Method and system and monitoring apparatus for access control of authorised subjects
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to access control to an area for subjects. More specifically the invention relates to a method, system and monitoring apparatus for access control to an area using automatic recognition of representations of persons or objects.
BACKGROUND
The area of recognition of representations of "subjects" , e.g. digital images of persons or objects, involves automatic identification of persons or objects by means of algorithms that look for pattern matches between images representing a person or an object applying for access, and previously recorded reference images beyond a certain probability of doubt. Additional to subject (person/object) recognition there is a need to provide specific services (access rights, service facilities etc.) to e.g specific persons or groups of persons, based on personal identification means like ID cards etc. In many cases additional information is needed to establish what specific services (e.g. which access rights and/or limitations, access times, etc.) should be provided to a person who has been given permission to access a certain area, e.g. a building, room and/or LAN, telecommunications or computing facilities (network etc. ) .
A disadvantage of the known systems is that the system for person recognition and the system for service provisioning are separate systems, each of them using their own means and resources .
SUMMARY
The invention comprises a method, a system and monitoring apparatus for access control for subjects (e.g. persons or objects), to a physical (e.g. building, room) or virtual (e.g.
network, facilities etc.) area. Such a monitoring apparatus can be a (digital) camera.
In a first step (initial step) for subjects e.g. persons to be given access to a secure physical or virtual area, a first identification string (initial identification string, IIS) is generated, comprising a (digital) representation, e.g. image, of (a distinguishing part of) the relevant subject. After generation, the IIS will be stored. The term storage here refers to having the data available in any possible manner such as registration of the location of the data, saving the data on a data carrier, knowing the whereabouts of the data somewhere in a network etc.
Subsequently, for1, each subject applying for, access" to the secured area, to investigate whether the subject is entitled to enter the secured area or not, a second identification string (operational identification string, OIS) , is generated, comprising a (digital) representation of that subject applying for access. To investigate the subject's entrance rights to the secure area the operational identification string can be compared with the various initial identification strings stored for the subjects which -via previous registration during the initial step- are authorised to have access to the secured area. In the operational step, besides said OIS, an operational authorisation string (OAS) can be generated , representing a further information carrier (FIC) , which comprises information about further access rights, facilities etc. to or services within the secured area, e.g. access or service time restrictions, further access or service rights and/or limits within the secured area, charges to be paid for use of the area e.g. network or communication facilities, etc. etc. With the method as described above a single system can provide the person recognition function as well as the service provisioning function. In this way a significant advantage can be achieved, while all information needed, viz. for access and further services can be derived from the same kind of information representation.
In a preferred embodiment an initial authorisation string (IAS) is generated and stored in the initial step . The IAS relates to the OAS and may comprise -like the OAS- an image or other representation of a further information carrier ( FIC) carrying information about access to or services within said physical or virtual area . In the mentioned operational step, to be executed when a person requests access to the secured area, the operational authorisation string (OAS ) is compared with the relevant initial stored authorisation string ( IAS) . This option can provide additional security, while both the subject ' s OIS is investigated whether it matches (at least) one stored IISs, and, additionally, the subj ect ' s OAS is investigated whether it matches the relevant OIS .
The further information carrier (FIC) may compriseinformation about further access rights or services within the secured area, e . g . access or service time restrictions , further access- or service rights and/or limits within the secured area, charges to be paid for use of the area e . g . network or communication facilities , etc . etc .
In a preferred embodiment instead of generating separate initial strings ( IIS .and IAS ) during the initial step, a common initial identification/authorisation string ( HAS ) may be generated and stored, incorporating, at least partly, an initial identification string (IIS) and an initial authorisation string (IAS ) , and comprising, for recognition purposes , e . g an image of at least part of the authorised subj ect, and, for further access and/or services provisioning purposes , the authorised subject ' s further information carrier (FIC) . In a similar way, in the subsequent, operational step, for a subj ect requesting access to the secured area, a common operational identification/authorisation string (OIAS) is generated, incorporating, at least partly, an operational identification string (OIS ) as well as an operational authorisation string (OAS ) . Like the HAS , the OIAS may comprise, for recognition purposes , e . g an image of at least part of the authorised subject and, for further access and/or services provisioning
purpose, the relevant subject's further information carrier
(FIC) . The operational identification/authorisation string
(OIAS) is compared with the initial identification/authorisation strings (HAS) of the various subjects authorised to access to the secured area, storedduring the initial step.
The further information carrier (FIC) may have the form of a
"token", e.g. a card, label or coin. It may be restricted to an individual person or may apply for a group of persons. The FIC may be worn on a person's body or clothes. Finally, it may, for additional security, comprise a unique identification mark of e.g,. the relevant person, authorised to or applying for access, e.g. the person's signature, fingerprint, face scan or retina scan.
It is noted that the previous embodiments or variants of the previous embodiments of the invention can be combined.
EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT •
Figures 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of a system fit for execution of the method depicted above.
For the purpose of teaching the invention, preferred embodiments of the,method and devices of the invention are described in the sequel. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that other alternative and equivalent embodiments of the invention can be conceived and reduced to practice without departing from the true spirit of the invention, the scope of the invention being only limited by the claims as finally granted.
Figure 1 shows a system for access control of persons to a secured physical or virtual area 1, controlled by an access controller 2. The secured area here comprises a closed room 1, comprising a computer network 14 and terminals. Access to the room 1 is controlled by means of a door or the like, actuated by control means 2. After a person 4 or 8 has got permission to enter the room 1, each person has his specific further access and/or service privileges and/or restrictions in the use of the network 14.
