Analysis and synthesis of pose variations of human faces by a linear PCMAP model and its application for pose-invariant face recognition system

Abstract

A method of manifold representation for human faces with pose variations is proposed. Our model consists of mappings between 3D head angles and facial images separately represented in shape and texture, via sub-space models spanned by principal components (PC). Explicit mappings to and from 3D head angles are used as processes of pose estimation and transformation, respectively. Generalization capability to unknown head poses enables our model to continuously cover pose parameter space, providing high approximation accuracy. The feasibility of this model is evaluated in a number of experiments. We also propose a novel pose-invariant face recognition system using our model as the entry format for a gallery of known persons. Experimental results with 3D facial models recorded by a Cyberware scanner show that our model provides a superior recognition performance against pose variations, and that the texture synthesis process is carried out correctly.