Abstract: A biometric authentication apparatus includes a storage unit which stores first shape data representing a shape of biometric information of a registered user's hand with fingers at a first posture and second shape data representing a shape of biometric information of the hand with the fingers at a second posture; a posture specification unit which calculates an index representing a third posture of fingers of a user's hand in a biometric image; a biometric information extraction unit which generates third shape data representing a shape of biometric information of the user's hand in the biometric image; and a correction unit which obtains corrected shape data by correcting the first or the second shape data to cancel a shape difference of the biometric information due to a difference between the third posture and the first or the second posture based on the index for matching.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes: a first biometric sensor that obtains biometric information of a user; a second biometric sensor that obtains biometric information of a user at a lower degree of reproducibility than the first biometric sensor; an authentication process unit that performs an authentication by comparing with use of the biometric information obtained by the first biometric sensor and the second biometric sensor, wherein the authentication process unit compares biometric information obtained by the second biometric sensor with use of biometric information obtained by the first biometric sensor of a case where a comparing between the biometric information obtained by the first biometric sensor and enrolled information is successful.

Abstract: An imaging device includes: an imaging element that take an image of a subject; and a plurality of light sources that radiate a light to the subject, wherein optical axes of the plurality of the light sources are inclined outward with respect to an optical axis of the imaging element.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes: a memory configured to store an enrollment feature data; a biometric sensor that obtains a biometric image of a user; and a circuitry configured to: obtain a surface reflection degree of the biometric image; extract a comparison-use feature data from the biometric image; perform a comparing based on a similarity between the comparison-use feature data and the enrollment feature data; and reflect a correction coefficient and the surface reflection degree related to a region of the biometric image to the similarity.

Abstract: An image matching device includes: a mixed image generation portion generating a mixed image in an operation satisfying linearity, the mixed image being obtained by multiplying each of two or more recorded images and each of phase components of a complex plane different from each other and adding multiplied recorded images; a complex similarity image generation portion generating a complex similarity image through a similarity operation between one or more input image and the mixed image; and a similarity obtain portion obtaining similarity from a projected component of the complex similarity image toward a vector of the phase component.

Abstract: A biometric identification device acquires enrollment data in such a manner as to improve usability while maintaining identification accuracy. The noncontact biometric identification device includes: a sensor that detects feature data including a feature of a part of a living body at a plurality of positions in a range defined in advance in a real space when the part of the living body moves in the range to acquire enrollment data; a processor that arranges a specified number of hyperspheres in a comparison range along a line defined by a locus of the living body in the real space such that the hyperspheres run over the comparison range, do not overlap one another, and have maximum radii, and then selects the feature data detected at one of the positions in the real space closest to the position corresponding to the center of one of the hyperspheres as the enrollment data.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes, an acquisition unit configured to repeatedly image a biological part of an authenticated person while changing a relative position with respect to the biological part so as to acquire time-series biological images; a detection unit configured to detect a pixel corresponding among the biological images from the time-series biological images; an extraction unit configured to extract a pixel of which a pixel value includes a surface reflection component from the biological part, from each of the time-series biological images, on the basis of a degree of divergence of temporal variation of a pixel value of the detected pixel in the time-series biological images from an estimation result of temporal variation; a generation unit configured to correct the pixel value of the extracted pixel on the basis of a pixel value; and an authentication unit configured to perform personal authentication of the authenticated person.

Abstract: An image correction apparatus includes a correction factor calculating unit which calculates a correction factor such that a distance between a corrected value obtained by correcting, using the correction factor, a luminance value of a first pixel on the image corresponding to a sensor element with a first filter in an image sensor included in an image capturing unit which generates the image, the first filter having a first transmittance characteristic and a luminance value of a second pixel on the image corresponding to a sensor element with a second filter in the image sensor, the second filter having a second transmittance characteristic, becomes smaller than a distance between the luminance value of the first pixel and the luminance value of the second pixel, and a correcting unit which generates a corrected image by correcting the luminance value of the first pixel using the correction factor.

Abstract: An imaging device that generates a taken image of an object in an image area by taking an image of each line structuring the image area, includes: an inclination estimate unit that estimates an inclination of the object based on a portion of the taken image corresponding to a first line and a portion of the taken image corresponding to a second line; an image estimate unit that estimates an image of the object to be generated when the image is taken having an inclination estimated by the inclination estimate unit, based on the inclination; and a correction process unit that corrects the taken image based on a result of a comparison between the taken image and the image estimated by the image estimated unit.

Abstract: An apparatus for authenticating a user includes a detector for determining a state or a position of a bodily part placed by the user for biometric authentication, a unit capable of obtaining biometric data from a different portion of the bodily part, a plurality of biometric authentication engines capable of authenticating the user by using one of a plurality of authentication algorithms by comparing the biometric data with reference data, respectively, and a controller for selecting one of the different portions of the bodily part so as to select associated biometric data, and determining one of the biometric authentication engines for authenticating the user on the basis of the state or the position of the bodily part placed.