The access controller 2 is controlled by a system processor 3.
In an initial step I, for a person 4, to be authorised to have access to room 1, an initial identification string (IIS) 6 is generated by means of a camera 5, comprising a digitised representation, viz. a digital image or scan of a distinguishing part of the authorised person's body, e.g. the person's face. Subsequently the processor 3 stores the IIS 6, formatted as an ordinary bitmap or as a string of vector parameters describing the image, in a database (DB) 7.
In a subsequent, operational step II for each person 8, applying for access to the area- 1, an operational identification string (OIS) 9 is generated-, by means of a camera 10, comprising a bitmap or -after processing inside or outside the camera- a vector string representing the face of the person 8 applying for access. In this step II the operational identification string is compared, by the processor 3, with the IISs 6 previously generated and stored in database 7for various persons 4 authorised to have access to the area 1.. If an IIS matches the OIS of person 8, the person is granted permission to enter the secured area.
In the operational step II, moreover, an operational authorisation string (OAS) 11 may be generated by a camera 12, comprising the image (again formatted as a bitmap string or a processed, e.g.. vectorised data string) of a further information carrier <FIC) 13, comprisingfurther information concerning e.g. the rights of person 8 within the area 1.
The further information carrier (FIC) may comprise further information concerning the access rights of the person 8 to the area 1 e.g. time restrictions (entrance times) or rights/restrictions to (not-shown) sub-rooms, or to further services to be offered within that area e.g. access rights to the computer network 14. The FIC 13 may have the form of a card, coin or label and may be strictly personal or may apply for a group of persons. Said "further information" may be printed upon the surface of the FIC card, coin or label, while such card, coin or label, e.g. may be clipped on the person's clothes.
The image scanned by camera 12, representing the "further information" e.g. printed on the FIC 13, is converted by processor 3 into an operational authorisation string (OAS), fed to the area controller 2 (for e.g. controlling the entrance time) and/or the network 14, for controlling the services to be offered to person 8 after being entered into area 1, in conformity with the rights as displayed on the person's FIC 13. In said initial step I, besides the OIS, an initial authorisation string (IAS) 16 may be generated, by means of a camera 15,, for each person 4 to be authorised to have access to the secured areas 1 (room) and 14 (network), which IAS is subsequently stored in database 7.
The IAS 16 comprises a -representation (vectorised or not) of the image of a further information carrier (FIC) 17, comprising further information concerning the- access and service rights of ■ the, relevant authorised person.4 to the secure room 1 and/or network 14. Note: if person 4 and person 8 are one and the same, .the FIC 13 is likely to be the same as the FIC 17. In each operational step II the operational authorisation string (OAS) 11 of the relevant person 8 requesting access to area 1, is compared, by processor 3, with the . initial authorisation strings (IAS) 16, recorded previously and stored in database 7 during the initial step I .
Depending on the result of the comparison of the requesting person's OIS 9 with the stored IISs 6 and the result of the (preferred) additional comparison of the requesting person's OAS 16 with the stored IASs 16, the requesting person will or will not get permission, by means of the access control means 2, to enter and use the area 1 and the services of network 14. If person 8 gets permission to enter, the information content of the person's FIC 13 is interpreted by processor 3 and determines the person's further rights for access to and services within area 1.
Note: if the preferred option of storing IASs 16 of authorised persons 4 in the initial step is not applied, only the comparison (matching) result of the person's OIS 11 with the
stored IISs 16 determines the grant or refusal of access to area
1. In that case the contents of person's FIC 13 is not checked against stored FIC representations (IASs), but only serves to determine -only after person 8 gets permission to access area 1 due to a positive investigation result of his OIS 9 against the stored IISs 16- the further rights etc. of person 8 within area 1 (for instance the access rights to services of network 14) after being entered area 1. It is noted that the cameras 5, 10, 12 and 15 can be replaced by a single camera suited to execute one or more of the functions of the cameras 5, 10, 12 and 15 as described above., The processor 3 can be an integral part of the camera (s). The storage means 7 can be an integral part of the camera as well as being physically separated from the camera: In the latter case the camera (s) can be equipped with network communication means in order to transmit and/or receive the various strings to be stored in said storage means 7 over a network. In an embodiment the camera is further equipped with state-of-the-art compression means to reduce the capacity needed for the storage means1 and to limit bandwidth usage of1 the network.
Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention. In the initial step I for a person authorised to have' access to the area 1, instead- of separate image strings IIS 6 and IAS 16 (in figure 1) , one common initial identification/authorisation string (HAS) 18 is generated by camera 5, and saved in database 7. Each HAS comprises an integrated image of a (distinguishing part of the) body of the authorised person 4 and of the authorised person's FIC 17.
In said operational step II for a person requesting for access to the physical or virtual area a common operational identification/authorisation string (OIAS) 19 is generated by camera 10, comprising an integrated image of a (distinguishing part of the) body of the requesting person and of the requesting person's FIC 13. Subsequently, the OIAS 19 of person 8 is compared with the stored IIASs 18 of the various persons 4
authorised to have access to the area 1, each of which has an
HAS stored in the database 7.
It is noted that the access controller 2 not necessarily prohibits access of e.g. a person to an area in case the initial strings (IIS, IAS, HAS) do not match with the operational strings (OIS, OAS, OIAS) . Instead of or simultaneously to prohibitting access to said area an alarm or other signalling of non-matching strings can be provided for.
Finally it is noted that, as an extra security option, the FIC of persons 4 and 8 also may, additionally, include a unique representation of those persons, e.g. the person's signature, fingerprint, etc.