Patent Publication Number: US-8526686-B2

Title: Dynamic profile creation in response to facial recognition

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to user validation and profile access based on the presence of a plurality of users. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) environment, as in many other similar fields), users can be provided with the ability to log in (in some implementations users are required to log in) to access the account. In addition to an account validation, each account can have a plurality of users associated with it, each user having an individual log in. By creating profiles for different users, the account administrator (who is in the context of this discussion one of the users that is responsible for setting up accounts) can create profiles associated with each of the users that can be used to restrict access to content. 
     Typically logging in to an IPTV environment involves interacting with either the IPTV Set Top Box (STB) or both the IPTV STB and network elements. This is commonly done by entering a pass phrase as will be discussed in more detail below. This is often difficult for some users, and cumbersome for most users. It also does not account for the presence of more than a single user at any time. Thus if two account holders, a parent and a child for example, are both present, one of the two accounts must be used. If the account with the most restrictions is used, the other account holder cannot typically override the content filtering without logging in to the system, which may then provide access to some content that would preferably not be shown. The only prior art remedy is to create a third account that would then be used for the two account holders when together. This is cumbersome and creates administrative problems that are preferably avoided. 
     In an unrelated art field, image processing has allowed for individuals in photographs to be identified based on facial characteristics. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a photograph with three people in it is captured by capture device  52 , and is then passed to a recognition engine  54 . Recognition engine  54  can isolate the faces in the photograph with sufficiently high accuracy, and can then compare the facial features of each identified face to the contents of profile database  56 . Based on the contents of the profile database  56 , recognition engine  54  can modify photograph  50  to produce photograph  50   a  which includes metadata identifying each of user 1   58   a , user 2   58   b  and user 3   58   c . These features can be performed by some cameras, some camera phones, and by many computers. 
     In the field of computer security, it is known that a biometric reading, including a facial recognition scan, can be used as a login credential into some computing systems.  FIG. 2  illustrates such an embodiment. A photograph of a user  60  is captured by capture device  52  and provided to recognition engine  54 . Recognition Engine  54  access content in user profile and credential database  62 , to identify the user in photograph  60  and then provides the login credential  64  associated with that user to login engine  66 . At this point the user is able to login to the computer system. 
     As discussed above, in a conventional IPTV environment, a user interacts with an STB  70  connected to a display  68 . The STB  70  provides a login prompt  72  on display  68 . The user makes use of remote control  74  to provide a pass phrase, or typically a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN, as discussed above, is an account specific login credential that is then used to validate the user and provide access to an account. In some embodiments, the user is requested to select a login from a menu and is then prompted for the PIN. 
     At present logging in to an IPTV STB is done with a user specific credential, and requires that a controller with a form factor limited input mechanism is employed. This is far from ideal. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method that obviate or mitigate the above described problems 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one disadvantage of the prior art. 
     In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of user account administration. The method comprises receiving an image from an image capture device, the image containing at least two faces; determining, in accordance with stored user profiles, that the received image includes both a first user having the ability to create new user profiles, and a second user without a user profile; creating a new user profile; and assigning the new user profile to the second user. 
     In an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the step of determining includes employing facial recognition processes on the received image in conjunction with facial recognition patterns associated with each of the stored user profiles. Optionally, the step of assigning the new user profile includes the step of modifying the user profile to include facial recognition patterns associated with the image of the second user. In another embodiment, the step of creating a new user profile is preceded by the step of prompting the first user to approve the creation of a new user profile. 
     In a further embodiment, the step of creating the new user profile includes assigning the new profile generic characteristics. Optionally, the method can further include the step of prompting the first user to modify the created profile. The profile can also be modified to include content access permissions or demographic information associated with the second user. 
     In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user account administration management system. The system comprises a profile processor having a communications interface and a database interface. The communications interface receives an indication identifying a plurality of users. The database interface retrieves profiles associated with each of the users in the identified plurality from a user profile database. The profile processor determines that a first user in the plurality is associated with a profile having permission to create new user profiles for storage in the user profile database, and that a second user in the plurality is not associated with a profile in the user database, and creates a profile in the user profile database associated with the second of the users. 
     In an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the system further includes the user profile database which stores profiles associated with users. In an alternate embodiment, the database interface is operatively connected to a communications network for remotely accessing the user profile database. 
