Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7672489?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=patent:7076806
Timestamp: 2014-08-22 20:28:27
Document Index: 697122477

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 18', 'art 18', 'art 18', 'art 620', 'art 620', 'art 620', 'art 912']

Patent US7672489 - Method and apparatus for offender supervision using digital encoding of ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsApparatus that includes a communication interface capable of communication with a management entity over a network; a biometric module adapted to acquire an image of a skin-covered body part submitted thereto; an output device; and a processing unit. The processing unit is adapted for releasing a prompting...http://www.google.com/patents/US7672489?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7672489 - Method and apparatus for offender supervision using digital encoding of images of skin-covered body partsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7672489 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/313,724Publication dateMar 2, 2010Filing dateDec 22, 2005Priority dateSep 13, 2005Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCA2528227A1, US7672487, US20080101661, US20080226141, WO2007030907A1Publication number11313724, 313724, US 7672489 B2, US 7672489B2, US-B2-7672489, US7672489 B2, US7672489B2InventorsRoland WalchOriginal AssigneeRoland WalchExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (8), Non-Patent Citations (12), Classifications (10), Legal Events (7) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod and apparatus for offender supervision using digital encoding of images of skin-covered body partsUS 7672489 B2Abstract Apparatus that includes a communication interface capable of communication with a management entity over a network; a biometric module adapted to acquire an image of a skin-covered body part submitted thereto; an output device; and a processing unit. The processing unit is adapted for releasing a prompting signal via the output device, the prompting signal prompting submission of a skin-covered body part at the biometric module. Furthermore, responsive to acquisition of an image by the biometric module further to releasing the prompting signal, the processing module is adapted for producing a candidate code based on geometric measures of respective combinations of pixels taken from a plurality of subsets of like-shaded pixels in the image. Finally, the processing module is adapted for releasing the candidate code via the communication interface for comparison at the management entity with an expected code, thereby to verify presence of a person associated with the expected code.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a CONTINUATION, and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. �120 of, a U.S. patent application to Roland Walch, Ser. No. 10/561,910, entitled �Digital Encoding of Images of Skin-Covered Body Parts�, filed on Dec. 21, 2005, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The present application is related in subject matter a U.S. patent application to Roland Walch, Ser. No. 11/313,821, entitled �Method and Apparatus for Access Point Control Using Digital Encoding of Images of Skin-Covered Body Parts�, filed on the same day as the present application, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to biometrics and, more particularly, to digital encoding of images of skin-covered body parts for use in a variety of applications.
BACKGROUND Biometric recognition refers to the use of distinctive physiological (e.g., fingerprints, face, retina, iris) and behavioral (e.g., gait, signature) characteristics, called biometric identifiers (or simply biometrics) for automatically recognizing individuals. Because biometric identifiers cannot be easily misplaced, forged, or shared, they are considered more reliable for person recognition than traditional token- or knowledge-based methods. Specific applications where biometric identification is particularly useful include authentication and access control.
In the specific case of fingerprint recognition used for authentication of a person of interest, a management entity has knowledge of a target fingerprint image associated with the person of interest. When an individual who purports to be the person of interest provides a donor finger for scanning, the management entity compares the image of the donor finger with the target fingerprint image. In conventional automated fingerprint recognition, a search is done for matching features, or minutiae, in the two images. Examples of minutiae include core, delta, hook, ridge, bifurcation, island, lake, whorl, etc. For more information regarding fingerprint recognition in general, the reader is referred to D. Maltoni et al., �Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition�, Springer-Verlag, 2003, hereby incorporated by reference herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide an apparatus that includes a communication interface capable of communication with a management entity over a network; a biometric module adapted to acquire an image of a skin-covered body part submitted thereto; an output device; and a processing unit. The processing unit is adapted for releasing a prompting signal via the output device, the prompting signal prompting submission of a skin-covered body part at the biometric module. Furthermore, responsive to acquisition of an image by the biometric module further to releasing the prompting signal, the processing module is adapted for producing a candidate code based on geometric measures of respective combinations of pixels taken from a plurality of subsets of like-shaded pixels in the image. Finally, the processing module is adapted for releasing the candidate code via the communication interface for comparison at the management entity with an expected code, thereby to verify presence of a person associated with the expected code.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a biometric apparatus 12 for deriving a code 24 from an acquired image of a skin-covered body part 18. In a specific non-limiting embodiment, the skin-covered body part 18 may be an individual's finger, whereas in other specific non-limiting embodiments, the skin-covered body part 18 may be an individual's ear, palm, forehead, nose, etc. Of course, the body part in its entirety is not required, and only a portion thereof may be used for the purposes of deriving the code 24.
In accordance with a specific non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, and with additional reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the digital image 10 is comprised of an array of pixels 202. Each pixel 202 occupies a position in the digital image 10 and is associated with a shade value. The position of a given pixel 202 in the digital image 10 can be defined by a point in a Cartesian plane with two orthogonal axes (denoted �X� and �Y�) and an origin 204. The pixels 202 can thus be said to have �X� and �Y� coordinates. The number of pixels 202 in the array along each of the axes depends on operational requirements. For example, the number of pixels 202 along each axis may be the same or different.
Step 310 The processor 20A selects a plurality of shade values from the range of shade values for further analysis. Specifically, if there are 256 possible shade values, then a certain number N≦256 of the shade values will be selected and hereinafter referred to as �designated shade values�. The designated shade values may be known in advance by storing them in a database (not shown). The database itself may be stored in the memory 20B or may be accessible remotely through the I/O 20C. Alternatively, selection of the designated shade values may be performed based on a characteristic of the image itself (such as whether the image is perceived to be that of a finger, ear, palm, etc.).