Abstract: An image capturing method includes: continuously generating, using a processor, one or more OFF images in which the subject is captured with the illumination turned OFF, for a first number of times; continuously generating, using the processor, ON images in which the subject is captured with the illumination turned ON, for a second number of times; continuously generating, using the processor, one or more OFF images in which the subject is captured with the illumination turned OFF, for the first number of times; computing, using the processor, a difference image between each of the generated ON images and the OFF image corresponding to the ON image among the generated OFF images; and integrating, using the processor, the computed difference images.

Abstract: A biometric-information processing device includes an image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image of a biometric object using light reflected from the biometric object. The biometric-information processing device further includes an extracting unit configured to extract a frequency component having a frequency higher than a predetermined spatial frequency at the image acquired by the image acquisition unit.

Abstract: A biometric information image-capturing device includes an image capturing unit configured to photograph a body part including biometric information to generate a biometric image in which the biometric information is represented, at least one light source disposed in the periphery of the image capturing unit and configured to illuminate light toward a photographing range of the image capturing unit, and a light guide member disposed to be opposed to the at least one light source in the periphery of the image capturing unit and provided with a concaved portion located at a surface of the light guide member, the concaved portion being nearer to the image capturing unit side than the at least one light source.

Abstract: A biometric-information processing device includes an image acquisition unit configured to acquire an image of a biometric object using light reflected from the biometric object. The biometric-information processing device further includes an extracting unit configured to extract a frequency component having a frequency higher than a predetermined spatial frequency at the image acquired by the image acquisition unit.

Abstract: An image processing device includes a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: acquire, for each of different entrance positions, each of captured images generated by changing the luminance of pixels within a given distance from an entrance position indicating a location at which light is incident to a photographic subject, the pixels being in an image obtained by illuminating the photographic subject with the light from a light source and capturing the light reflected from the photographic subject, generate a composite image by adding together each of the captured images, and generate an output image by performing image restoration on the composite image by using a model having the shape of the reflected light.

Abstract: A biometric information processing device includes, a biometric sensor configured to acquire a plurality of different biometric information elements; an authentication feature extracting unit configured to extract an authentication feature for use in authentication for each of the plurality of different biometric information elements acquired by the biometric sensor; a supplemental feature extracting unit configured to extract a supplemental feature relating to the authentication feature for each of the plurality of different biometric information elements; and a combined feature extracting unit configured to extract a combined feature in which a plurality of the supplemental features extracted by the supplemental feature extracting unit are reflected.

Abstract: A shock absorbing device for a rack and pinion type steering device includes a rack shaft, a rack housing, a stopper portion formed in an end part of the rack shaft, a stopper engaging portion provided on the rack housing to define a stroke end position for the rack shaft by engaging the stopper portion, a stepped portion formed on the rack shaft, a shoulder portion formed in an enlarged diameter portion of the rack housing, and a cylindrical elastic member fitted on the rack shaft such that the elastic member is pressed in the axial direction of the rack shaft by the stepped portion and the shoulder portion. The elastic member is formed with grooves on each of an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface thereof. Such shock absorbing device for a rack and pinion type steering device has a high shock absorbing capability.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes: a biometric information acquisition unit which generates a first input biometric image representing the biometric information of a user, a storage unit which stores data relating to registered biometric information of at least one registered user, and a processing unit. The processing unit realizes a quality judgment function which judges if the first input biometric image is suitable or not for use for comparison of the biometric information represented in the first input biometric image with the registered biometric information, a selection function which selects registered biometric information which is similar to biometric information represented in the first input biometric image among registered biometric information when the first input biometric image is judged unsuitable, and a matching process function which compares the user's biometric information represented in a second input biometric image with the selected registered biometric information.

Abstract: A biometric authentication device includes: a sensor which generates illumination images in which an object carrying biometric information is photographed while a light source is turned on, and a non-illumination image in which the object is photographed while the light source is turned off; a difference image generating unit which generates difference images by subtracting from a luminance value of each pixel of each illumination image a luminance value of corresponding pixel of the non-illumination image; and a biometric image generating unit which determines an integration number, based on a statistical value of luminance values of a first difference image, so that the integration number increases as an influence of luminance values of pixels included in at least one region of the first difference image due to the noise superimposed on the first difference image increases, and generates the biometric image based on the integration number of the difference images.

Abstract: A biometric identification device acquires enrollment data in such a manner as to improve usability while maintaining identification accuracy. The noncontact biometric identification device includes: a sensor that detects feature data including a feature of a part of a living body at a plurality of positions in a range defined in advance in a real space when the part of the living body moves in the range to acquire enrollment data; a processor that arranges a specified number of hyperspheres in a comparison range along a line defined by a locus of the living body in the real space such that the hyperspheres run over the comparison range, do not overlap one another, and have maximum radii, and then selects the feature data detected at one of the positions in the real space closest to the position corresponding to the center of one of the hyperspheres as the enrollment data.