected to a fiber patch panel  426 . A face camera  408  is also provided as a part of kiosk  400 . The face camera  408  is analogous to the face camera  204  of  FIG. 2  and the face camera  318  of  FIG. 3 . The face camera  408  is generally connected to the Fiber I/F unit  424  along with the officer&#39;s camera  410 . A speaker  412  is also provided as a part of kiosk  400 . The speaker  412  is also analogous to the audio component  206  depicted in  FIG. 2 . Speaker  412  is connected to an amplifier  426 , which is connected to a Fiber I/F unit  430 . The Fiber I/F unit  430  is connected to the fiber patch panel  426 . The Fiber I/F unit  430  is connected to the data processing apparatus  100  depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
     Note that the data-processing apparatus  100  or another type of computer can be utilized in association with the configuration depicted in  FIG. 4 . A DL Reader  416  having a reader slot  418  is connected to the apparatus  100 , along with a DL Reader  420  having a reader slot  422 . Note that the DL reader  420  is a barcode reader that can read a two-dimensional bar code associated with a user identification card that belongs to a vehicle occupant. Note that although readers  416  and  420  are depicted in  FIG. 4 , it can be appreciated that the system and method described herein can also utilizes reader devices that rely on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), near field communications and smartcard technologies which use radio frequency instead of optical means to communicate information. For example, a vehicle occupant may possess a card having an RFID tag that can be automatically scanned by a wireless RFID reader  421  associated with the kiosk  400  in order to assist in verifying the identity of the vehicle occupant. Similarly, the identification card belong to the vehicle occupant can be, for example, a smart card and a smart card reader  423  may be employed by kiosk  400  instead of and/or in addition to readers  416  and  420 . 
     Kiosk  400  additionally includes two lines  439  and  441  which can electrically or optically connect to the processing and display elements of the system. A fiber line  437  is generally connected to the fiber patch panel  426 . Kiosk  400  also includes one or more camera power supplies  430  and  432  in addition to a heater unit  434  and an AC unit  426 . Note that the pre-amplifier  424 , the amplifier  426 , the apparatus  100 , the Fiber I/F units  430 ,  422 ,  424  and the fiber patch panel  426  are a part of the general kiosk unit  402  in addition to the camera power supplies  430 ,  432  and the heater  434  and AC unit  436 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method  500  that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Note that the methodology depicted in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  7  can be implemented in the context of a software module, such as module  107  (or group of modules) described earlier. As indicated at block  502 , a vehicle enters a vehicle lane such as the vehicle lane or road  308  depicted in  FIG. 3 . Thereafter, as illustrated at block  504 , vehicle and related information are acquired. Next, as indicated at block  506 , a test can be performed to determine if the vehicle can be processed at a kiosk (e.g., kiosks  202  and/or  400 ). If it is determined that the vehicle cannot be processed at the kiosk, a visitor center processing operation is performed as indicated at block  508 . That is, the vehicle driver is requested to visit a visitor center for processing before entry into a secured facility or area. 
     If it is determined that the vehicle can be processed, as depicted at block  506 , an operation is then performed, as indicated at block  510 , in which information is acquired, including an identification number such as a social security number (SSN), drivers license data. Additionally, as indicated at block  510 , local database results can be gathered and access control results processed. Thereafter, as indicated at block  512  another test can be performed, this one involving a test to determine if there is one passenger? If there is more than one passenger, then an officer determines driver disposition by, for example, entering officer comments. The officer may press “save” or “forget” and enter his or comments into a data-processing apparatus. The officer can provide instructions to the driver or may actually lift the gate arm to allow the vehicle to pass through the gate. Results may be saved to a database. 
     If it is determined, that there is only one passenger, then an operation is performed, as depicted at block  516 , in which the passenger is processed. That is, the SSN can be acquired, along with driver&#39;s license information, and local database results displayed. Additionally, access control results can be processed. Thereafter, as depicted at block  518 , the officer can determine driver/passenger disposition. The office may enter comments, if any and can “save” or “forget” information regarding the vehicle and occupants. The officer can provide instructions to the driver and can life the gate arm to allow the vehicle to pass through the gate. Results can then be saved to the database. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method  510  that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment. Note that in  FIGS. 5-7 , identical or similar parts or elements are generally indicated by identical reference numerals. The method  510  depicted in  FIG. 6  is a more detailed breakdown of the operation depicted at block  510  in  FIG. 5 . Thus, as depicted at block  506 , in response to a “yes” answer with respect to the test described at block  506 , a test can be performed as illustrated at block  604  to determine if the driver entered his or her SSN (or other appropriate identifying information) into the kiosk  202  or  400 . 