     In another embodiment, the system further includes a recognition engine for receiving an image of a plurality of users from an image capture device, for generating an indication identifying the plurality of users in accordance with facial recognition patterns stored in association with the stored profiles in the user profile database and the received image and for forwarding the generated indication to the profile processor. Optionally, the image capture device is connected to another device in communication with the recognition engine. 
     In a further embodiment, the communications interface is operatively connected to a communications network for communicating with a recognition engine remotely located from the permission management system. 
     Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram figure illustrating recognition of faces in a photograph; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram figure illustrating a user login based on facial recognition; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a convention IPTV STB login process; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating a multi-user login system; 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart illustrating a method of user validation; 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the method of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram illustrating a user profile for a multi-user login system; 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a method of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating a method of account creation; and 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention is directed to a system and method for the generation of and log in using multi-user accounts. 
     Reference may be made below to specific elements, numbered in accordance with the attached figures. The discussion below should be taken to be exemplary in nature, and not as limiting of the scope of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined in the claims, and should not be considered as limited by the implementation details described below, which as one skilled in the art will appreciate, can be modified by replacing elements with equivalent functional elements. 
     As IPTV features are enhanced, many functions are being provided that are often not thought of as television related. One such feature is video-chatting or video-conferencing using the display attached to the IPTV STB. A camera is provided that interacts with the STB, and allow the user to capture images and video and to share them with other IPTV users. This is increasing the number of STB&#39;s and televisions that have access to an image capture device. Typically this image capture device is oriented so that a field of view similar to the preferred viewing angles of the television is provided to the camera (often by placing the camera in the bezel of the display). One side effect is that the people watching the television can then be seen by the camera. 
     In the present invention, the image capture device (typically referred to as a camera) is employed as a user login and validation interface. However, instead of encountering confusion when one or more users are present, the STB determines an access level that is appropriate for the users present. This can be achieved in one of a number of fashions, as will be discussed below. Additionally, when multiple viewers are identified, a registered user (in some embodiments only the administrator) can be prompted to create a profile for any users not known in the image. This facilitates a simpler user recognition system. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a basic configuration of a system as discussed above. A display  100  is connected to a STB  102 , which is connected to an image capture device  104 . One skilled in the art will appreciate that the image capture device  104  can be integrated into the display  100 , or connected to the STB  102  through display  100 . 
     Image capture device  104  captures image  106  having two people  108   a  and  108   b  in the image. This image is passed to STB  102 . In some embodiments the identification of the users is done in advance of other processing, and is performed either at the capture device  104 , or at the STB  102 . In other embodiments, the image can be sent to an IPTV network element, such as a Resource and Admission Control node, for processing. Transmitting the image to the network is preferably done only in embodiments where the user validation and login is performed in the network and not in the STB  102 . 
     Upon determining the identities of the viewers  108   a  and  108   b , STB can provide a level of access that is determined in accordance with the two users. In some embodiments, if the two users both have profiles, the more restrictive set of permissions is used, whereas in other embodiments the less restrictive set of permissions is used. In other embodiments, which will be discussed later, permissions and access can be based on conditions set in the user profiles to recognize conditions where one user is present with either a specific user or a class of users. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a method of the present invention. In step  110 , multiple user identities are received indicating their presence. In step  112 , the profiles of the present users are retrieved, and in step  114 , the access rights and permissions are determined in accordance with the retrieved profiles. One skilled in the art will appreciate that this process can be performed either at the STB or at a network node without departing from the scope of the present invention. As long as two profiles are authenticated as a part of, or as a precursor to, step  110 , the rest of the method can be performed. 
     In  FIG. 6 , further precursor steps to step  110  are shown. In step  116 , an image or a video is captured. Based on the captured image or video, profiles are matched to the detected users in step  118 . The user identities, and any credentials required for further processing are then forwarded in step  120  and the process continues with step  110 . One skilled in the art will appreciate that the step of capturing video in  116  must be performed at or near the STB, but all other steps can be performed either in the STB or in the network nodes. 
     Step  114  of  FIG. 5  can be performed in a number of different ways as was mentioned above. In  FIG. 7   a , upon completion of step  112 , the step of determining access rights in step  114  includes setting access rights to the permissions associated with the more restrictive profile. This means that when a parent and child are both watching television, the chances of the child accidentally watching inappropriate content are greatly reduced. If, however, the parent wants full access to content in the presence of a child, the method of  FIG. 7   b  can be employed. In place of step  122 , step  124  is performed and the access rights are set in accordance with the least restrictive set of permissions. This allows the parent to determine what content is appropriate for the child on a case by case basis. 
