Abstract: An attachment tool includes an image capturing unit configured to capture an image of a random pattern provided on a comparison region of a part; and an identification result-outputting unit configured to output a part identification result obtained by comparing an image characteristic of the captured image of the random pattern with a previously stored image characteristic of a random pattern of a part.

Abstract: The present invention is a collation/retrieval system collating a product manufactured by or delivered from a producer or a distributor with a product to be collated comprising: a storage unit that stores an image feature of a predetermined collation area of the product determined in advance at a position relative to a reference section common in every product; a to-be-collated product feature extraction unit that receives an image of the product to be collated and detecting the reference section of the product from the received image to extract an image feature of the collation area determined by reference to the reference section; and a collation unit that collates the stored image feature with the image feature of the collation area of the product to be collated.

Abstract: A comparison system includes a portable terminal including image capturing unit configured to capture a comparison image of a predetermined comparison region of a comparison object; and a server including comparison unit configured to compare the comparison object with a registered object on the basis of a statistical value for the luminance value of pixels in a registered image of the registered object, the pixels of the registered image existing at pixel positions corresponding to pixel positions estimated to be generating specular reflection in the comparison image captured by the portable terminal.

Abstract: The present invention is a collation/retrieval system collating a product manufactured by or delivered from a producer or a distributor with a product to be collated comprising: a storage unit that stores an image feature of a predetermined collation area of the product determined in advance at a position relative to a reference section common in every product; a to-be-collated product feature extraction unit that receives an image of the product to be collated and detecting the reference section of the product from the received image to extract an image feature of the collation area determined by reference to the reference section; and a collation unit that collates the stored image feature with the image feature of the collation area of the product to be collated.

Abstract: The present invention addresses the problem of providing a technique for determining the authenticity of a product without requiring a special device such as an integrated circuit (IC) tag. A means for solving this problem according to the invention is characterized by determining the authenticity of a target product on the basis of the validity of the association between the body of the product and a surface-treated component that is mounted to the body and that has been validated.

Abstract: The present invention addresses the problem of acquiring information regarding a component or product and identifying said component or product easily and inexpensively. The present invention has an image-feature storage, an extracting means, an acquiring means, and an identifying means. The image-feature storage stores image features of texture patterns formed on components or products. The extracting means extracts an n-dimensional-symbol image and a texture-pattern image from a taken image containing at least the following: an n-dimensional symbol (n being a natural number) that represents information regarding a component, a product, or a product comprising said component; and a texture pattern formed on said component or product. The acquiring means acquires, from the extracted n-dimensional-symbol image, the aforementioned information regarding the component or product.

Abstract: The present invention is an imaging aid aiding imaging of a predetermined region of a surface of an object having minute concave and convex portions and being subject to intense specular reflection, including: a light source unit that irradiates light; and a cover lid to cover a predetermined region of a surface of the object, where a part of a surface of the cover lid corresponding to a predetermined angular range from a normal line direction directly opposing the predetermined region is a black surface, and another surface of the cover lid corresponding to another angular range is made of a light-source surface diffusing and emitting light irradiated from the light source unit.

Abstract: The present invention is an individual product identification method, comprising: previously storing epidermal pattern images in a predetermined scope with a predetermined location of a registered product taken as a reference; imaging the epidermal pattern in the predetermined scope with the predetermined location of the product, being a target of individual product identification, taken as a reference; correcting the imaged epidermal pattern image of the product, being a target of individual product identification to an image for collation with the registered product with the predetermined location of the product taken as a reference: and collating an image characteristic of the epidermal pattern image of the registered product with the image characteristic of the corrected epidermal pattern image, and identifying whether the product, being a target of individual product identification, is one of the registered products.

Abstract: The invention in this application is an information acquisition/identification system provided with an image-feature storing unit, an extracting unit, an acquiring unit, and an identifying unit. The image-feature storing unit stores image features of texture patterns formed on components or products. The extracting unit extracts an information-label image and a texture-pattern image from a taken image containing at least the following: an information label that displays information regarding a component, a product, or a product comprising said component; and a texture pattern formed on said component or product. The acquiring unit acquires, from the extracted information-label image, the aforementioned information regarding the component or product. The identifying unit identifies the component, product, or component-comprising product by matching image features of the extracted texture-pattern image against the image features stored by the image-feature storing unit.

Abstract: The present invention addresses the problem of acquiring information regarding a component or product and identifying said component or product easily and inexpensively. The present invention has an image-feature storage, an extracting means, an acquiring means, and an identifying means. The image-feature storage stores image features of texture patterns formed on components or products. The extracting means extracts an n-dimensional-symbol image and a texture-pattern image from a taken image containing at least the following: an n-dimensional symbol (n being a natural number) that represents information regarding a component, a product, or a product comprising said component; and a texture pattern formed on said component or product. The acquiring means acquires, from the extracted n-dimensional-symbol image, the aforementioned information regarding the component or product.