     If it is determined that the driver did not enter this information, then an operation is performed in which the officer performs exception process (e.g., sending the driver to the visitor center) as depicted at block  606 . If, however, it is determined that the operation did enter the SSN into the kiosk  202  or  400 , then the SSN and/or other appropriate information is displayed to the officer who manually types into an access control system as indicated at block  608 . Thereafter, a test can be performed to determine if the driver&#39;s 2D bar code has been scanned. If it is determined that the 2D bar code has not been scanned, then as indicated at block  612 , the driver&#39;s license is scanned and the data is displayed for the officer. 
     Thereafter, as indicated at block  614 , the system  200  queries the local watch list and thereafter, the watch list results are displayed for the officer as depicted at block  618 . Following processing of the operation illustrated at block  618 , the officer can make an authorization determination based upon the results of the SSN check and the watch list results. Thereafter, the operation depicted at block  514  of  FIG. 5  can be processed. Assuming that the diver&#39;s license 2D code was scanned, as indicated at block  610 , then the operation indicated at block  616  can be processed in which the system  200  queries the local watch list using all vehicle and driver information. Thereafter, the operations indicated at block  616 ,  618  and so forth are processed. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations depicting a method  516  that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment. The method  516  depicted in  FIG. 7  is a more detailed breakdown of the operation depicted at block  516  in  FIG. 5 . Thus, as depicted at block  512 , in response to a “yes” response, a test can then be performed to determine if the passenger entered his or her SSN into the kiosk  202  or  400 . If it is determined that the passenger did not enter his or SSN as depicted at block  704 , then the officer performs exception processing as indicated at block  706 . If, however, it is determined that the passenger did enter the SSN, then as illustrated at block  708 , an operation is performed in which the SSN is displayed to the office who manually types it into the access control system. 
     Next, as indicated at block  710 , a test is performed to determine if the driver&#39;s license 2D bar code has been scanned. If it is determined that the driver&#39;s license was not scanned, then the driver&#39;s license is scanned and the data is displayed to the officer as illustrated at block  712 . Thereafter, as described at block  714 , the system  200  queries the local watch list using only “additional” information. Next, as depicted at block  718 , the watch list results are displayed for the officer. Thereafter, as depicted at block  720 , the officer can make an authorization determination based upon the result of the SSN check and the watch list results. Note that if is determined that the driver&#39;s license 2D bar code was scanned, then as indicated at block  716 , the system  200  queries the local watch list using the information from the passenger&#39;s driver license and additional information. Following processing of the operation depicted at block  716 , the operations depicted at blocs  718 ,  720  and so on can be processed. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a kiosk interface  802  that can be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment.  FIG. 8  also indicates an interface  804  that graphically displays instructions for a user, instructing the driver on how to insert and validate his or her driver&#39;s license into a card reader. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an officer console system  900  that can be implemented in accordance with an alternative embodiment. Note that the officer console system  900  can be implemented in the context of a data-processing apparatus, such as, for example, data-processing apparatus  100  depicted in  FIG. 1 . The officer console system  900  generally includes one or more keyboards  902 ,  903 , which are user input devices that permit a user to input data to a device such as apparatus  100  of  FIG. 1  and ultimately to system  200 . 
     Note that keyboards  902 ,  903  are analogous to the use input device  127  depicted in  FIG. 1 . Keyboard  902  can be associated with a control section  906 , which provides gate and intercom controls. Keyboard  902  also can be associated with a section that provides PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) controls. A plurality of display areas  910 ,  914  and  916  can also be provided for a user, which can provide a graphical user interface that respectively provides for driver PTZ and other views  912 , an existing interface (i.e., display area  914 ) and an officer console via (display area  916 ). Using the officer console system  900  depicted in  FIG. 9 , a PTZ officer camera can be controlled from a user interface device such as a joy stick unit  905 . All camera views can be selectable via a user input device such as a mouse. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a detailed view of the graphical user interface of display area  916  that can be implemented in accordance with the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 9 . The display area  916  is an interactive graphical user interface in which driver and passenger data can be displayed to the officer and entered into system  200 . 
     It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.