Face recognition has a large number of applications, including security, person verification, Internet communication, and computer entertainment. Although research in automatic face recognition has been conducted since the 1960s, this problem is still largely unsolved. Recent years have seen significant progress in this area owing to advances in face modeling and analysis techniques. Systems have been developed for face detection and tracking, but reliable face recognition still offers a great challenge to computer vision and pattern recognition researchers.

There are several reasons for recent increased interest in face recognition, including rising public concern for security, the need for identity verification in the digital world, and the need for face analysis and modeling techniques in multimedia data management and computer entertainment. Recent advances in automated face analysis, pattern recognition, and machine learning have made it possible to develop automatic face recognition systems to address these applications.

This book was written based on two primary motivations. The first was the need for highly reliable, accurate face recognition algorithms and systems. The second was the recent research in image and object representation and matching that is of interest to face recognition researchers.

The book is intended for practitioners and students who plan to work in face recognition or who want to become familiar with the state-of-the-art in face recognition. It also provides references for scientists and engineers working in image processing, computer vision, biometrics and security, Internet communications, computer graphics, animation, and the computer game industry. The material fits the following categories: advanced tutorial, state-of-the-art survey, and guide to current technology.

The book consists of 16 chapters, covering all the subareas and major components necessary for designing operational face recognition systems. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic or system component, introduces background information, reviews up-to-date techniques, presents results, and points out challenges and future directions.