Step 312 The processor 20A identifies pixels having any of the designated shade values. This step, which can be viewed as performing a filtering operation on the digital image 10, results in a set of pixels that can be arranged to form a first table. The first table can be stored in the memory 20B. For example, the first table may be organized into rows, each row being associated with a given one of the designated shade values. The row associated with a particular designated shade value is either empty or contains either one or more pixels having the particular designated shade value. By saying that a row �contains a pixel� it should be understood that the row actually stores the coordinates of the pixel in question.
To identify the first member of the first subset, the processor 20A may start at an initial search point (ISP) in the digital image 10. The first member of the first subset is identified as the pixel in any of the rows of the second table that is closest to the ISP. By way of example, the ISP may be the aforementioned origin 204 or it may be a different point in the digital image 10. Here, �closeness� may be defined relative to some measure of distance. By way of non-limiting example, the measure of distance between a pixel with coordinates (a,b) and a point with coordinates (c,d) can be the Euclidean distance sqrt((a-c)2+(b-d)2), or min(|a-c|,|b-d|) or some other function of a, b, c and d.
Specifically, where the row in question here has exactly two pixels, the second member of the first subset is the other pixel in the same row. Where the row in question here has more than two pixels, the second member of the first subset may be the next nearest like-shaded pixel, where �nearness� is defined relative to some measure of distance.
The management entity 606 includes a biometric apparatus 610 (or �biometric module�), a memory 612, a communication interface 614, a processor 616 and a display 626 (or other output device). It should be understood that the words �processor� and �controller� are used in the following merely to distinguish between functionality executed at a central location (by a processor) and functionality executed at a remote location (by a controller). Thus, one will appreciate that this has been done for the sole purpose of improving readability, and is not intended to limit the scope of either the term �processor� or �controller�. Rather, the two terms are to be interpreted broadly, as referring to entities capable of executing various processing and/or control functions.
The biometric apparatus 610 is operable to produce a code 618 on the basis of an object submitted to it during a so-called �registration� process. In the expected scenario, the object submitted to the biometric apparatus 610 is a skin-covered body part 620 of a user 622 who is authorized to have some level of authorization to open the door 602. Thus, the code 618 will be representative of the skin-covered body part 620 of the user 622. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the code 618 is derived based on geometric measures of combinations of pixels taken from a plurality of subsets of like-shaded pixels in an image of the skin-covered body part 620. An example of a suitable technique for generation of the code 618 may be based on that described above with reference to FIG. 3.
At step 812 of the monitoring process 646B, which is optional, the controller 632 reports the result of the current access attempt to the management entity 606 via the communication interface 634. For example the result of the current access attempt may be �success for user ID xyz�, �failure due to unrecognized user�, �failure for user ID xyz due to unauthorized time period�, etc. Here, �xyz� refers to the information conveyed by the user ID 672.
At step 814 of the monitoring process 624B, the processor 616 receives the result of the current access attempt via the communication interface 614. If the result is �success for user ID xyz� or �failure for user ID xyz due to unauthorized time period�, the result may simply be stored in the memory 612 as part of the access control information (specifically, the history of previous accesses to) for the user having user ID xyz.
At step 816 of the monitoring process 624B, the processor 616 verifies certain conditions and if they are met, signals an alarm. This can be done when the result of the current access attempt is �failure due to unrecognized user�, which may cause the processor 616 to trigger an alarm to be displayed over the display 626 or conveyed over another output device, or relayed to a security guard, etc. An alarm could also be triggered under a variety of other conditions, even if the person attempting to open the door 602 is a registered user. For example, if the same registered user goes in and out too often, or if a registered user makes multiple failed attempts during a restricted time period, or if a registered user appears to be going through two different doors at about the same time, etc.
�House arrest� allows an offender who is sentenced to a jail term to spend the time at his or her home as an alternative to being physically confined to jail. In some cases, it is necessary to confirm that the offender is indeed at home. With reference now to FIG. 9, there is shown a system for electronic supervision of offenders under conditions of house arrest, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a management entity 902 and a remote unit 904. It is envisaged that the management entity 902 may be located, for example, at a corrections center or government office, whereas the remote unit 904 is located at a residential address or other location where an offender 906 is required to be physically located at certain specified times.
The remote unit 904 includes a biometric apparatus 922, a communication interface 924 and a controller 926. The biometric apparatus 922 produces a code 928 on the basis of an object submitted to it. In the expected scenario, the object submitted to the biometric apparatus 922 is the skin-covered body part 912 of the offender 906. However, it is possible that other objects may be submitted to the biometric apparatus 922, which may especially occur when the offender 906 is attempting to �fool� the management entity 902 into believing that he or she is present, or quite simply, when the offender 906 is absent.
Of course, variations of the above are possible. For example, at step 1012, even if the comparison does not yield a match between the code 928 and the code 910 (or any of the codes 910 when there are more than one), then it is within the scope of the present invention to allow a limited number of �re-tries� to further reduce the false rejection rate. Specifically, the biometric apparatus 922 derives additional codes from acquired images of whatever is deemed to have been submitted to it. In this way, a poorly positioned body part may be repositioned with a greater chance of the supervision process 920 yielding a successful result.
It will be appreciated that the system described above may be used in an identical fashion to enable parents to electronically supervise their children or in any other situation where it is desired to �check up� on individuals expected to be at a fixed location.
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