Abstract: The present invention is an identification method comprising: with at least a part of a skeleton part of an identification mark attached to a component or a product defined as a matching area, identifying the component, product, or product having the component as one of its constituent elements using a textured pattern formed in the matching area.

Abstract: The present invention is an individual product identification method, comprising: previously storing epidermal pattern images in a predetermined scope with a predetermined location of a registered product taken as a reference; imaging the epidermal pattern in the predetermined scope with the predetermined location of the product, being a target of individual product identification, taken as a reference; correcting the imaged epidermal pattern image of the product, being a target of individual product identification to an image for collation with the registered product with the predetermined location of the product taken as a reference: and collating an image characteristic of the epidermal pattern image of the registered product with the image characteristic of the corrected epidermal pattern image, and identifying whether the product, being a target of individual product identification, is one of the registered products.

Abstract: The present invention is an individual product identification method, comprising: previously storing epidermal pattern images in a predetermined scope with a predetermined location of a registered product taken as a reference; imaging the epidermal pattern in the predetermined scope with the predetermined location of the product, being a target of individual product identification, taken as a reference; correcting the imaged epidermal pattern image of the product, being a target of individual product identification to an image for collation with the registered product with the predetermined location of the product taken as a reference: and collating an image characteristic of the epidermal pattern image of the registered product with the image characteristic of the corrected epidermal pattern image, and identifying whether the product, being a target of individual product identification, is one of the registered products.

Abstract: Provided is to manage distribution of a product equipped with a component using dissimilarity on a surface of the component caused by differences between parameters in a manufacturing device and a manufacturing step. In the present invention, clustering a distribution information log database in which an image feature of a pattern formed on a surface of a component is related with at least one of product information regarding a product equipped with the component and distribution information regarding distribution of the product, based on the image feature; and analyzing, using statistical processing, one or both of the distribution information and product information related with the image feature belonging to each group obtained by the clustering.

Abstract: The present invention is an imaging aid aiding imaging of a predetermined region of a surface of an object having minute concave and convex portions and being subject to intense specular reflection, including: a light source unit that irradiates light; and a cover lid to cover a predetermined region of a surface of the object, where a part of a surface of the cover lid corresponding to a predetermined angular range from a normal line direction directly opposing the predetermined region is a black surface, and another surface of the cover lid corresponding to another angular range is made of a light-source surface diffusing and emitting light irradiated from the light source unit.

Abstract: The present invention addresses the problem of providing technology that makes it possible to perform verification for the purposes of distribution management, authenticity assessment, and the like of merchandise without building an RFID chip into each of a plurality of fasteners. The present invention is characterized in that image characteristics of a component of a product to be verified are acquired and the product to be verified is verified on the basis of the acquired image characteristics of the component.

Abstract: The present invention is a verification method comprising: designating as a verification area at least a part of a predetermined area of an article that has a textured pattern provided thereto, and previously storing at least one or more image features of the textured pattern of the verification area; acquiring the image feature of the textured pattern that is provided to the verification area of an article to be verified; and verifying the article to be verified by using the acquired image feature and the stored image features.

Abstract: Provided is a matching device capable of improving the accuracy of the degree of similarly in the calculation of the degree of similarly between data sets. Element selection unit selects elements corresponding to each other between a first vector including a plurality of elements determined based on first data and a second vector including a plurality of elements determined based on second data. Similarity degree calculation unit calculates a score of the degree of similarly between the first data and the second data from the elements selected from the first vector and the second vector. Score correction unit corrects the score calculated by the similarity degree calculation unit so that the increment of the score increases with the increase in the amount of data used for the calculation of the degree of similarly.

Abstract: A recognition task executing means 11 that provides a feature point selecting system which can select an adequate feature point matching a recognition algorithm in a recognition task executes the recognition task using an importance of each of a plurality of feature point candidates on a three-dimensional shape model for a plurality of evaluation images. A recognition error evaluating means 12 evaluates a recognition error related to all evaluation images from a difference between a recognition result of the recognition task and correct data of the recognition task for each evaluation image. A feature point importance determining means 13 sets a cost function which is represented as a function obtained by adding a restriction condition that an importance of an unimportant feature point candidate becomes close to zero, to the recognition error related to all evaluation images, and calculating the importance of each feature point candidate which minimizes a value of the cost function.

Abstract: Three-dimensional data is compressed at a high compression ratio without deteriorating resolution and accuracy, by computing a coupling coefficient from input three-dimensional data and a three-dimensional base data group obtained from a plurality of objects and outputting the coupling coefficient as compressed data. Specifically, the three-dimensional data is input to corresponding point determination means. The corresponding point determination means generates three-dimensional data to be synthesized in which vertexes of the three-dimensional data are made to correspond to vertexes of three-dimensional reference data serving as a reference to determine association relationship between vertexes. Coefficient computation means computes a coupling coefficient for coupling a three-dimensional base data group used for synthesis of three-dimensional data to synthesize three-dimensional data to be synthesized, and outputs the computed coupling coefficient as the compressed data of the three-dimensional data.