     In a further embodiment, the set of permissions associated with a user can be made conditional. This allows a child&#39;s profile to be very restrictive when the child is alone in front of the television, and more liberal in the presence of another user. Such a method is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . In step  114  a further decision is made. In step  126 , the determination of whether or not one of the profiles has conditional permissions is made. If no conditional permissions are present, then the process can continue to either step  122  or  124 . If conditional permissions are present in the profile, the process continues to step  128  where the conditional permissions are processed to determine the access rights. 
     Conditional permissions can be set in any number of ways. A child&#39;s allowed content may be very restricted alone, less restricted in the presence of a profiled adult, and even less restrictive in the presence of a particular user (such as a parent). The presence of the parent can provide access to content either for the duration that the parent is present, or for a buffer period following. The buffer period can be a fixed duration of time (so that programming is not locked if the parent leaves the room briefly), or for the length of a program. Other variations can be permitted as well. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a profile  130  with conditional permissions. When the profiled user is alone, a set of permissions  132  allows the user access to all channels in a children&#39;s programming package as well as any other content flagged as a cartoon. If the user is determined to be in the presence of an adult, a set of permissions  134  allows access to sports without violent content and IPTV content such as games. In the presence of a specified user, such as a father, the set of permissions  136  expands to include hockey, but not other sports with violent content, and movies that fall below a specified ratings level. 
     In  FIG. 10  another manner of viewing the above described processes is presented. In step  138 , the set top box is initialized. In step  140  the credentials of the present users are captured for processing and in step  142 , access based on determined access rights is provided. Following step  142 , the process can return to step  140  so that the permissions can change when a new user is detected. This would allow adults to be watching a violent or otherwise unsuitable content for a child, and then have the system lock out the content when a child enters the viewing area. When content is locked out, it can be paused and replaced with other content, or a blank screen. In some embodiments a barker channel can be displayed advertising network features, and explaining why the content has been blocked. The adult can then be provided with the ability to provide a one time override to the restriction. 
     In the above discussion, focus has been paid to determining access rights based on detecting a plurality of registered users. Creating user profiles is often a time consuming and difficult process. Because users with no profile will not be recognized as users of the STB, the detection of a face that does not match to a known profile can be used during the profile creation process.  FIG. 11  illustrates one such method. In step  150 , the presence of an unprofiled user is detected. One skilled in the art will appreciate that if all users have facial recognition patterns associated with their profiles, any non-matched but detected face can be assumed to be an unprofiled user. 
     In step  152  a determination is made about the presence of an administrator or other user that can create profiles. If no such user is present, access based on the recognized users that are present, or access based on a “minimal” pre-defined set of criteria, is provided. If an administrator is present a new profile is created in step  158 . This can optionally be preceded by a step of prompting the administrator to confirm the creation of the new profile. This prompt can be intrusive or be designed to blend into the background. 
     When a profile is created, it can be created as a generic profile that is then presented for modification, or the administrator can be offered a number of different options to effectively add the user to a particular class of user. The richer the information provided about each user and stored in the associated profile, the more variety can be added to the conditions in the conditional profiles discussed above. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the present invention in block diagram form. An image  160  is captured by capture device  104  and is provided to recognition engine  162 . Recognition engine makes use of facial recognition patterns associated with the user profiles stored in User Profile Database  164 . An indication of the users detected in the captured image is provided to Permission Processor  166 . Permission processor  166  determines the permissions and access rights that are available based on the detected viewers. As noted above, if a plurality of profiled users are present, the permission processor can determine the permissions and access rights according to either conditional permissions set in profiles, or based on rules that apply to all profiles. In other embodiments, permission processor can determine, in the presence of an unprofiled viewer, that another viewer has sufficient permissions to create a profile for the unprofiled viewer. 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that recognition engine  162  is not necessary for the function of the system, so long as permission processor receives a indication that a plurality of viewers are present. Preferably the indication includes identification of the users in the plurality, but this can be obtained separately if need be. 
     Embodiments of the invention may be represented as a software product stored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein). The machine-readable medium may be any suitable tangible medium including a magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including a diskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory (DVD-ROM) memory device (volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. The machine-readable medium may contain various sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to an embodiment of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implement the described invention may also be stored on the machine-readable medium. Software running from the machine-readable medium may interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks. 
     The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.