Enhancing face recognition performance: a comprehensive evaluation of deep learning models and a novel ensemble approach with hyperparameter tuning

In response to growing security concerns and the increasing demand for face recognition (FR) technology in various sectors, this research explores the application of deep learning techniques, specifically pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models, in the field of FR. The study harnesses the power of five pre-trained CNN models—DenseNet201, ResNet152V2, MobileNetV2, SeResNeXt, and Xception—for robust feature extraction, followed by SoftMax classification. A novel weighted average ensemble model, meticulously optimized through a grid search technique, is introduced to augment feature extraction and classification efficacy. Emphasizing the significance of robust data pre-processing, encompassing resizing, data augmentation, splitting, and normalization, the research endeavors to fortify the reliability of FR systems. Methodologically, the study systematically investigates hyperparameters across deep learning models, fine-tuning network depth, learning rate, activation functions, and optimization methods. Comprehensive evaluations unfold across diverse datasets to discern the effectiveness of the proposed models. Key contributions of this work encompass the utilization of pre-trained CNN models for feature extraction, extensive evaluation across multiple datasets, the introduction of a weighted average ensemble model, emphasis on robust data pre-processing, systematic hyperparameter tuning, and the utilization of comprehensive evaluation metrics. The results, meticulously analyzed, unveil the superior performance of the proposed method, consistently outshining alternative models across pivotal metrics, including Recall, Precision, F1 Score, Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), and Accuracy. Notably, the proposed method attains an exceptional accuracy of 99.48% on the labeled faces in the wild (LFW) dataset, surpassing erstwhile state-of-the-art benchmarks. This research represents a significant stride in FR technology, furnishing a dependable and accurate solution fortified by empirical substantiation. The proposed method showcases the potential of pre-trained CNN models, ensemble learning, robust data pre-processing, and hyperparameter tuning in augmenting the accuracy and reliability of FR systems, with far-reaching implications for real-world applications.